The Tattooist of Auschwitz by
The #1 International Bestseller & New York Times Bestseller This beautiful, illuminating tale of hope and courage is based on interviews that were conducted with Holocaust survivor and Auschwitz-Birkenau tattooist Ludwig (Lale) Sokolov--an unforgettable love story in the midst of atrocity. "The Tattooist of Auschwitz is an extraordinary document, a story about the extremes of human behavior existing side by side: calculated brutality alongside impulsive and selfless acts of love. I find it hard to imagine anyone who would not be drawn in, confronted and moved. I would recommend it unreservedly to anyone, whether they'd read a hundred Holocaust stories or none."--Graeme Simsion, internationally-bestselling author of The Rosie Project In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a Tätowierer (the German word for tattooist), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners. Imprisoned for over two and a half years, Lale witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarism--but also incredible acts of bravery and compassion. Risking his own life, he uses his privileged position to exchange jewels and money from murdered Jews for food to keep his fellow prisoners alive. One day in July 1942, Lale, prisoner 32407, comforts a trembling young woman waiting in line to have the number 34902 tattooed onto her arm. Her name is Gita, and in that first encounter, Lale vows to somehow survive the camp and marry her. A vivid, harrowing, and ultimately hopeful re-creation of Lale Sokolov's experiences as the man who tattooed the arms of thousands of prisoners with what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is also a testament to the endurance of love and humanity under the darkest possible conditions.
People of the Book by
View our feature on Geraldine Books's People of the Book. From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March, the journey of a rare illuminated manuscript through centuries of exile and war In 1996, Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, is offered the job of a lifetime: analysis and conservation of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, which has been rescued from Serb shelling during the Bosnian war. Priceless and beautiful, the book is one of the earliest Jewish volumes ever to be illuminated with images. When Hanna, a caustic loner with a passion for her work, discovers a series of tiny artifacts in its ancient binding--an insect wing fragment, wine stains, salt crystals, a white hair--she begins to unlock the book's mysteries. The reader is ushered into an exquisitely detailed and atmospheric past, tracing the book's journey from its salvation back to its creation. In Bosnia during World War II, a Muslim risks his life to protect it from the Nazis. In the hedonistic salons of fin-de-siècle Vienna, the book becomes a pawn in the struggle against the city's rising anti-Semitism. In inquisition-era Venice, a Catholic priest saves it from burning. In Barcelona in 1492, the scribe who wrote the text sees his family destroyed by the agonies of enforced exile. And in Seville in 1480, the reason for the Haggadah's extraordinary illuminations is finally disclosed. Hanna's investigation unexpectedly plunges her into the intrigues of fine art forgers and ultra-nationalist fanatics. Her experiences will test her belief in herself and the man she has come to love. Inspired by a true story, People of the Book is at once a novel of sweeping historical grandeur and intimate emotional intensity, an ambitious, electrifying work by an acclaimed and beloved author.
Exodus by
Exodusis an international publishing phenomenon--the towering novel of the twentieth century's most dramatic geopolitical event. Leon Uris magnificently portrays the birth of a new nation in the midst of enemies--the beginning of an earthshaking struggle for power. Here is the tale that swept the world with its fury: the story of an American nurse, an Israeli freedom fighter caught up in a glorious, heartbreaking, triumphant era. Here isExodus--one of the great best-selling novels of all time. From the Paperback edition.
Wednesday the Rabbi Got Wet by 
My Name Is Asher Lev by
This novel traces the conflict that a sensitive Jewish boy experiences with his strict Orthodox beliefs.
TEDxLAHS talk given by Zack Bodner posted on the TEDxTalks YouTube Channel on April 29, 2019.
YouTube description: "Jewish identity has evolved over its 3,000 year history. Are we now in the midst of the next evolution of this ancient tradition? How will it remain meaningful, relevant, and joyous for the next millennia? Come to hear Zack Bodner, the CEO of the JCC, share his perspective. Zack Bodner joined the OFJCC as the CEO in August of 2013. Under Zack’s leadership, the JCC completed construction of the campus, transforming it into a community-gathering space where it is filled with people of all ages and backgrounds at all hours of the day. Before joining the JCC, Zack served for 14 years as the Pacific Northwest Regional Director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), where he oversaw a period of unprecedented growth in community outreach, political advocacy and fundraising."
