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One Book, One Jewish Community

One Book, One Jewish Community engages readers from across Greater Philadelphia in books that speak to diverse aspects of Jewish identity and community. One Book, which launched in 2006 as an initiative of Jewish Outreach Partnership (now Jewish Learning Venture) has been led by Gratz College since 2019.

Each year, the One Book committee carefully selects a book to share across the Greater Philadelphia community. The year-long programming connected to the annual book selection gives thousands of individuals varied opportunities to learn about new Jewish authors; explore Jewish culture, and share the joy of reading with others in our community. A list of selections from past years can be found here

 

The One Book, One Jewish Community Book selection for 2023-2024:

Book Cover: Israel by Noa Tishby

Israel: A Simple Guide to The Most Misunderstood Country on Earth by Noa Tishby

Israel. The small strip of arid land is 5,700 miles away but remains a hot-button issue and a thorny topic of debate. But while everyone seems to have a strong opinion about Israel, how many people actually know the facts?

Here to fill in the information gap is Israeli American Noa Tishby. But “this is not your Bubbie’s history book” (Bill Maher, host of Real Time with Bill Maher). Instead, offering a fresh, 360-degree view, Tishby brings her “passion, humor, and deep intimacy” (Yossi Klein Halevi, New York Times bestselling author of Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor) to the subject, creating an accessible and dynamic portrait of a tiny country of outsized relevance. Through bite-sized chunks of history and deeply personal stories, Tishby chronicles her homeland’s evolution, beginning in Biblical times and moving forward to cover everything from WWI to Israel’s creation to the disputes dividing the country today. Tackling popular misconceptions with an abundance of facts, Tishby provides critical context around headline-generating controversies and offers a clear, intimate account of the richly cultured country of Israel.

Are you interested in hosting a One Book program or have an idea for one? Contact Rabbi Daniel Levitt at dlevitt@gratz.edu.

Single Hero Image interior pages

Alice Hoffman siting for an interview about her book