JERUSALEM PUBLISHING HOUSE, THE

JERUSALEM PUBLISHING HOUSE, THE , Israeli publisher. Founded in 1966 by Shlomo S. (Yosh) Gafni, the company has as its aim the publication of books in foreign languages on Jewish and general subjects. Over the years the publishing house has specialized in producing encyclopedias. The first editor in chief of The Jerusalem Publishing House was Geoffrey *Wigoder. Its bestselling title, The Illustrated Dictionary and Concordance of the Bible, sold over one million copies. Other works dealing with the Bible include Almanac of the Bible, The Glory of the Old Testament, The Glory of the New Testament, Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land, and The History of Israel and the Holy Land.

The prize-winning Encyclopedia of Judaism, published in a second edition in 2002 as The New Encyclopedia of Judaism and in a youth edition as The Student's Encyclopedia of Judaism (2004), is a standard reference work in several languages. The Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East is an objective survey of the conflicts in the region. Series of richly illustrated encyclopedias covering the most important cultural events in Western civilization are Peoples of the World with an edition for young adults (10 vols.), Encyclopedia of the Classical World, Renaissance, Medieval Civilization, Encyclopedia of International Boundaries, etc.

From the late 1990s The Jerusalem Publishing House has co-published with *Yad Vashem encyclopedias on the subject of the Holocaust for general and educational purposes. These include such seminal works as The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust (3 vols.) and the ongoing Encyclopedia of the Righteous Among the Nations (6 vols. through 2005).

The biggest project of The Jerusalem Publishing House is the publication of the 21-volume second edition of the Encyclopaedia Judaica in cooperation with the *Keter Publishing House in Jerusalem and Thomson Gale (Macmillan) in the U.S. Fred Skolnik, editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Publishing House, is also editor-in-chief of the Encyclopaedia, while Michael *Berenbaum of the U.S. is executive editor.

Founder Gafni remains president of the company and Rachel E. Gilon is the general manager.