GHOSTS of a HOLY WAR
The 1929 Massacre in Palestine That Ignited the Arab-Israeli Conflict
"A good book about a bad mess" – The Wall Street Journal
"An astonishing work of history...Schwartz writes with clear, luminous prose, demonstrating the sense of timing and drama of a novelist." - Jewish Journal
"One of the most balanced, comprehensive, and fact-driven narratives about the Israel-Palestine conflict to date" - World Literature Today
"A gripping story...a must read" - Jerusalem Post
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From Bestseller to the Big Screen: Ghosts of a Holy War Has Been Optioned for Film
Yardena Schwartz's bestselling Ghosts of a Holy War has been optioned for a narrative feature film adaptation by Crystal City Entertainment.
An award-winning journalist presents an even-handed, thoroughly researched examination of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and illustrates how a shocking yet little-known massacre one century ago in what was then Palestine became ground zero of a war that continues to devastate.
When a family in Memphis, Tennessee, discovers a box of century-old letters in their attic, a journey begins: not only to learn about the young man who wrote the letters from the holy city of Hebron in British Mandate Palestine, but about the massacre that took his life in 1929. Award-winning journalist Yardena Schwartz draws from these letters, along with extensive research and wide-ranging interviews of Israelis and Palestinians now living in Hebron, to tell a timely, captivating narrative. By illuminating the echoes of 1929 in Hamas’s massacre of October 7, 2023, Schwartz vividly illustrates how little has changed—and how much of our perspective must change if peace is ever to come to this tortured land and its people, who are destined to share it.
PRAISE FOR GHOSTS OF A HOLY WAR
FEATURED PRESS
Fox 5 NY Jan. 16, 2025
Call Me Back with Dan Senor Dec. 20, 2024
Haviv Rettig-Gur's Podcast, July 27, 2025
ALL PRESS FOR GHOSTS OF A HOLY WAR
JTA, Sept. 29, 2024: How a 1929 massacre of Jews in Hebron foreshadowed Oct. 7
Bloomberg Businessweek Podcast, Oct. 3, 2024: Ghosts of a Holy War
Commentary Magazine, Oct. 22, 2024: How the Media Has Globalized the Intifada
Wall Street Journal, Oct. 31, 2024: 11 Books to Read in October
Detroit Jewish News, Nov. 12, 2024: In 'Ghosts of a Holy War,' Yardena Schwartz Revisits Hebron's Bloody Legacy
Chronogram Magazine, Dec. 1, 2024: 5 Local Books to Read in December
Jewish Insider, Dec. 11, 2024: In debut book, Yardena Schwartz links past and present horrors in Hebron and the Gaza envelope
State of a Nation with Eylon Levy, Dec. 16, 2024: Empowering Palestinian Moderates | Yardena Schwartz on the Lessons of History
Call Me Back with Dan Senor, Dec. 20, 2024: 1929: A harbinger of October 7th - with Yardena Schwartz
Converging Dialogues Podcast, Jan. 13, 2025: A Jewish Tragedy in 1929 Hebron
Fox 5 NY, Jan. 16, 2025: Yardena Schwartz on "The Noon" with Bianca Peters
Washington Free Beacon, Jan. 26, 2025: Josef Joffe reviews Ghosts of a Holy War
Seforim Chatter Podcast, Jan. 26, 2025: The Chevron Massacre with Yardena Schwartz
Identity/Crisis Podcast with Yehuda Kurtzer, Jan. 28, 2025: Ghosts of a Holy War
World Literature Today, March, 2025: Ghosts of a Holy War Review
Las Vegas Sun, March 7, 2025: Award-Winning Journalist Shares Powerful Message at UNLV
FDD Morning Brief Podcast, March 10, 2025: The Reverberating Impact of the 1929 Hebron Massacre
American Jewish Committee, April 3, 2025: This Often Forgotten 1929 Massacre is Key to Understanding the Current Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Religion News Service, April 29, 2025: When Did October 7 Really Begin? A Conversation With Yardena Schwartz
Detroit News, May 4, 2025: 'Ghosts of a Holy War' explores the roots of the Arab Israeli conflict
Here I Am with Shai Davidai, May 9, 2025: Hebron is not what you think
The New York Sun, May 11, 2025: The Sanity Interview: Yardena Schwartz
In The Spotlight with Abigail Pogrebin, May 19, 2025: Ghosts of a Holy War
Commentary Magazine, May 26, 2025: The Jews Are Jerusalem's Only Hope
Townhall, June 2, 2025: Ghosts of a Holy War Book Review
Conversations with B'nai B'rith, June 6, 2025: How the Forgotten 1929 Hebron Massacre Ignited the Arab-Israeli Conflict
New Books Network, June 11, 2025: Ghosts of a Holy War
Ask Haviv Anything, July 27, 2025: The century-old harbinger of October 7, a conversation with Yardena Schwartz
La Nacion, September 13, 2025: "La de Medio Oriente es la guerra de quienes usan la religión como un arma"
Grace for Impact Podcast, October 8, 2025: Yardena Schwartz, Journalist
Unpacking Israeli History Podcast, December 2, 2025: The One City That Explains the Entire Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Totally Booked with Zibby Owens, April 2, 2026: Israel and Iran: History and Today
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yardena Schwartz is an award-winning journalist and Emmy-nominated producer. From 2013 to 2023 she was based in Israel, where she reported for dozens of publications, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Time, Economist, New York Review of Books, and Foreign Policy. She has also reported from Morocco, Nepal, Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany, and the United States.
Yardena previously worked at NBC News, including stints at The Today Show, Nightly News, and MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Reports. She graduated with honors from Columbia Journalism School in 2011, earned an Emmy nomination in 2013, and an RNA 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.
