Books published by Gefen Publishing House

When veteran broadcaster Sara Manobla represented Israel at an international conference of journalists in Moscow in 1977, little did she realize that her contact with the Jews of the Soviet Union would become the start of her own voyage of self-discovery.

Judaism today is radically different from the Judaism described and mandated in the Torah, writes Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin, a noted authority on Jewish life, history and thought. Around the time of the destruction of the Temple, rabbinic reinterpretation changed both the observance and the religious significance attributed to the festivals. Thus, the biblical day of Passover on Nissan 14 was totally eliminated and the seven-day holiday called the Festival of Matzot, beginning Nissan 15, was renamed Passover. Likewise, the biblical holidays Yom Teruah and Yom Hakippurim were transformed into Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The practice of building huts during Sukkot is likely more tied to the lack of lodging space in Jerusalem during the harvest festival than any biblical origin, says the rabbi.This book challenges some of the basic assumptions about Judaism, showing how many of them are nowhere to be found in the Hebrew Bible, and some even have their origins in pagan cultures. It will surprise readers to hear, for example, about bizarre wedding practices, the Queen of Sheba myths, or the fact that classical religious sources are not always right. At its core, , the book stridently challenges discriminatory practices against women, such as the seclusion of women during religious services and the problem of the aguna, women held in failed marriages by husbands who will not provide a religious divorce.. With topics spanning the range of religious practice, Mysteries of Judaism will astonish and enlighten readers as it reveals the complex relationship between biblical and rabbinic Judaism.

Original painter and set designer, throughout his career David Sharir has creatively combined painting and theater. Now the public can enjoy the artist s entire collection of interpretive paintings on the psalms, beautifully showcased in this stunning book. An intriguing blend of straightforward meaning and artistic exegesis, Sharir s paintings produce fascinating interpretations of the psalms poignant scenes.

Israel has won its wars, or at the very least, stopped its destruction by the opposing Arab armies. However, in another war, the war of words (i.e. hasbara), Israel is in serious trouble. No government of Israel has been able to handle hasbara properly, and that is the aim of this book. In a discussion between American President Jimmy Carter and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Begin said that (The Hashemite Kingdom of) Jordan had been a part of the Palestine Mandate. Carter turned to his foreign policy advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski for corroboration, and Brzezinski confirmed Begin's statement. Additionally, Jordan presently has seventy-nine per cent of that mandate which stated that it was to become the Jewish homeland. Why isn't this point emphasized more? The Golan Heights, which the Syrians claim as theirs was also a part of the Palestine Mandate, but was given away to the then-French Mandate for Syria. British' Lord Carradon, the major drafter of United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, has stated more than once that no one expects Israel to go back to the 1967 border, yet Carradon's name, and his statement never appear in Israeli hasbara efforts. The Fourth Geneva Convention, frequently alluded to as prohibiting Israeli settlement in areas captured in the Six Day War, has absolutely no applicability to this situation, yet nobody ever discusses that. King David purchased the Temple Mount as an everlasting possession of the Jewish people, and this is never mentioned.

My father's personality was shaped by his struggle to survive, and his soul was tortured because he could have tried to save his family, but he did not. But there were ways to avenge their deaths.

Seventh printing includes more gangsters! Newly footnoted and expanded bibliography! New FBI documents! More detailed information about the alleged plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler! Gangsters dealt with in this book include Louis Lepke Buchalter, Benjamin Bugsy Siegel, Arthur Dutch Schultz Flegenheimer, Meyer The Little Man Lansky, Chalie King Solomon, Max Boo Boo Hoff and Abner Longy Zwillman. Over 10,000 sold. Also available in Hebrew.

This is an anthology of Another Tack columns which originally saw light in recent years on the weekend pages of the Jerusalem Post, where they have been a regular weekly feature since 1999. These columns have gained an extraordinarily popular following, with many readers turning to Another Tack before perusing the rest of the paper. Their basic concept is to truly follow another tack and approach current events from novel directions and uncommon points of view. Thereby Another Tack often flies hard in the face of the prevailing bon ton and debunks conventional wisdom, the diktats of opinion-molders and trendy groupthink. This is primarily achieved by contextualization, by placing controversies and issues in their historical contexts and refreshing the readers memories, encouraging them to consider what the tendentious media often prefers they sideline or forget outright. Another Tack s readers are never spoon fed; they are challenged. The contextual backdrop may include historical references, cultural, political, and even meanderings into the realms of the arts, folklore, religion, showbiz, humor, philosophy, psychology and much more. All sorts of unexpected allusions and anecdotes may crop up in Another Tack. The final product is laced with wit and irony, kowtowing to no one but invariably expressing deep love for the Jewish people.

From pre-Hitler Germany to Kristallnacht, a lastminute escape from the Holocaust, and on to a life on three continents, this book catalogs the experiences of one Jewish family as the events of the twentieth century overturned its settled existence and scattered the family across the globe. Enhanced by excerpts from several historical diaries, and lavishly illustrated with photographs and maps, this personal history of triumph despite persecution is a microcosm of the life of the Jewish people.

This guide, based on first-hand, day-by-day survival of over three decades in Israel, will help you to first understand, then gradually accept, and eventually almost conform to the Israeli mentality, which in turn will enable you to first look like, then gradually behave like, and eventually almost become a real Israeli. With tongue firmly in cheek, the author takes some affectionate, punning jabs at his adoptive homeland's language, people, lifestyle, and land.

Did you know that the great Jewish sage and physician Maimonides practiced medicine while lying flat on his back? That a famous passage penned by George Washington was actually the work of a rabbi? That a Jewish athlete represented Nazi Germany in its infamous 1936 Olympic Games?

Of all the personalities associated with Anne Frank, the most important figure, without whom Anne Frank would never have been able to write her diary, is perhaps the least known. He is Victor Kugler, the Mr. Kraler of the diary. The principal business partner of Otto Frank, Victor Kugler assumed managerial control of the Frank's Amsterdam spice-importing business when Nazi persecution forced the Frank family into hiding. It was Victor Kugler who kept the business going and obtained food rations under what was the harshest German wartime occupation in all of Western Europe. Without Victor Kugler, Anne Frank and her family would have starved to death a month after going into hiding. For this heroism, Victor Kugler himself was arrested and sent to a series of German labor camps in Holland where he survived by his wits and finally escaped a few weeks before the end of the war. Several years after the end of the war, when the Dutch spice business collapsed following the Indonesian revolution that nationalized Dutch holdings, Victor Kugler emigrated to Toronto, Canada. There, he led a quiet life where nobody knew who he was and what he had done during the war. Only twenty years later he began to reveal his story. The modern-day saga of this Righteous Gentile, who was honored as such at Israel s Yad Vashem Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority, is told here in semi-documentary style, largely in his own words as told to Torontonian Eda Shapiro, herself of Eastern European Jewish background; and by many others who knew him, as compiled by well-known Toronto writer-journalist Rick Kardonne.

The memories of David Shachar are a journey through the tunnel of time: from wanderings in Poland to the life of a refugee in World War II, and on to a soldier's life fighting the Nazis. After the war, while studying radio electronics in Paris, David cut his studies short and came to Israel to fight in the War of Independence.

Portrait tells the true story of Rita Kasimow Brown's experience of hiding in an underground pit from the Nazi death hunt.