Alon Ḥilu (; born June 21, 1972,

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

) is an Israeli novelist. Hilu was born to parents who immigrated to Israel from Syria. His first novel, '' Death of a Monk'' (Xargol, 2004), is based on a historical

blood libel Blood libel or ritual murder libel (also blood accusation) is an antisemitic canardTurvey, Brent E. ''Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis'', Academic Press, 2008, p. 3. "Blood libel: An accusation of ritual mu ...

against the Jews in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, and offers an original homosexual interpretation for the historical events. The novel was shortlisted for the prestigious

Sapir Prize The Sapir Prize for Literature of Israel is a prestigious annual literary award presented for a work of literature in the Hebrew language. The prize is awarded by Mifal HaPayis (Israel's state lottery), and is a part of the organization's cultural ...

in Israel (2005), was awarded the Presidential Prize for literature (Israel, 2006) and has been translated into English (Harvill Secker,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

), French (Edition Du Seuil,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

(Metaichmio,

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

) and Dutch (Ambo Anthos, Amsterdam). Hilu's second novel, '' The House of Rajani'' (

Harvill Secker Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press. History Secker & Warburg Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

UK), a fictional retelling of the history of early

Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

, was published in Hebrew in February 2008 by Yedioth Sfarim. The novel initially received the 2009

, but after claims were made regarding a conflict of interests among the judges (

Yossi Sarid Yossi Sarid (‎; 24 October 1940 – 4 December 2015) was an Israeli politician and news commentator. He served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment, Ratz and Meretz between 1974 and 2006. A former Minister of Education and Minist ...

, the head judge of the committee, was related to the novel's editor) the prize was withdrawn and the award cancelled. Israel's president

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...

called it "an extraordinary book". His recent book, '' Murder in the Red House'', is a historical novel about the mysterious murder of the renowned writer

Yosef Haim Brenner Joseph Chaim Brenner (; 11 September 1881 – 2 May 1921) was a Hebrew-language author from the Russian Empire, and one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew literature, a thinker, publicist, and public leader. In addition to his literary innovations ...

and five of his friends, in a mansion among the orchards of

in 1921. The novel was published in Hebrew in May 2018 by Yedioth Sfarim. Hilu earned a degree in dramatic writing at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

, studying under Israel's leading playwrights, such as

Yehoshua Sobol Yehoshua Sobol, sometimes written Joshua Sobol (; born 24 August 1939), is an Israeli playwright, writer, and theatre director. Biography Yehoshua Sobol was born in Tel Mond. His mother's family fled the pogroms in Europe in 1922 and his father' ...

and

Shmuel Hasfari Shmuel Hasfari (; born 26 August 1954) is an Israeli playwright and screenwriter. He was artistic director of the Cameri Theatre. Biography Shmuel Hasfari was born in Ramat Gan to Holocaust survivor parents from History of the Jews in Poland, Po ...

. His plays, "The Wedding" and "The Day of the Dogs", were produced in theatre festivals in Israel, and were both translated into English for the Harvard Radcliffe Dramatic Club. From 1987 to 1988, Hilu wrote radio plays for Israeli Radio. During the 90s, two of his short stories were published in Israeli literary magazines: "The Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem" ('' Iton 77'', 1992) and "Last Seen" (''Moznaim'', 1993). In addition to his writing career, Hilu holds a law degree and practices

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

law as an attorney. In 2018, Alon Hilu joined more than 150 Israeli artists, authors, and intellectuals in signing an open letter addressed to Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

and members of the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

. The letter called for the repeal of Jewish Nation-State Law and changes to the surrogacy law to enable

same-sex couples A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries ...

in Israel to access

surrogacy Surrogacy is an arrangement whereby a woman gets pregnant and gives birth on behalf of another person or couple who will become the child's legal parents after birth. People pursue surrogacy for a variety of reasons such as infertility, danger ...

services.

Personal life

Hilu came out as gay in 2013. He is divorced and has 2 daughters.

References

External links

*
Alon Hilu at Xargol.comAlon Hilu at Random House website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hilu, Alon 1972 births Living people People from Jaffa Recipients of Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works Tel Aviv University alumni Israeli male novelists Israeli male dramatists and playwrights Israeli LGBTQ novelists Israeli LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights Israeli LGBTQ lawyers Israeli gay writers Israeli Mizrahi Jews Israeli people of Syrian-Jewish descent Jewish Israeli novelists Jewish Israeli dramatists and playwrights Gay novelists Gay dramatists and playwrights Gay Jews 21st-century Israeli male writers 21st-century Israeli novelists 21st-century Israeli dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Israeli lawyers 21st-century Israeli LGBTQ people 21st-century Israeli Jews 21st-century Mizrahi Jews