New book released on a Jewish immigrant’s story to Israel
Chutzpah & High Heels Launched by Yotzeret Publishing New memoir explores life as an American immigrant in Israel and Jewish pluralism
February 7, 2017 – St. Paul, MN – Yotzeret Publishing, which publishes books written from a Jewish perspective with a specialty in those written by women authors, has launched Jessica Fishman’s memoir, Chutzpah & High Heels: The Search for Love and Identity in the Holy Land. Distributed by Itasca Books, Chutzpah & High Heels is available for purchase online via Amazon, Kindle, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Smashwords, and the Kobo store. As part of the book launch, Fishman will be conducting a book tour in March 2017 throughout American Jewish communities.
With self-deprecating wit, Fishman’s memoir takes the reader through her move and acclimation to Israel. From being an American living in Israel to becoming an Israeli with an American accent, she overcomes many obstacles. However, she meets one obstacle that tests the core of her identity and nearly destroys the very ideology that brought her to Israel. Her memoir explores the importance of Jewish pluralism in Israel. Not just a Jewish story, Fishman’s memoir is a universal story about a young, contemporary woman losing and searching for identity, overcoming heartbreak, and finding her place in the world.
“Jessica tells the story of her struggle for authenticity and belonging with honesty and humor, even as we spiral, intensely, to the core of her being and identity — to her unapologetic, truest self,” Rabbi Susan Silverman, Board Member of Women of the Wall and author of Casting Lots: Creating a Family in a Beautiful, Broken World, said of the book.
“Jessica’s story of Aliyah and acceptance is not black and white, but rather portrays Jewish life’s complexities, core values, and the realities facing both Israeli and American Jewish communities,” explains Rabbi Uri Regev, President and CEO of Hiddush, an organization advancing religious freedom and equality in Israel, in the books afterword. “Offering us a humorous reminder, and at times biting criticism, of the lack of Jewish pluralism and equality in Israel, Jessica’s story is anchored in a deep love for the State and its people.”
Fishman’s story was first featured in 2010 in Israel’s popular Yediot Aharonot newspaper and then in multiple American Jewish media outlets, when she shared her story about how the Rabbinate’s control over religion impacted her life. After developing the popular Aliyah Survival Blog, an irreverent portrayal of an American immigrant’s first
years in Israel, she has written a deeply-personal, witty memoir about the difficulties, absurdities, and excitement of making a home in a new country.
“While exposing so many intimate aspects of my life is a frightening, I am also excited to have this opportunity to share my story with the world,” Jessica Fishman stated. “I was inspired to write Chutzpah and High Heels: The Search for Love and Identity in the Holy Land in order to inspire social change. I hope that it will have an impact.”
“We are delighted to publish Chutzpah & High Heels. The book’s message of Jewish pluralism and equality fit perfectly with Yotzeret Pulblishing’s mission to reflect Jewish diversity and the under-represented,” says Sheyna Galyan, owner of Yotzeret Publishing. “Chutzpah & High Heels is simultaneously funny and heartbreaking, and holds no punches with its seldom-before-seen snapshot into Israeli culture.”
For additional information regarding the book tour, please visit here.
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About Yotzeret Publishing
Yotzeret Publishing is a family-owned traditional publisher based in St. Paul, Minnesota, with distribution throughout the United States, Israel, and around the world. Founded on the value of K’lal Yisrael, we encourage books that reflect the diversity of Jews and Jewish practice. Read more at http://yotzeret.com.
About Jessica Fishman
Having grown up in a Midwestern Jewish and Zionist family, Jessica Fishman moved to Israel after graduating from Indiana University with a degree in Journalism and Business. She spent her first few years in the country serving in the Israel Defense Forces, learning the Hebrew language, and getting acclimated to the country. Jessica Fishman has written a number of articles about Israel and Zionism and been interviewed in leading Israeli media about her experience as an immigrant in Israel. Her story has been featured in leading Israeli and Jewish media. https://jessicafishmanauthor.com/
Ray Hanania is an award winning political and humor columnist who analyzes American and Middle East politics, and life in general. He is an author of several books.
Hanania covered Chicago Politics and Chicago City Hall from 1976 through 1992 at the Daily Southtown and the Chicago Sun-Times. He began writing in 1975 publishing The Middle Eastern Voice newspaper in Chicago (1975-1977). He later published “The National Arab American Times” newspaper (2004-2007).
Hanania writes weekly columns on Middle East and American Arab issues as Special US Correspondent for the Arab News ArabNews.com, at TheArabDailyNews.com, and at SuburbanChicagoland.com. He has published weekly columns in the Jerusalem Post newspaper, YNetNews.com, Newsday, the Orlando Sentinel, Houston Chronical, and Arlington Heights Daily Herald.
Hanania is the recipient of four (4) Chicago Headline Club “Peter Lisagor Awards” for Column writing. In November 2006, he was named “Best Ethnic American Columnist” by the New American Media. In 2009, Hanania received the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award for Writing from the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the recipient of the MT Mehdi Courage in Journalism Award. He was honored for his writing skills with two (2) Chicago Stick-o-Type awards from the Chicago Newspaper Guild. In 1990, Hanania was nominated by the Chicago Sun-Times editors for a Pulitzer Prize for his four-part series on the Palestinian Intifada.
His writings have also been honored by two national Awards from ADC for his writing, and from the National Arab American Journalists Association.
Hanania is the US Special Correspondent for the Arab News Newspaper, covering Middle East and Arab American issues. He writes for the Southwest News newspaper group writing on mainstream American issues.
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