The Times of Israel https://www.timesofisrael.com/writers/renee-ghert-zand/ News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World Mon, 06 Jul 2026 03:11:05 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://static-cdn.toi-media.com/www/uploads/2018/11/toi_icon_512-200x200.png Renee Ghert-Zand | The Times of Israel https://www.timesofisrael.com/writers/renee-ghert-zand/ 32 32 Entebbe raid’s unsung hero gets limelight in new documentary 50 years later https://www.timesofisrael.com/entebbe-raids-unsung-hero-gets-limelight-in-new-documentary-50-years-later/ Sat, 20 Jun 2026 06:16:25 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3844631 Filmmaker Boaz Dvir makes case that rescue operation would not have been possible without key role played by French-Jewish hostage — and would-be assassin of a Nazi — Michel Cojot

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]]> New biography hits the high and low notes of Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim’s life https://www.timesofisrael.com/new-biography-hits-the-high-and-low-notes-of-broadway-legend-stephen-sondheims-life/ Sat, 23 May 2026 08:52:23 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3805513 Author Daniel Okrent doesn't miss a beat analyzing the music, lyrics -- and complicated personality -- of the extremely secular Jewish maverick who revolutionized American musical theater

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]]> Avenging angel risked her life to try to save Warsaw’s Jews — and lived to write about it https://www.timesofisrael.com/avenging-angel-risked-her-life-to-try-to-save-warsaws-jews-and-lived-to-write-about-it/ Tue, 14 Apr 2026 05:48:06 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3797701 Updated English translation of Vladka Meed's 1948 Yiddish memoir, 'On Both Sides of the Wall,' breathes new life into her experiences with the Jewish resistance against the Nazis

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]]> In glitzy interwar Warsaw, truth meets fiction as 2 young women hunt for missing mentor https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-glitzy-interwar-warsaw-truth-meets-fiction-as-2-young-women-hunt-for-their-missing-mentor/ Tue, 07 Apr 2026 16:48:35 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3791116 In 'The Last Woman of Warsaw,' out April 7, author Judy Batalion shows the Jewish diversity of the cosmopolitan city as an odd couple sets out to solve a mystery

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]]> Certain death, small chance of success: The pre-state parachuters who jumped into Nazi Europe https://www.timesofisrael.com/certain-death-small-chance-of-success-the-pre-state-parachuters-who-jumped-into-nazi-europe/ Tue, 24 Mar 2026 14:56:23 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3781274 Matti Friedman's new book, 'Out of the Sky,' breathes life into British intelligence operatives who became Zionist heroes despite -- or because of -- failing at their real mission

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]]> For generations of Judy Blume fans, long-awaited biography does not disappoint https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-generations-of-judy-blume-fans-long-awaited-biography-does-not-disappoint/ Sat, 21 Mar 2026 15:09:14 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3778578 Realistic kids' and teen fiction pioneer introduced readers to relatable characters and plots, not to mention unforgettable lines like, 'We must, we must, we must increase our bust!'

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]]> In WWII, legendary Jewish partisan ‘Uncle Misha’ took out Nazis while carrying a tune https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-wwii-legendary-jewish-partisan-uncle-misha-took-out-nazis-while-carrying-a-tune/ Wed, 28 Jan 2026 06:03:46 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3737261 New book 'Partisan Song' packs an action-filled punch as it tells the story of Moshe Gildenman, a nearly-forgotten Jewish guerrilla warfare leader against the Nazis in Ukraine

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]]> How the Yiddish-speaking Jews of Europe had themselves a merry little Nittel Nacht https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-the-yiddish-speaking-jews-of-europe-had-themselves-a-merry-little-nittel-nacht/ Tue, 23 Dec 2025 18:30:54 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3715846 A new book explores how, contrary to popular belief, Christmas was a festive time for Jewish men, who took time off from Torah study to play cards and games

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]]> 1.5 million Jews took up arms against the Nazis. One was this author’s grandfather https://www.timesofisrael.com/1-5-million-jews-took-up-arms-against-the-nazis-one-was-this-authors-grandfather/ Mon, 24 Nov 2025 13:44:40 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3679269 Journalist Aron Heller's quest to learn about his grandfather's military service leads him to a wider view of Jews' contributions in World War II and the establishment of Israel

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]]> Journalist thought her Israeli freedom-fighter mother hid something big. She was right https://www.timesofisrael.com/journalist-thought-her-israeli-freedom-fighter-mother-hid-something-big-she-was-right/ Sat, 02 Aug 2025 10:45:22 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3608267 In 'My Underground Mother,' premiering at the SF Jewish Film Festival, Marisa Fox grapples with her Polish-born mother's motives for keeping secrets and hiding her true identity

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]]> The sole Jewish-Japanese family in American WWII internment camps faced antisemitism https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-sole-jewish-japanese-family-in-american-wwii-internment-camps-faced-antisemitism/ Sun, 27 Jul 2025 22:10:24 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3604512 New book delves into how, fearing a fifth column following Pearl Harbor, the Roosevelt government incarcerated 120,000 on the West Coast, two-thirds of them US citizens, up to four years

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]]> Netflix tells tale of 7 siblings who miraculously survived the Holocaust to restart life in US https://www.timesofisrael.com/netflix-tells-tale-of-7-siblings-who-miraculously-survived-the-holocaust-to-restart-life-in-us/ Wed, 23 Apr 2025 23:22:51 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3519100 Now streaming, 'UnBroken' illuminates story of the Webers, who lived in hiding on a German farm for two years -- only to be cruelly separated upon arrival in America

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]]> Clothing historian stitches together Holocaust history by focusing on ‘women’s work’ https://www.timesofisrael.com/clothing-historian-stitches-together-holocaust-history-by-focusing-on-womens-work/ Wed, 23 Apr 2025 04:59:57 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3519905 Nonfiction 'Four Red Sweaters' tells wartime stories of four young Jewish women while examining larger questions such as Nazis' circular economy and perpetrator psychology

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]]> In Nazi-occupied French Alps, a doctor risked death to save a Jewish girl. Why didn’t others? https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-nazi-occupied-french-alps-a-doctor-risked-death-to-save-a-jewish-girl-why-didnt-others/ Tue, 25 Mar 2025 03:44:20 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3458023 Newly published 'Two Sisters' is a family memoir that goes back and forth in time to examine motivations for resistance and questions of morality in Vichy France

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]]> From radical drag queen to rabbi, film depicts journey of a Jewish law breaker https://www.timesofisrael.com/from-radical-drag-queen-to-rabbi-film-depicts-journey-of-a-jewish-law-breaker/ Sat, 08 Feb 2025 00:46:26 +0000 https://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=3464045 'Sabbath Queen' follows gay scion of rabbinic dynasty Amichai Lau-Lavie for two decades as he challenges traditional Judaism's norms and becomes a respected communal leader

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