CHarles Samuel
VOICE FROM JERUSALEM
Where ancient wisdom collides with international intrigue
Charles Samuel is the pen name of Shmuel Veffer, a #1 Israeli bestselling novelist who anchors high-stakes suspense in gritty, boots-on-the-ground reality.
His previous political thriller, The Jerusalem Conspiracy, dominated the Steimatzky’s charts, at one point outselling John Grisham and Joan Collins in Israel.
While many thriller writers rely on research assistants and distant archives, Charles writes from the soil up.
He brings unparalleled insider authority to the genre as an Orthodox Rabbi, a trained analyst with a degree in Mathematics and Computer Science.
During his thirteen years teaching Torah philosophy in the Old City of Jerusalem, he guided and taught world leaders and VIPs—from debating theology with Alan Dershowitz over dinner at the Rockefeller Museum, to conducting private tours for Yitzhak Perlman and Howard Schultz.
An author with a built-in platform, Charles maintains a direct connection to a dedicated global audience of over 5,000 active readers who receive his weekly dispatches from Israel.
Case File: The Beit Zayit Discovery
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 first century burial cave—complete with original kokhim (burial niches)—hidden in the hillside.
This is the unparalleled authenticity behind the fiction.
Shmuel next to Uri Zohar (L) and PM Shamir (R) in the PM’s private conference. This room is visited in Buried Secrets. (GPO)
This real-world intensity fuels his fiction—proving he doesn’t just imagine the battles in his books; he has fought them.
Activist & High-Stakes Legal Battles
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.
The International Incident: In a landmark legal battle that made international headlines (Veffer v. Canada), he sued the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs. Fighting for the right to list “Jerusalem, Israel” on his son’s passport, he challenged the government’s policy and took the fight to the Supreme Court of Canada to defend his Charter rights to freedom of conscience, religion, and equality.
The Intellectual Furnace
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.
It was here that he honed the intellectual edge visible in his novels, exploring the ethical dilemmas of power and sharpening the logic that underpins his thrillers.
Diving into the Talmud with Alan & Carolyn Dershowitz and Rabbi Ari Kahn (L) in the Old City of Jerusalem.
The Innovator: Wiring the Ancient to the Modern
A pioneer of Jerusalem’s tech scene, Shmuel bridges the ancient and modern. He managed The Official Apple 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.
On The Record: Media & Intelligence
Charles Samuel’s real-world intensity is not confined to the page.
Broadcasting from Tiberias and Jerusalem, he provides raw, unfiltered analysis of current events on the ground, delivering geopolitical insights through the lens of 3,300 years of Torah wisdom.
He sends out weekly dispatches about the situation in Israel to 5000 weekly readers.
ACCESS THE INTEL FROM JERUSALEM.
Join 5,000 insiders who receive Charles Samuel’s weekly ‘Dispatches from Jerusalem’ —and get immediate, exclusive access to the first FIVE chapters of his upcoming thriller, BURIED SECRETS.