Donna Rosenthal

Website: www.theisraelis.net | www.donnarosenthal.com
Residence: Speaking throughout the US

Biographical information

Donna Rosenthal is the award-winning author of THE ISRAELIS: Ordinary People in an Extraordinary Land (Simon and Schuster/Free Press).

Her articles have appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, The Atlantic Monthly and many other publications.

Donna Rosenthal was a news producer at Israel Television, a reporter for Israel Radio and The Jerusalem Post, and a lecturer at the Hebrew University. Rosenthal was also an on-air reporter for Veronica Television of the Netherlands.

In a national poll, Ms. Rosenthal placed in the TOP TEN MOST POPULAR JEWISH SPEAKERS in Publishers Weekly’s survey. She is the only female non-fiction author on the top ten list.

The internationally acclaimed THE ISRAELIS has more than 100 excellent reviews across the religious and political spectrums: from the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post to The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz.

Called the best book about Israelis in decades, The Israelis was named Significant Jewish Book by Reform Judaism Magazine.

She is a keynote speaker to many types of groups. Ms. Rosenthal also speaks at universities -- from Harvard to UCLA.

Ms. Rosenthal frequently is interviewed on tv and radio -- from CNN to Fox to National Public Radio.

She has reported from Iran, Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan and was the first journalist to travel to remote mountain villages of Ethiopia and introduce Israeli radio audiences to Jews who were praying to go to Israel. Her adopted brother was the first Israel Air Force officer born in Ethiopia and a leader of Operation Solomon, which airlifted more that 14,000 Jews to Israel.

A winner of three Lowell Thomas awards: Best Investigative Reporting; Best Foreign News (The New York Times); and Best Adventure Writing, she has traveled to more than sixty countries.

She holds a BA from University of California Berkeley and a Masters (Middle East/International Relations) from The London School of Economics. Ms. Rosenthal has taught journalism at three universities.

Here are what some critics write about THE ISRAELIS.

"A panorama of Israeli diversity.... Thanks, Ms. Rosenthal"- Los Angeles Times

"She methodically lims the various ethnic and religious subcultures, Jewish and non-Jewish, that constitute the vibrant and fragile mosaic of Israeli society" - Washington Post

"Rosenthal displays prodigious reporting and allows the people themselves - whether Jewish or Arab, men or women, religious or secular - to speak, and their voices are alternately despairing and hopeful, defiant and conciliatory. As a result, she captures an entire country, one full of flux and drama, in as vivid and nuanced a way as possible." - Publishers Weekly

"It could have been subtitled: 'Everything you always wanted to know about Israel and the Israelis but were afraid to ask.' An accurate picture of daily life in Israel." - Jerusalem Post

"Exhaustive research and reporting...illuminating for anyone looking for an in-depth and accurate portrait of the diversity of Israeli society today." - Haaretz

"A lively, cliché-popping account."- Kirkus Reviews

"An eye-opener" – San Diego Union Tribune

"We all hear about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But what about the people?" Donna Rosenthal shares their stories. Even in Israel, The Israelis has

"Even in Israel, The Israelis has shocked readers who didn't realize the depth of cultures… the book's success is confirmation that there is a void of information about Israeli society." – San Francisco Chronicle

• Israel facing Hizb'Allah, Hamas and Iran
• Israel has the World’s Largest Press Corps per capita. So why so much misinformation? A Journalist's Perspective
• Israeli Women: From the Fervently Secular to the Devoutly Religious
• How Israelis Built the World's Second Silicon Valley and launched a bio-tech and medi-tech revolution
• Today's Changing Female and Male Israelis Soldiers: Jews, Christians, Muslim and Druze
• Out of Africa: The Ethiopians. From the world's largest human airlift to culture shock living in a country of Jews who drive on Sabbath
• Marriage, Polygamy, Adultery, and Divorce Israeli-Style
• The "Arab Jews": Half of all Israelis are Jews from Islamic countries-- who are they?
• Widening Fault Lines Between Jews and Jews: Religious-secular tensions.
• Moscow on the Mediterranean: How Russian immigrants are transforming Israel
• Israeli Youth, the World's Top MTV Fans: The Changing Digital Generation
• Israeli Arabs: 1/5 are Muslims, Bedouin, Druze, and Christian -- Who are They?
• Israeli Christian Arabs: The most educated and affluent of all Israelis. Who are they?

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