342:, published in 1928, was one of the most important works in modern Hebrew literature. Anton Shammas the Palestinian writer and critic, wrote—"Shami brought into the scene of modern Hebrew literature some seventy years ago, a local Palestinian validity that hasn't been matched, or challenged, since Vengeance of the Fathers is the only novel in modern Hebrew literature whose characters, landscapes and narrative voice are all Palestinian." Merle Rubin, in the
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Upon returning to
Palestine at the war's end, they moved to Hebron and both worked as teachers. He also served as secretary of the Jewish community in Hebron. His poor financial situation, which would plague him throughout his life, as well as Pnina's heart disease, and his emphysema in later years
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to Hebron in 1885. The father was therefore known as "a-Shami" (the
Damascene), and that was the origin of the pen-name later adopted by the writer. Eventually, it became his legal name as well. His mother, Rivka Castel, was a Hebronite from the illustrious Castel family, a traditional Sephardic
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While Shami was growing up, his father traveled across the Middle East and in the locality for his business, and through his father, Shami was exposed to the local villagers (fellahim), which were later treated as characters in his stories. A critical influence on Shami as a young teenager was
294:, where he worked as a teacher and court clerk. He continued to miss his native city, and in a 1932 letter to his lifelong friend David Avisar, expressed a desire to write a book on the city's history. He spent the rest of his life living in Haifa, and died there in 1949.
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and enrolled in the Ezra
Teacher's Training College, where he completed his studies in 1907. His father opposed his secular studies, while his mother secretly sent him money on occasion until her suicide. During his studies, he met other young writers, among them
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historical fiction, various tracts on Arab poetry, and an essay on the origins of modern Arab theatre. The
Jerusalem Municipal Archives also include correspondence in Arabic with a number of his colleagues, including his fellow Sephardic writer
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by hiding in the home the Mani family. Shami was deeply disturbed by the incident, and signed a petition condemning Arab propaganda efforts and urging a
British investigation together with the chief rabbis of Hebron and other figures.
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In 2004 Shami was recognized by the
Palestinian Academic Society as one of the important Palestinian writers. With that—he assumed a unique position, as a shared cultural asset of both Israelis and Palestinians.
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The total volume of Shami's works was limited, mostly short stories. Regardless, some critics held him to be "one of the most notable modern Hebrew
Sephardic writers." His best known work is the short novella—
148:, prior to Israeli statehood. His work was unique for his period, since in contrast with the vast majority of Hebrew writers of the period he crafted his art based on characters who were either Arabs or
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and Chief Rabbi of Hebron. Influenced by secular literature, he rebelled against religious education and was asked to leave the yeshiva over his "heretical attitudes." In 1905 at age 17, he moved to
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where he continued to work as a Hebrew teacher, hoping to save up enough money to enroll in law school. While in
Bulgaria, he met Pnina Gingold, a Jewish immigrant to Palestine from
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with his mother, and the family conducted its life in customary Middle
Eastern style of the period. His family was religiously observant, and in his youth, he studied
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Palestine, and his literary influences were predominantly Arab and Middle
Eastern. Shami published short stories, one novella, several poems and a number of essays.
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would significantly hamper his literary output. Pnina died in 1925, and he was later remarried to Sarah Kalish, a nurse who he had met in Damascus. He survived the
302:"He had begun his career writing on themes of Arabic literary production, both in Arabic and Hebrew. The early essays that still exist include contributions on
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before moving to Damascus to work as a Hebrew teacher. While he was there, he heard that David Ben-Gurion and Yitzhak Ben-Zvi were planning on studying law in
601:"2001-12-01 Yitzhaq Shami - "Hebron Stories": Review by Merle Rubin of Shami's Fiction in the Los Angeles Times s - Religious Identity - Jews And Judaism"
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described it as "Luminous tales from a bygone middle east". Issa Boullata, in Al Jadid described the works as evidence of co-existence that vanished.
140:) (August 4, 1888 – March 1, 1949) was a Palestinian Jewish and Israeli writer, who wrote both in Arabic and Hebrew. He is one of the earliest modern
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Video of Yedidyah Shamir one of the last of the old Hebron Jewish community, reads from "Keeper of the Last Mosque" by his father, Yitzhaq Shami.
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who was also teaching in Bulgaria. They married, but their plans to return to Palestine were disrupted by the outbreak of
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After completing his studies, Shami began teaching. He initially taught in the Zionist agricultural settlements of
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by Yitzhaq Shami, edited by Moseh Lazar and Joseph Zernik, introduced by Arnolde Band, Labyrinthos, Lancaster 2000
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family which had lived in Hebron for generations. Growing up, Shami spoke Arabic with his father, and
619:"2001-12-01 Shami: Review by Issa Boullata of Shami's Fiction in Al Jadid magazine s - Hebron - Jews"
262:. He wanted to join them, but was prevented from doing so due to lack of means. Instead, he moved to
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by Yitzhaq Shami, edited by Joseph Zernik, introduced by Arnolde Band, Labor et Fides, Geneve 2006
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168:(al-Khalil) in 1888, eldest of three sons. His father, Eliyahu, was a textile merchant of
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as "evocative glimpses of Hebron at the turn of the twentieth century."
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Hannan Ever, "Yitzhak Shami: Ethnicity as an Unresolved Conflict",
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Mountain against the Sea: Essays on Palestinian Society and Culture
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515:"Ishaq al-Shami and the Predicament of the Arab Jew in Palestine"
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e by Shami—Teacher's Notes by Tzviya Meyer and Yehudit Rosenberg
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Jerold Auerbach, Professor Emeritus of History and author of
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Shofar. An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies
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Hebron Jews: Memory and Conflict in the Land of Israel,
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Hebron Jews: Memory and Conflict in the Land of Israel
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Shami's birth name was Yitzhaq Sarwi. He was born in
286:Shami eventually left Hebron, settling in first in
49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
699:Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature
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414:"Hebron massacre survivor Yaakov Castel dies"
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185:and Arabic in the local religious school.
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
761:Israeli people of Spanish-Jewish descent
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398:Basic biographical information found in
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766:Israeli people of Syrian-Jewish descent
666:. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
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704:Yitzhaq Shami page on Hebrew Knowledge
290:where he worked as a teacher, then in
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16:Palestinian Jewish and Israeli writer
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660:Auerbach, Jerold S. (2009-07-16).
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706:(contains more details)
532:"לאחר הטבח-פוגתם מוסרי"
791:Palestinian male poets
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549:palestine-studies.org
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353:praises Shami's book
330:Critical Perspectives
214:Chaim Hezekiah Medini
212:to study under Rabbi
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280:1929 Hebron massacre
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199:University of Cairo
801:People from Hebron
588:Nouvelles d'Hebron
420:. 19 February 2012
241:Shmuel Yosef Agnon
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736:1949 deaths
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338:wrote that
272:World War I
219:Sdei Chemed
203:Pan-Arabism
144:writers in
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646:2016-01-27
496:"יצחק שמי"
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424:2016-01-27
365:References
322:in Hebrew—
69:newspapers
224:Jerusalem
160:Biography
146:Palestine
288:Tiberias
264:Bulgaria
195:Al-Nahda
174:Damascus
138:יצחק שמי
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