Board of Deputies CEO addresses UK antisemitism emergency
Michael Wegier, CEO of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, tells the Jerusalem Report the community is frustrated with slow government action on policing and prosecution amid a wave of attacks on Jewish targets. The 265-year-old body representing 275,000 Jews publicly clashed with Labour over unconditional recognition of Palestinian statehood. A Labour minister was booed at a recent community rally.
How war reshaped Israel's defense-tech boom
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Aurelius Capital, co-founded by Alon Lifshitz with former NSA director Michael Rogers, ex-IAF commander Amir Eshel, and former Mossad deputy Udi Lavi, came out of stealth in October. The fund will deploy 70% of capital in Israeli firms and 30% in US companies, with three investments already completed including LA-based space-tech firm Outpost.
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Jewish writers are being pushed out of publishing
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Antisemitism in the literary world long predates October 7, but writers say it has grown "more pervasive, visible, and virulent" since. The Jewish Book Council has received over 400 reports. Yet explicitly Zionist memoirs are topping bestseller lists.
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Antisemitism often hides behind anti-Israel views
Michael Wegier, challenges the conflation of British Jews with the Israeli government. No one holds Chinese communities responsible for the Uyghurs, or Sudanese communities for Sudan's war. Yet Jewish communities worldwide are treated as proxies for Israel — a double standard he calls doubly outrageous.
IDF Spokesperson’s Unit reservist chronicles Israel's digital war
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Rachel Lester, a former lone soldier and IDF Spokesperson's Unit reservist, served six months in reserves after October 7, fighting what she calls "the digital war." Her forthcoming book, Digital Warrior, draws on daily WhatsApp dispatches sent to 60 people during 12-hour shifts. The manuscript breaks down moments like the Al-Ahli Hospital explosion, later confirmed as a misfired Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket.
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Two books reveal post-October 7 American publishing divide
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Author Lihi Lapid published two books in the US over two years with starkly different receptions. Her first, On Her Own (HarperCollins), launched during the early Gaza war – no Manhattan bookstore would host her. Her second, I Wanted To Be Wonderful (Zibby Publishing), marketed to Jewish communities, hit USA Today's bestseller list within a week.
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October 7 forced Israelis and diaspora Jews to rethink each other
For years, both sides kept their distance – Israelis felt self-sufficient, diaspora Jews felt detached. After October 7, that changed. The mutual need became undeniable, and every show of support – every visit, every post – landed like an embrace.
Author details quiet boycotts of Israel-themed books
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Journalist Aron Heller spent a decade pitching Zaidy's Band: The Untold Stories of a Jewish Band of Brothers in World War II before The University of Toronto Press published it on November 11, 2025, through its New Jewish Press imprint. Heller writes that Canadian museums, universities, and mainstream outlets met his book with silence, while Indigo bookstore visits felt clandestine after pro-Palestinian protests targeted CEO Heather Reisman over her ties to Israel.
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A 300-page report exposes Hamas's crimes against women
More than two years after October 7, a Civil Commission published its landmark report documenting Hamas's systematic use of rape, sexual violence, and a newly coined concept – "kinocide" – the deliberate targeting of families. Commission chair Cochav Elkayam-Levy calls it "a watershed moment" that means these crimes can no longer be denied.
Jewish authors face rising rejection in the publishing world
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This edition of The Jerusalem Report examines how writers in Israel and abroad have encountered antisemitism in the literary world, especially since October 7, 2023. Contributors include Lihi Lapid, Aron Heller, and Ryan Craig, alongside profiles of emerging voices, Holocaust memory features, and analysis on Lebanon, Hezbollah, and Iran-Qatar regional rivalry.
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We cannot prevent what we refuse to acknowledge
A report on Oct. 7 sexual violence describes it as "sexual terror of exceptional cruelty." Perpetrators filmed and glorified the crimes, including footage of Shani Louk being taken into Gaza. Experts warn that terrorist organizations are now taking inspiration from these tactics.
No Manhattan bookstore would host Israeli author Lapid
HarperCollins spent three months searching for a Manhattan bookstore willing to host Lihi Lapid's book launch and signing, but none agreed. The Israeli author, whose book was released May 24, attributes the refusals to her nationality and ties to Israeli politics, saying stores feared demonstrations and damage to their property.
