Amnon Shamosh

Amnon Shamosh was born in Aleppo, Syria, in 1929, and came to pre-state Israel as a child. He fought in the 1948 War of Independence in the elite Palmach unit and later became one of the founding members of Kibbutz Ma`ayan Baruch, where he lives today. A graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Hebrew and English literature, Shamosh has taught at a regional high school and served as its principal. He has also been UNESCO`s special envoy to French-speaking countries in Africa.

Shamosh began his literary career at age 40, and writes poetry and prose for both children and adults. His novel, Michel Ezra Safra and Sons, has been adapted for TV. Shamosh has received several literary prizes, including the Agnon Prize (1979), the Shalom Aleichem Award (1986), the ACUM Prize (1998) the President’s Prize (2001) and the Arik Einstein Prize (2014).