On His Newest
Book, My Jerusalem
Many could argue that
no other city in the world has a more significant history than Jerusalem. Now
the capital of Israel, it has been the prize of countless wars. The Holy City
has served Jews for 3,000 years and is also where the Crucifixion and
Resurrection of Jesus Christ took place, and it is where the Muslim prophet
Muhammad ascended to Heaven. A new book takes a close look and a unique
approach at what Jerusalem means to world leaders, through essays and
photographs, capturing the significance of a 50-square mile strip of land on
the 50th anniversary of its reunification.
“My Jerusalem: The Eternal City
(Gefen Publishing, House, cloth, 160 pages, October 1, 2017, $50, ISBN:
9789652299079) is the most important and monumental book that I have published
in my 36 years of publishing,” says Ilan Greenfield, the book’s editor and publisher.
Greenfield combined dozens
of stirring and insightful essays from those who understand the political,
religious, and humanitarian importance of a stable Jerusalem. “As you read the
different stories, I hope that you will think of your own Jerusalem story and
consider your relationship to this unique and amazing city – and what Jerusalem
means to you,” Greenfield says.
My
Jerusalem is complemented
by the award-winning photographs of Tel Aviv-based photographer Ziv Koren, who
has had his work shared in 15 books and at exhibits across the globe, including
the Metropolitan Museum of Tokyo, the Memorial Museum in Spain, the War Museum
in Croatia, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. His work has been published
in Time magazine, Newsweek, The Sunday New bel, Times
Magazine, Stern, der Spiegel, Paris Match, Le Figaro, and other prominent
publication across the globe.
The list of
contributors is impressive. It includes heavyweight politicians, activists,
philanthropists, academicians, artists and leaders from Israel and the United
States, including:
·
Renowned
legal expert Alan M. Dershowitz
·
Preeminent
sex therapist, talk show host and Holocaust survivor Dr. Ruth Westheimer
·
Israel’s
10th president, Reuven Rivlin
·
Prime
Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu
·
Jerusalem
Mayor Nir Barkat
·
Speaker
of Israel Knesset, Yuli-Yoel Edelstein
·
National
Defense Emeritus, Anti-Defamation league, Abraham H. Foxman
·
National
President of Hadassah, Ellen Hershkin
·
World
Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder
·
Founder
of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Rabbi Marvin Hier
Many submissions are
from non-Jews, including Reverend Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National
Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, Pastor John Hager, founder and
national chairman of Christians United for Israel, and U.S. presidential
candidate Mike Huckabee.
Here is an interview
with Greenfield:
1.
Why is it so important that a book
celebrating Jerusalem be published during its 50th anniversary of
reunification? The
importance of this unique album is not the 50th anniversary. The 50th
anniversary is the trigger to its inception. The book conveys the yearning of
Jews to Jerusalem throughout the past 2,000 years. While reading these personal
stories we understand why it is important that Jerusalem stay the capital of
Israel for ever as a united city with free access to all religions to their
Holy sites.
2.
What surprised you in the
contributions that you received for the book? What surprised me the most was the enthusiasm in
which all the contributors have responded with. Including our President
Reuven Rivlin, Alan Dershowitz, Malcolm Hoenlein, Pastor Hage. Mike Huckabee
and Rabbi Sacks – they all were excited to take part in this unique volume and
this can be seen in their personal story and connection to Jerusalem.
3.
What were some of the biggest names
to provide their personal thoughts about Jerusalem? President Rivlin, Mayor Nir
Barkat, and all the rest….
4.
What does Jerusalem mean to you? As a native Tel Avivian I
remember the first night I slept in Jerusalem in 1982. I had returned from two
years as a Zionist activist in Los Angeles and ecided to try and spend a few
days in Jerusalem prior to returning to Tel Aviv. Waking up in the morning and
seeing Jerusalem, inhaling Jerusalem – I knew that I am here to stay. Every
morning is a unique day starting in this Holy City – yet today a vibrant and
modern city as well.
5.
Is there any place on Earth quite
like Jerusalem, with a long history of ties to Jews, Christians, and Muslims? The Centrality of Jerusalem is
unique among the world. The combination of people in this small city is
amazing, surprising and challenging.
6.
How do you feel the book that you
published is unique and special so much so that you have stated “it’s the most
important and monumental book that I will have published in my 36 years of
publishing”? With every contribution of a personal story
that I received I realized that this book is not just another book – this is a
monument for our capital – Jerusalem. It is not easy to gather personal stories
from these contributors – yet their prompt response made me understand the
immense importance of this project.
7.
What themes get expressed over and
over from most of the contributors?
The most important theme in my mind is that when Jerusalem was not under
Israeli rule – there was no freedom of religion. There was no access and no
respect for other religions. Today – Jews, Christians and Muslims can pray in
their Holy sites and can practice their religion freely. Before 1967 – this was
not the case.
8.
Do you believe we can see lasting
peace in Jerusalem? How about in the Middle East? I would like to be realistic.
While Peace would be great – I believe the first step we must aspire is to have
a no-war situation. We first need to be able to have co-existence – starting
with Jerusalem. I am an optimist and I believe peace can be reached with much
education and acceptance of others who think differently than we do. Peace in this region will only be possible
with a strong and stable Israel. Israel, a strong and democratic Jewish State,
is so far the only stable entity in the region.
9.
Several of your contributors are
leading thinkers and activists who are not Jewish. What does Jerusalem mean to them? Jerusalem has a place in
everyone's heart. This is the City where
it all happened and as we see many non-Jews from around the world continue
coming as pilgrims to the Holy City. We must enable them to come and perform
their religion and we should have 10,000,000 pilgrims in Jerusalem each and every
year.
10. Several
of your contributors are American leaders. How does America help support
Jerusalem? This is
true. We have a scope of American Jewish leaders who have contributed to this
album. They represent different streams of Judaism and a variety of political
views. They all have in common the fact that Jerusalem must stay the capital of
Israel. The United States has always stood alongside Israel and has
historically supported the State of Israel. The United States should continue
doing so and should move its Embassy to the city which the Israeli Government
has declared as the capital of Israel. I believe that by moving the US embassy
to Jerusalem the United States will make its most important contribution to
reaching Peace in the Middle East. This
move will end speculation regarding the future of Jerusalem as a united city –
the Capital of Israel.
Please note My Jerusalem is being promoted by the book
publicity that I work for. To see more information, please consult: https://www.gefenpublishing.com/product.asp?productid=2291
Brian
Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and
not that of his employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email
him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the
third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog 2017©. Born and
raised in Brooklyn, now resides in Westchester. Named one of the best book
marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs
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