Genevieve Belmaker is an American journalist and writer who worked and lived in Jerusalem and the surrounding region for more than three years. Born and raised in Olympia, Washington, she started traveling and living in new places at the age of 17. Since then, she has become an avid practitioner of Falun Dafa meditation, enjoying the serenity it brings her as she travels the world--she has lived, worked, and studied in places from Japan to San Francisco to Bowling Green, Kentucky.In 2009, Genevieve met her future husband, an Israeli journalist, while he was visiting New York City. After traveling to Israel and working side-by-side as colleagues, they were married in 2010, and Genevieve returned to live in Jerusalem for five months. She reported on settlements, small businesses in the West Bank, and local news and politics, and authored a weekly column for 'The Epoch Times' on her observations of the region as a journalist.Genevieve is a graduate of the University of Southern California with a BA in international relations and a minor in East Asian languages and cultures. She studied journalism through New York University's continuing education program.

As a writer and photographer, she has been published by several international print and online publications, including 'The Epoch Times,' Poynter, 'Quill' magazine, the Foreign Policy Association, 'Draft' magazine, and 'Big World.' She regularly reports on news and events in Jerusalem and beyond.Genevieve recently moved back to New York City with her husband. Their son, Negev (named after her husband's favorite Israeli desert), was born in late 2011 and is already a skilled world traveler. Negev has accompanied her on several research trips throughout Israel. He was truly the inspiration behind the creation of this book.