From Love to Loss and Back Again: The Tragic Story of Israeli Poet Tuvia Ruebner
Sensitive, knowledgeable and easy to read aloud, Rachel Tzvia Back’s English translations of the later works of the Israel Prize laureate are a pleasure to read
Hebrew poetry
Reviving Israel's Great Poet Haim Gouri: 'Seeing and Hearing, With No Option but to Speak Out'
The family of one of Israel’s most formative poets, the late Haim Gouri, tell how they prepared his last book of poems for publication, two years after his passing
Lost Anne Frank Poem to Be Auctioned
A poem Anne Frank wrote at the age of 12 in the album of the older sister of her close school friend will be going on auction in Holland shortly.
Nachum Heiman Recalled by Colleagues as Fountainhead of Israeli Song-writing
Israel Prize winner, who died Wednesday, composed more than 1,000 songs.
The Story Behind the Most Influential Newspaper Column in Israel's History
An intimate conversation with the leaders of the Jewish militias on the night that the UN announced the partition of Palestine inspired Natan Alterman to write the quintessential poem of bereavement and resurrection.
Poem of the Week The Passover Story as a Nursery Rhyme, With a Jewish National Message
An early 20th century poem by Kadish Yehuda Silman, a Hebrew-language pioneer, tells the story of Moses in the ark.
The Ambiguous Sexual Identity and Brutal Murder of a Hebrew Cultural Icon
A new documentary sheds light on the life and death of Yosef Haim Brenner, one of Hebrew literature's greatest icons.
Yitzhak Laor to Sue National Lottery for Canceling NIS 100,000 Poetry Prize
Laor’s lawyers say Mifal Hapayis violated the prize rules and exceeded its authority in revoking the prize due to allegations of sexual harassment against Laor.
Poem of the Week / Who Is Kafka? Who Is Anyone?
Asher Reich on who did what to whom.
A Short History of Hebrew Literature, From Genesis to Etgar Keret
It's Hebrew Book Week, and the perfect time to glance back at Hebrew writing from biblical times to the post-modernist escapists.
The Racism Underneath the Stereotype of the Israeli Bimbo
Thirty-five years after Ofra Haza sang 'Frecha,' Channel 2 is airing a new series 'Amamiyot.' Has anything changed?
Israelis Used to Be Hebrews, Now What Are We?
More than six decades after their state was founded, Israelis still grapple with their identity.
Zap! Bang! Boom! Israeli Comics Pioneers Launch Kids' Books Line
Rutu Modan and Yirmi Pinkus bring their flair for the graphic to a new children's publishing house, Noah's Library.
'In the Vast Fields of the Soul'
On the moving collaboration between composer Mark Kopytam and singer Mira Zakai in their work on a cantata for voice and chamber ensemble, based on a poem by Yehuda Amichai.
Poem of the Week / Tuvia Ruebner Confronts the Angel of History
Rachel Tzvia Back talks about the picture behind the poem and about translating Ruebner.
The Kitsch Command: The IDF in Defense of Israel’s Image
Whether stopping soldiers from reciting poetry or hosting a PM who brags of his defense-mindedness, the Israeli army is embarrassing us.
IDF Brigade Refuses to Let Soldier Read Poetry on the Radio So as Not to Ruin 'Fighter's Image'
Israel's army, once known for holding poetry writing contests, today seems less keen on promoting the art within its ranks; soldier en route to read his poems on Army Radio ordered to refrain from participating.
Poem of the Week / 'Cain Is Still Murdering His Brother'
Asher Reich looks at the Bible both as a boy and a man.
The Chabadnik Who Became Czarist Russia's Chief Censor for Jewish Writings
When the pogroms started in czarist Russia, the man in charge of overseeing Jewish writings was an apostate rabbi. The contradictions hit an apogee when Haim Nahman Bialik tried to publish an iconic poem.
This Day in Jewish History 1858: Hebrew's Reviver Is Born
Born Eliezer Yitzhak Perelman, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda is known as the father of modern Hebrew, having revived the ancient language for life in the Jewish national home.
Word of the Day / Halakh Le’olamo
The language of Hebrew media turns the idea of an eternal resting place into a concept that is out of this world.
Panel Names Winners of Top Israeli Poetry Prize
Prof. Haviva Pedaya, Mois Ben Harash to be awarded the Yehuda Amichai Prize for Hebrew Poetry, with a purse of NIS 30,000.