Presented by Yardena Schwartz
Journalist/Producer
Join us for a powerful discussion with award-winning journalist and bestselling author Yardena Schwartz as she shares insights from her new book, Ghosts of a Holy War: The 1929 Massacre in Palestine That Ignited the Arab-Israeli Conflict.
Sparked by the discovery of a box of century-old letters in a Memphis attic, Schwartz uncovers the story of a young American Jew killed in the 1929 Hebron massacre—a little-known but pivotal moment that she argues is ground zero of the conflict still raging today. Drawing from deeply personal archival material, wide-ranging interviews, and decades of context, Schwartz weaves a gripping and even-handed narrative that connects the past to the present, shedding new light on the events of October 7, 2023, and the enduring struggle for peace in the land both Israelis and Palestinians call home.
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Yardena Schwartz is an award-winning journalist and Emmy-nominated producer who was based in Israel for a decade until 2023. Her reporting from four continents has appeared in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Review of Books, The Economist, TIME, National Geographic, and Foreign Policy. Yardena previously worked in New York City at NBC News and MSNBC. She graduated with honors from Columbia Journalism School in 2011, received an Emmy nomination for her work at MSNBC in 2013, and the Religion News Association award for excellence in magazine reporting in 2016. Yardena now lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband and children. Ghosts of a Holy War is her first book.
We extend a special thank you to Andrew R. Ammerman for sponsoring our Fall 2025 program lineup. He dedicates the our learning in loving memory of Josephine and H. Max Ammerman and Stephen C. Ammerman.