CHARLES SAMUEL:
THe Jerusalem Source
History Lived, Not Just Learned
Charles Samuel is the pen name of Shmuel Veffer, an author whose work sits at the volatile intersection of ancient prophecy and modern intrigue.
While many thriller writers rely on research assistants, Charles writes from the soil up. He is an Orthodox Rabbi, a scientist with a degree in Mathematics and Computer Science, and an educator who spent thirteen years teaching deep Torah philosophy in the Old City of Jerusalem.
It was there that he honed the intellectual edge visible in his novels—debating theology with legal minds like Alan Dershowitz and exploring the ethical dilemmas of power.
His debut political thriller, The Jerusalem Conspiracy, was a #1 National Bestseller in Israel, at its peak outselling John Grisham on the Steimatzky charts.
Now, with Buried Secrets, he introduces the David Fox Series—archaeological thrillers born from his own explorations of the Galilee and Judean hills.
Whether discovering a pristine 1st-century burial cave near the Beit Zayit reservoir or filing high-stakes petitions at the Supreme Court, Charles lives the history he writes.
Teaching at Israel’s Knesset
MK Yehuda Glick invited Rabbi Veffer to address the Yeshiva of The Nations led by Jim and Rosmary Garlow—leading Chrisitian Zionists—about the deeper meaning of Chanukah
CASE FILE: THE BEIT ZAYIT DISCOVERY
First Century Burial Cave – Similar to Caves in Buried Secrets
In Buried Secrets, a bulldozer uncovers a 1st-century tomb in the hills of Jerusalem. This wasn’t just imagination.
Recently, while walking near the Beit Zayit reservoir, I discovered this pristine burial cave—complete with original kokhim (burial niches)—hidden in the hillside.
This is the unparalleled authenticity behind the fiction. Below I give you a tour of the Burial Cave of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi – Redactor of the Mishna – at Beit Shearim in the Galilee.
ACTIVIST
With URI ZOHAR (L) AND PM YItzhak SHAMIR in The PM’s private conference room (GPO)
Shmuel doesn’t just write about political intrigue; he engages in it.
He co-founded Honest Reporting Canada to combat global media bias and advised Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir in his private chambers on the future of the Jewish People.
But his activism extends beyond advisory roles and into the highest legal arenas. Whether exposing narrative manipulation or filing high-stakes petitions at the Israeli Supreme Court against the Palestinian Authority, he operates on the front lines.
In a landmark legal battle that made international headlines (Veffer v. Canada), he sued the Canadian government, taking his fight to the Supreme Court of Canada to demand his son’s passport rightfully reflect his birthplace as “Jerusalem, Israel.”
This real-world intensity fuels his fiction—proving he doesn’t just imagine the battles in his books; he has fought them.
innovator
Shmuel Veffer INTERVIEWed LIVE ON ISRAEL TELEVISION ABOUT HIS LIFE-CHANGING INVENTIONS.
A pioneer of Jerusalem’s tech scene, Shmuel bridges the ancient and modern.
He managed The Official Apple and IBM dealership in Jerusalem in the 1980s, wiring the first Apple IIe systems to a typesetting machine to bring ancient Torah manuscripts into the digital age.
He later founded Kosher Innovations, creating the KosherLamp. His work became a cultural phenomenon—featured in The New York Times, on NPR, and on Israeli television—proving that strict adherence to Halacha can coexist with modern ingenuity.
educator
DIVING INTO THE TALMUD WITH ALAN & CAROLYN DERSHOWITZ AND RABBI ARI KAHN IN THE OLD CITY.
For thirteen years, Shmuel immersed himself in the intellectual furnace of the Old City of Jerusalem where he received Rabbinic Ordination.
He didn’t just teach; he engaged in high-stakes theological debates with legal icon Alan Dershowitz, business leaders like Howard Schultz, and legendary virtuoso Yitzhak Perlman, sharpening the logic that underpins his thrillers.
Today, he continues to bridge the ancient and modern as the author of Faith Under Fire and founder of Galilee Green, connecting a global community to the physical blessings of the Land of Israel.