TEDxNatick talk given by Jane Parven posted on the TEDx Talks YouTube Channel on March 14, 2018.
YouTube description: "We should all embrace our cultural and ethnic heritage like Jane Parven. With her Jewish identity as her lens, Jane looks for ways to combat hate wherever it arises and to overcome the idea of being “too small to make a difference”. A lesson for all of us, from a teenager wise beyond her years. Jane is currently a senior at Natick High School. In addition to her role as class treasurer, she is an active member of the speech team, and communications coordinator of her acapella group. Jane also enjoys cooking, yoga, and spending time with her family and friends. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community."
TEDxZuriberg talk given by Eitan Chitayat posted on the TEDxTalks YouTube Channel on September 25, 2018.
YouTube description: "In this deeply personal and inspirational talk, Creative Director Eitan Chitayat describes why he felt compelled to create “I’m that Jew” a 6-minute stereotype-defying tour de force in response to the 2015 Charlie Hebdo and kosher supermarket attacks in Paris. Upon its release, the video instantly went viral. Millions of all faiths around the world were touched by this profound yet simple reminder that we should all be able to celebrate the truth and beauty of our identity – without fear, without shame, and without apology."
TEDxYouth@AnnArbor Talk given by Laila K., Rachel R. and Yakirah M. posted on the TEDxTalks YouTube channel on August 2, 2017.
YouTube Description: "These three paint a picture of their life and the discrimination they have faced for being jewish (sic)."
TEDxSkoll talk given by Deborah Lipstadt, posted on the TED website:
From the video description: ""There are facts, there are opinions, and there are lies," says historian Deborah Lipstadt, telling the remarkable story of her research into Holocaust deniers -- and their deliberate distortion of history. Lipstadt encourages us all to go on the offensive against those who assault the truth and facts. "Truth is not relative," she says."
TEDxYouth@CPS talk given by Jasper Vyda posted on the TEDx Talks YouTube Channel on September 27, 2021.
YouTube description: "Anti-Semitism in the United States is making a disturbing contemporary resurgence. Jasper Vyda, a current student of College Prep, passionately discusses his personal experiences with Anti-Semitism, detailing the data behind its contemporary increase, and what can be done to combat it. This talk examines the fundamental intersectionality of the current fight against Anti-Semitism in the United States, and why we all have a moral responsibility to join it to protect people of all affinities at large. Anti-Semitism in the United States is making a disturbing contemporary resurgence. Jasper Vyda, a current student of College Prep, passionately discusses his personal experiences with Anti-Semitism, detailing the data behind its contemporary increase, and what can be done to combat it. This talk examines the fundamental intersectionality of the current fight against Anti-Semitism in the United States, and why we all have a moral responsibility to join it to protect people of all affinities at large. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community."
Jewish people, Jewish Thought by 
We Called Him Rabbi Abraham by
Over the course of American history, Jews have held many American leaders in high esteem, but they maintain a unique emotional bond with Abraham Lincoln. From the time of his presidency to the present day, American Jews have persistently viewed Lincoln as one of their own, casting him as a Jewish sojourner and, in certain respects, a Jewish role model. This pioneering compendium-- The first volume of annotated documents to focus on the history of Lincoln's image, influence, and reputation among American Jews-- considers how Lincoln acquired his exceptional status and how, over the past century and a half, this fascinating relationship has evolved. Organized into twelve chronological and thematic chapters, these little-known primary source documents--many never before published and some translated into English for the first time--consist of newspaper clippings, journal articles, letters, poems, and sermons, and provide insight into a wide variety of issues relating to Lincoln's Jewish connection. Topics include Lincoln's early encounters with Central European Jewish immigrants living in the Old Northwest; Lincoln's Jewish political allies; his encounters with Jews and the Jewish community as President; Lincoln's response to the Jewish chaplain controversy; General U. S. Grant's General Orders No. 11 expelling "Jews, as a class" from the Military Department of Tennessee; the question of amending the U.S. Constitution to legislate the country's so-called Christian national character; and Jewish eulogies after Lincoln's assassination. Other chapters consider the crisis of conscience that arose when President Andrew Johnson proclaimed a national day of mourning for Lincoln on the festival of Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks), a day when Jewish law enjoins Jews to rejoice and not to mourn; Lincoln's Jewish detractors contrasted to his boosters; how American Jews have intentionally "Judaized" Lincoln ever since his death; the leading role that American Jews have played in in crafting Lincoln's image and in preserving his memory for the American nation; American Jewish reflections on the question "What Would Lincoln Do?"; and how Lincoln, for America's Jewish citizenry, became the avatar of America's highest moral aspirations. With thoughtful chapter introductions that provide readers with a context for the annotated documents that follow, this volume provides a fascinating chronicle of American Jewry's unfolding historical encounter with the life and symbolic image of Abraham Lincoln, shedding light on how the cultural interchange between American ideals and Jewish traditions influences the dynamics of the American Jewish experience. Finalist, 2014 National Jewish Book Award Finalist, 2015 Ohioana Book Award
Jewish Communities on the Ohio River by
When westward expansion began in the early nineteenth century, the Jewish population of the United States was only 2,500. As Jewish immigration surged over the century between 1820 and 1920, Jews began to find homes in the Ohio River Valley. In Jewish Communities on the Ohio River, Amy Hill Shevitz chronicles the settlement and evolution of Jewish communities in small towns on both banks of the river--towns such as East Liverpool and Portsmouth, Ohio, Wheeling, West Virginia, and Madison, Indiana. Though not large, these communities influenced American culture and history by helping to develop the Ohio River Valley while transforming Judaism into an American way of life. The Jewish experience and the regional experience reflected and reinforced each other. Jews shared regional consciousness and pride with their Gentile neighbors. The antebellum Ohio River Valley's identity as a cradle of bourgeois America fit very well with the middle-class aspirations and achievements of German Jewish immigrants in particular. In these small towns, Jewish citizens created networks of businesses and families that were part of a distinctive middle-class culture. As a minority group with a vital role in each community, Ohio Valley Jews fostered religious pluralism as their contributions to local culture, economy, and civic life countered the antisemitic sentiments of the period. Jewish Communities on the Ohio River offers enlightening case studies of the associations between Jewish communities in the big cities of the region, especially Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, and the smaller river towns that shared an optimism about the Jewish future in America. Jews in these communities participated enthusiastically in ongoing dialogues concerning religious reform and unity, playing a crucial role in the development of American Judaism. The history of the Ohio River Valley includes the stories of German and East European Jewish immigrants in America, of the emergence of American Reform Judaism and the adaptation of tradition, and of small-town American Jewish culture. While relating specifically to the diversity of the Ohio River Valley, the stories of these towns illustrate themes that are central to the larger experience of Jews in America.
A rumor about the Jews: conspiracy, anti-semitism, and the Protocols of Zion by 
Jewish-Muslim relations: historical and contemporary interactions and exchanges by 
Antisemitism before and since the Holocaust: altered contexts and recent perspectives by 
Confronting Antisemitism from the Perspectives of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism by
This volume engages with antisemitic stereotypes as religious symbols that express and transmit a belief system of Jew-hatred. These religious symbols are stored in Christian, Muslim and even today's secular cultural and religious memories. This volume explores how antisemitic religious symbol systems can play a key role in the construction of group identities.
Judaism, Antisemitism, and Holocaust by
In this book, David Patterson offers original insights into the dynamics that underlie the phenomenon of endemic antisemitism, arguing that in all its manifestations, antisemitism is fundamentally anti-Judaism. Structured in a unique matrix of chapters that are linked historically and theoretically, his book elucidates the interconnections that tie antisemitism with the Holocaust, as well as the Judaism that the Nazis sought to obliterate from the world. As Patterson demonstrates this is an ongoing effort and is the basis of today's antisemitism. Spelling out the historical, theological, and philosophical viewpoints that led to the Holocaust and that are with us even now, he offers insights into the basis of the hatred of Jews that permeates much of today's world. Patterson here addresses the 'big questions' that define our humanity. His volume is written for those who wish to have a deeper understanding of both the history and the current manifestations of Antisemitism.
