National Library of Israel

Amir Harash wins Sapir Prize for 2025; Roni Partchek takes debut award

Harash received the top honor at a ceremony held at the National Library of Israel, which hosted the prize event as part of celebrations marking 25 years since the award’s founding. 

|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
From right: 2025 Sapir Prize debut winner Roni Partchek, honored for her novel “Sitara,” with Mifal HaPais CEO Adv. Beni Dreyfus, judging committee chair Dr. Ruth Calderon, Mifal HaPais board chair Itzik Lari, and 2025 Sapir Prize winner Amir Harash, awarded for “Bereavement and Failure and Zombies.
Education and fun at the National Library.

Hanukkah events and family activities at the National Library

Performances, children’s shows, and family tours are among the highlights of the National Library’s Hanukkah activities.

|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Or Yesha Meusharim from Machzor Worms (13th c.)

National Library unveils rare 14th century Mishneh Torah manuscript

The National Library of Israel has added a rare 14th century Mishneh Torah manuscript to its exhibition, alongside newly displayed medieval Jewish texts from Europe, North Africa, and Persia.

|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
An illustrative image of elderly Israelis.

Older folks, use your new time wisely: It’s a special present, make it magical - opinion

'The laughter of the past is the melody that carries us forward,' has challenged me when I have been hesitant to fill my days with newness Similarly, 'If not now, when?' has real potential.

|ByDAVID GEFFEN

Grapevine, December 7, 2025: Multiple compositions

Movers and shakers in Israeli society.

DECEMBER 7, 2025ByGREER FAY CASHMAN
From left, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Ecuador Ambassador Maria Cristina Coralios Calero, and Prof. Tamir Shaefer, president of the Hebrew University.

What makes Jerusalem tick? Simon Sebag Montefiore, Matti Friedman talk past, present, future

Simon Sebag Montefiore and acclaimed journalist Matti Friedman delved into how Jerusalem – both city and symbol – functions as a stage for sweeping historical narratives.

NOVEMBER 23, 2025ByETHAN FREEDMAN
Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore in conversation with journalist Matti Friedman at the National Library of Israel, in Jerusalem on Sunday, November 16, 2025.

Grapevine October 5, 2025: When comparisons should not be made

Movers and shakers in Israeli society.

OCTOBER 5, 2025ByGREER FAY CASHMAN
PRESIDENT ISAAC HERZOG and his wife, Michal, look at the memorial wall in the National Library.

Jerusalem highlights: September 26 – October 2

What's new to do in Israel's capital?

SEPTEMBER 27, 2025ByHAGAY HACOHEN
Maureen Nehedar (see Sunday).

National Library reunites 15th-century Portuguese mahzor ahead of Rosh Hashanah

Known as the Lisbon mahzor, the manuscript was most likely written in the eponymous city of Lisbon, Portugal, during the second half of the 1400s.

SEPTEMBER 19, 2025ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
The Lisbon mahzor

David Blumberg built Israel’s greatest library, then politics destroyed him - opinion

MIDDLE ISRAEL: David Blumberg’s dream library stands tall in Jerusalem, but his life ended in tragedy, overshadowed by scandal and political strife.

SEPTEMBER 5, 2025ByAMOTZ ASA-EL
DAVID BLUMBERG – Short and bespectacled, but authoritative and full of energy, he turned the National Library into a cultural center.

From New York to the National Library of Israel: Naomi Schacter's journey

'The home of the book for the People of the Book.’

AUGUST 30, 2025ByLEAH HAKIMIAN
NAOMI SCHACHTER; from New York City to Jerusalem, 1983.

New documentary celebrates Yehoram Gaon's life at Docu.Text Festival

Yehoram Gaon, often seen as Israel's national singer, saw his life and accomplishments celebrated during an emotional screening of a new documentary which premiered at the National Library of Israel.

AUGUST 23, 2025ByHANNAH BROWN
YEHORAM GAON in a screenshot from the film ‘Tonight.’

National Library gets original lyrics of Naomi Shemer’s 'Al Kol Eleh'

For many years, the Shemer family’s attitude toward the song was very ambivalent as it reminded them of the loss of their father and uncle, and also because it had become politically charged.

AUGUST 20, 2025ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
NAOMI SHEMER’S handwritten lyrics to ‘Al Kol Aleh.’

Jerusalem highlights: August 15-21

What's new to do in Israel's capital?

AUGUST 15, 2025ByHAGAY HACOHEN
Donald and Abdul