Tiferet Yisra'el

Tiferet Yisra’el is the fourth in Marzanne Leroux-Van der Boon’s popular “Israel” series of books which bring to life the fortunes and misfortunes of present day Israel and its people. Her ambiguously titled Granate bloei in Jerusalem (“Pomegranates – grenades – bloom in Jerusalem”) already evoked something of the violence in that country. The narrative is developed further in Hatikvah, land van hoop (“Hatikvah, land of hope”), Shomer Yisra’el (Protector of Israel) and, now, in Tiferet Yisra’el (“The Glory of Israel”).

It is 2008, an eventful period in the history of this little country now under threat not only from without but also from within its borders. As in the previous books in this series, Marc, Rivkah and their little family are unavoidably affected by the violence, but also by the joyful festivals of the year which ended in the Gaza War. Meanwhile Rabbi Chaim necessarily has to keep his acceptance of Yeshua as the Jewish Messiah under wraps, and Henok Kambungu makes a miraculous discovery which changes his life drastically. Echoes of the Holocaust continue to reverberate throughout in the psyches of the characters, and shadows of South Africa’s own violent society fall on Marc. To crown it all, he meets up again with the love of his youth at Stellenbosch. The sometime oh-so-sensitive and naïve artist must progressively take upon himself the responsibilities of the “priest of his household”, and once again don his soldier’s uniform and take up arms…

The ingenious interweaving of fact and fiction in Tiferet Yisra’el, the interesting characters and their unshakeable faith in the right of existence of their beloved but beleaguered country, provide booklovers with a rare reading experience.