For the first time, luxury publisher Assouline is bringing its signature lens to Israel. Famous for transforming cities into vibrant $105 coffee table books, the French publisher just quietly launched Tel Aviv Spirit, featuring over 200 photographs of the Mediterranean metropolis. 

The muted rollout follows last month’s splashy launch of Beirut Habibi, another addition to Assouline’s Classics Collection, the publisher’s line of glossy travel photography books that has over the years cast a spotlight on many Middle Eastern cities including Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. 

The French publishing house, founded by husband-and-wife team Prosper and Martine Assouline, has published a handful of explicitly Jewish titles since it was established in 1994. In 2014, Assouline published The Light of Jerusalem, featuring black-and-white photography and excerpts of writing by Elie Wiesel, but no Israeli city has ever been featured in the Classics Collection until now. 

Prosper Assouline, who comes from a Moroccan Jewish family, has shared that a traditional Passover Haggadah from his Moroccan grandfather inspired some of the company’s book line. The Haggadah by Assouline was published in 2001 as a limited collector’s edition, and later released in a special hardcover edition in 2008. 

Earlier this month, Assouline expanded that collection with the rollout of the latest edition of Symbols of Judaism, a coffee table book exploring Jewish symbols, rituals and traditions around the globe. The book is part The Symbols of Religion Series, four volumes exploring Catholicism, Islam, Judaism and Tibetan Buddhism. 

Tel Aviv Spirit is written by Yaffa Assouline — Prosper’s sister and a journalist who has authored several other Assouline books including an extensive series on Uzbekistan’s art and craftsmanship and a book on the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar. 

Assouline did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Jewish Insider about the new books.