Yitzhak Orpaz

Yitzhak Orpaz-Aurerbach (1921-2015) was born to a hassidic family in Zinkov, former Soviet Union, in and immigrated to pre-state Israel in 1938. During World War II, he served in the Jewish Brigade. Orpaz studied philosophy and literature at Tel Aviv University. He lived for some years on a kibbutz and later pursued a number of professions, including construction, diamond cutting, editing and teaching. Orpaz published novellas, novels, short stories, essays and a book of poetry. He received many literary awards, including the Asher Barash Prize (1962), the Miriam Talpir Prize (1969), the Fichman Prize (1975), the Prime Minister's Prize three times (1976; 1999; 2004), the Israel Efrat award (1985), the Bialik Prize (1986), the Neuman Prize (1997), the President's Prize for Lifetime Achievement (1999) and the Israel Prize (2005).