Since the horrors of October 7, TBE has been sharing articles and videos to help you understand what’s happening in Israel. Although the current situation has been prominent in everyone’s mind, Israel is hardly defined by it.

Which got me thinking—what could we share about the history and culture of Israel that doesn’t directly relate to current events? What kind of content might provide both a deeper understanding of the country, the people, and their culture while also providing a break from constant news updates and doomscrolling?

So I spent an afternoon asking clergy, educators, and staff what their favorite books about Israel were. Below is a curated list of the answers I received. You’ll find fiction and nonfiction next to poetry and cookbooks. I hope that you’ll find something that helps you connect more deeply to Israel.

 

• The Bus Driver Who Wanted To Be God & Other Stories by Etgar Keret | “Brief, intense, painfully funny, and shockingly honest, Etgar Keret’s stories are snapshots that illuminate with intelligence and with the hidden truths of life.”
• The Best Place on Earth: Stories by Ayelet Tsabari | “These eleven spellbinding stories often focus on Israel’s Mizrahi Jews, featuring mothers and children, soldiers and bohemians, lovers and best friends, all searching for their place in the world.”
• Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor by Yossi Klein Halevi | “Attempting to break the agonizing impasse between Israelis and Palestinians, the author directly addresses his Palestinian neighbors in this taut and provocative book.”
• Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth by Noa Tishby | “Through bite-sized chunks of history and deeply personal stories, Tishby chronicles her homeland’s evolution, beginning in Biblical times and moving forward.”
• Israel: An Echo of Eternity by Abraham Joshua Heschel | “Israel is a personal challenge, a personal religious issue. We are God’s stake in human history. We are the dawn and the dusk, the challenge and the test.”
• Tel Aviv: Food. People. Stories. A Culinary Journey by Haya Molcho & Nuriel Molcho | “Successful restaurateurs Haya Molcho and her four sons take us on a journey to meet Tel Aviv’s local chefs and story-tellers, capturing the special spirit of the city’s many cuisines and inhabitants.”
• Poems of Jerusalem by Yehuda Amichai | “In this anthology by the Israeli poet, Jerusalem dominates as Amichai delights in contrasting the city’s religious imagery with the mundane concerns of daily life therein.”
• Sababa: Fresh, Sunny Flavors From My Israeli Kitchen: A Cookbook by Adeena Sussman | “In an Israeli cookbook as personal as it is global, Adeena Sussman celebrates the tableau of flavors the region has to offer, in all its staggering and delicious variety”