Ruth Corman

RUTH CORMAN divides her time between London and Jerusalem.

Her first major book, ‘Israel through My Lens: 60 Years as a Photojournalist’, the life story of photographer David Rubinger, was published 2008 in English and translated into Hebrew and German selling over fifteen thousand copies.

She began writing ‘Unexpected Israel’ in 2011, and for four years has traveled through the complex mosaic that is Israel to introduce readers to aspects of the country that never appear in the media – the curious, the humorous, the moving and the dramatic. She introduces us to places that few know of and tells of encounters with some unforgettable individuals, such as Tsegue-Mariam, an Ethiopian nonagenarian nun and world renowned composer of piano music, and Gershon Luxemburg, a boxing champion from Uzbekistan who emigrated to Israel and runs a boxing school open to all.

Focusing on cameos of everyday life, Unexpected Israel brings people and places to life, ranging from caviar to camels, owls to oranges, pomegranates to pilgrims and fossils to friendship as well as some unimaginable tales of heroism. It is without doubt a memorable and wholly “unexpected” journey.

The stories are illustrated with around 160 of Ruth’s images. She has held several solo shows of her photography both in Britain and Israel.

Since 2012 Ruth has written a monthly column in the Jerusalem Post and her blogsite, ruthcorman.wordpress.com features some of her stories. It is now being read in sixty four countries.

Her presentation combines readings of some of the stories with a showing of the images that illustrate them.

comments from readers:

“Thank you for writing the story of the Bullet Factory in ‘Unexpected Israel’ Everything happened exactly as you describe it. I know, because I was there!” Shlomo Hillel

“Your stories are full of wit, style and fascinating information. The pictures are great too. You write with such humour and knowledge of your subjects, your work is a joy to read.” Merle Goldston, Spain