The story of Purim—with its fairy-tale rendering of a rebellious queen and the beautiful Jewish woman who takes her place, of a king who is

FILMS Bethlehem Israel’s entry in the 2014 Oscar competition for best foreign-language film, this nail-biter on the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians—and Palestinian factions—pits Shin

NONFICTION My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel by Ari Shavit. (Spiegel & Grau, 464 pp. $28) On my first trip to Israel, as

On a blustery December day, I stand with 100 Jews of Iraqi descent at Section Five Block Two of the New Montefiore Cemetery in West

After his book, My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel, was published, it sparked popular discussions and Israeli author and journalist Ari Shavit could

The most mysterious country in Europe—which celebrates its 100th anniversary of independence this year—is a place of dramatic extremes. Cut off from the Western world