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A nonprofit, independent news source to inform, inspire, educate and connect the St. Louis Jewish community.

St. Louis Jewish Light

A nonprofit, independent news source to inform, inspire, educate and connect the St. Louis Jewish community.

St. Louis Jewish Light

A nonprofit, independent news source to inform, inspire, educate and connect the St. Louis Jewish community.

St. Louis Jewish Light

Jewish Books

Washington University professor Henry Schvey is the author of “Blue Song: St. Louis in the Life and Work of Tennessee Williams.”

Jewish WashU professor literally wrote the book on Tennessee Williams, whose festival kicks off in STL next week

Published August 11, 2022

The Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis (TWStL) returns for its seventh year, giving center stage to a newly reimagined and sensual Fellini-esque production of William’s romantic Sicilian love story The Rose Tattoo, directed by David Kaplan and performed...

Evading American and Israeli authorities, did Josef Mengele ever face justice?

By Julia M. Klein, The ForwardPublished August 8, 2022
A new novel considers the postwar history of the notorious Nazi physician.
The story of the ‘Inca Jews’ is finally being told

The story of the ‘Inca Jews’ is finally being told

PHILISSA CRAMER, JTAPublished August 5, 2022

(JTA) — The 1981 winner of Peru’s competition of Israel’s International Bible Contest did not come from among the country’s many devoted Christians nor from Lima’s elite Jewish school. Instead, the top prize went to Victor Chico, a self-taught...

Melissa Bank, bestselling author of modern Jewish heroines, dies at 61

Melissa Bank, bestselling author of modern Jewish heroines, dies at 61

ANDREW LAPIN, JTAPublished August 4, 2022

(JTA) – Melissa Bank, whose stories of flawed, funny Jewish heroines searching for love and fulfillment won over readers’ hearts around the world, died Tuesday at age 61 of lung cancer. Bank’s publisher, Penguin, confirmed her death in a statement....

Actress Selma Blair reflects on her health, her career and on being Jewish

By Curt Schleier, The ForwardPublished August 2, 2022

Actress Selma Blair’s new autobiography, “Mean Baby” is a brutally honest, sometimes perplexing, account of a difficult life that included a strong Jewish upbringing. Born in Southfield, Michigan, to a Christian mother and Jewish father, Blair...

Jewish superhero Liberty hunts antisemites in new comics anthology

Jewish superhero Liberty hunts antisemites in new comics anthology

Jacob Henry, New York Jewish WeekPublished August 2, 2022

(New York Jewish Week) — Daniel Kalban is a 35-year-old law firm assistant who lives in Flatbush, Brooklyn. But when he’s not working his day job, he moonlights as a comic book writer, in a sort of double-life scenario that’s reminiscent of the...

Best-selling annotated version of Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ available online for free

TOBY AXELROD, JTAPublished July 29, 2022

BERLIN (JTA) — The German research institute that published an annotated scholarly version of “Mein Kampf,” which sold tens of thousands of copies and drew criticism from Jewish leaders on its release in 2016, has put a free and searchable version...

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine will keynote 2022 Jewish Book Festival

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine will keynote 2022 Jewish Book Festival

Published July 22, 2022

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch will be the keynote author kicking off the 2022 St. Louis Jewish Book Festival. The Jewish Community Center will host the 44th annual book festival from Nov. 6-13. At 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6, Yovanovitch...

Monsters are everywhere in the Bible – and some are even human

Madadh Richey, Brandeis UniversityPublished July 15, 2022

What is a “monster”? For most Americans, this word sparks images of haunted houses and horror movies: scary creations, neither human nor animal, and usually evil. But it can be helpful to think about “monsters” beyond these knee-jerk images....

Historian takes deep look into friends, foes of Israel’s independence

Historian takes deep look into friends, foes of Israel’s independence

BY ROBERT A. COHN, Editor-in-Chief EmeritusPublished July 14, 2022

The modern Jewish state of Israel marked its recent 74th anniversary of independence in a subdued and troubled mood. Israel’s fragile-year-old coalition had lost its one-vote majority in the Knesset. Israeli nationalists encountered violent Palestinian...

Jewish-themed mystery novels give you cases to crack this summer

Jewish-themed mystery novels give you cases to crack this summer

BY HOWARD FREEDMAN, Special For The Jewish LightPublished July 12, 2022

For many of us, summer reading involves books that engage us but don’t feel like work to get through. One genre that frequently fits the bill is mystery. Cases in point: two new Jewish-flavored mystery novels. Matt Goldman is known for his...

Exclusive interview with Jason Kander before his sold-out event at the J

Exclusive interview with Jason Kander before his sold-out event at the J

By Bill Motchan, Special to the Jewish LightPublished July 10, 2022

In his new book, “Invisible Storm: A Soldier’s Memoir of Politics and PTSD,” former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander shares his struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts following his service in Afghanistan. On July 14, the JCC...

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