What to read next? Ask the Matzah Ball book club
A social media book group is spreading Jewish joy. Lizzie Kapren meets the women picking the must-reads every month to share with its members
Sally Rooney, Naomi Klein join calls threaten to boycott literary festivals over links to Israel
Writers critical of Israel say summer festival season ‘can expect escalation and disruption’
Cafe nostalgia: the coffeehouses that tell Europe’s story
A Jewish man set up the first cafe in England – and in Europe coffee houses were central to Jewish culture, as Monica Porter’s new book details
Literary sorcerer focused on the instability of life
Our writer pays tribute to Paul Auster who died this week
Ancient barbecues and other tasty morsels of archaeology
This brief and breezy guide to Israel’s ancient sites is an impressive achievement
Society of Authors rejects ‘one-sided’ Gaza motion
Jewish writers relieved as union votes against ‘divisive’ anti-Israel motion
Chaim Wiezmann: ‘I am now convinced that without him there would be no state of Israel’
The brilliant chemist used acetone to advance Zionism in the same way Herzl used journalism, says the co-author of a magisterial new biography of the leader
Our Palestine Question, review: An ode to Jews who uttered difficult words in dark times
Knife by Salman Rushdie, review: What about the other victims of the new fundamentalism?
This book is a deeply moving account of a devastating attack and its consequences, but it is also guilty of sins of omission
Society of Authors ‘hijacked by extremists’ after Gaza motion omits Hamas
Jewish writers voiced fears that if the motion passes, the next stop may be boycott of ‘Zionists’ themselves
The Curse of Pietro Houdini, review: Riveting wartime art-heist tale plus philosophy
This is a sweeping work of storytelling bravado
Meet the Cuban-Italian Simone de Beauvoir
Our critic relishes a novel about a formidable feminist
The story of King Herod you’ve probably never heard
A new book sets history straight about a controversial figure
Questioning Belief, by Raphael Zarum – review: An essential resource that helps integrate Judaism with modernity
A consummate communicator, Zarum tackles medieval thinkers with a light touch
Wingate winner Elizabeth McCracken: ‘My fear is being boring in the service of accuracy’
Elizabeth McCracken on the restlessly shape-shifting novel that won her the literary award for the best book to translate the idea of Jewishness to the general reader
Review: Shylock’s Venice – An unimprovable book
A rigorous trawl through Venetian archives yields a work that begs for a lavish film adaptation
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