“The greatest mystery in people’s lives is their children.” —The Wolf Hunt

Acclaimed Israeli author and clinical psychologist Ayelet Gundar-Goshen’s fifth novel, The Wolf Hunt, is a tense and riveting thriller that centers around one essential question: was the son of an Israeli family living in California involved in the tragic death of a classmate? The book follows that family as they grapple with racism and antisemitism and what it means to be foreigners living in the United States. The timely and important novel, which touches on parenting and motherhood, displacement and masculinity, also asks a follow-up question: How well do people know those closest to them?

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Join us on Thursday, February 22 at 7 pm PT/ 10 pm ET for the inaugural In-Person One Book, One Hadassah, Hadassah Magazine’s popular book series, with acclaimed Israeli author Ayelet Gundar-Goshen.

She will travel from her home in Tel Aviv to discuss her new book, The Wolf Hunt, with Hadassah Magazine Executive Editor Lisa Hostein. The Wolf Hunt follows an Israeli family in California grappling with antisemitism and what it means to be an Israeli living in America. Gundar-Goshen, a psychologist as well as a writer, will also share her experiences with the current situation in Israel.

All Hadassah members, their family and friends, and the local Jewish and Israeli community in the LA area are invited to attend this premiere event. For those unable to attend in person, the event will be available in a livestream via Zoom at 7 pm Pacific Time (registration still required to receive the Zoom link).

Register Now

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Local book groups are a vital part of Hadassah for many members. If your chapter doesn’t already have one, now’s the time to start! We encourage groups to have their own discussions about The Wolf Hunt before or after watching the interview with the author. To facilitate those discussions, we present the following discussion guide.

1. The opening scenes of The Wolf Hunt features a description of an attack on a local synagogue. In what way does this attack set the rest of the plot in motion? What effect, if any, does this attack have on the outlook and actions of the characters in the book? Compare how the Israelis and the Americans react to the attack. Which reactions do you best relate to? How do fears of antisemitism motivate the different characters throughout the novel?

2. Discuss Lilach Schuster’s integration into American society. Does Lilach, who was born in Israel, ever view herself as anything other than an outsider? What about her son, Adam, and her husband, Mikhael? Are they outsiders to the culture they live in? What are some of the differences that Lilach perceives between Israeli and American society, especially in her comparison between her own American-born son and her Israeli nephews?

3. The entire novel is told from Lilach’s perspective. Do you think she is a reliable narrator? What are your feelings about her relationship with her son? Do you think she trusts him? How does their relationship evolve throughout the novel? Discuss the actions she takes to investigate her son’s role in the death of his schoolmate Jamal. Do you think they are appropriate?

4. Adam’s participation in a self-defense class given by Uri, another Israeli living in the California, has a deep impact on him. Does the class have a positive or negative on Adam? What do you make of Uri’s training exercises? What do you think about the motto of the class, “If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first,” and its connection to Jewish and Israeli history? Why are the teens in Uri’s class so infatuated with him?

5. Lilach shares the story of how Mikhael’s parents came to adopt him and says that she “thought there was not one story here, but two.” What does she mean by this? Discuss Mikhael as he is seen through Lilach’s eyes. Do you think he is a loving husband and a good father? Why do you think he and Uri bond so quickly?

6. What do you think about Uri? How does your view of his actions and motivations change throughout the book?

7. The Wolf Hunt was originally published in Israel well before the events of October 7. How do you think the various characters would have reacted to the Hamas terror attacks? Would Mikhael have returned to Israel to join his reserves unit? What about Lilach? Would she have stayed in the United States with her son? What other elements of the book would have changed if it had taken place post-October 7?

8. Examine Mikhael and Lilach’s contrasting responses to Adam being bullied. (Lilach asks, “Would you rather see him biting them?” and Mikhael answers, “No question about it. Don’t tell me you’d rather see him being the victim?”) Do you agree with Mikhael or Lilach about the dynamics of victim and oppressor in life? Is there another possible option other than those two? Does Lilach and Mikhael’s conversation reflect the discourse around the oppressor-victim binary happening today?

9. The tensions and issues around parenting and the role of mothers are embodied by various characters in the book, including Lilach, Annabelle, Mikhael’s mother and Lilach’s mother. How are they different or similar in their parenting choices and connection with their children? Are Lilach’s interactions and understanding of her son any different from that of the typical American parent?

10. Lilach and Dwayne, a resident at the senior center where Lilach works, discuss Jamal’s death and the response to it several times. At some point, he says, “The dead boy’s mother, she was born in America and she’ll die here, but I’m telling you, you’re more a part of this place than she’ll ever be.” What does he mean by this? Do you agree with him? Do you think that Jamal’s mother, Annabelle, would agree with Dwayne? What do you believe his statement says about the perception of Jews in America?

11. Why does Lilach tell Uri the story of her first failed pregnancy, which occurred back when she was and Mikhael were living in Israel? How might this experience, and her family and friends’ reaction to it, have shaped other decisions Lilach makes? Discuss how this experience impacted her views of her native country.

12. Author Ayelet Gundar-Goshen uses the metaphor of the wolf and the sheep throughout the book. Who or what do they represent, and how does that change over the course of the novel? Who did you see as the wolf and the sheep by the end?

13. Why do think Gundar-Goshen leaves many mysteries unresolved? What do you think actually happened between Jamal and Adam? What do you think the author is saying in the conclusion, in relation to Adam’s trip abroad?