Dorit Orgad ( he, דורית אורגד) (born October 5, 1936) is an Israeli writer. She writes

children's A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

and

young adult A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...

fiction, as well as books for adults. She also taught at academic institutionsDorit Orgad
/ref>Dorit Orgad
''The New Hebrew Literature Lexicon''Dorit Orgad
brief autobiograpy

Biography

When she was 3, her family immigrated to

Eretz Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Israel ...

and settled in

Netanya Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate ...

. She graduated from the departments of economics and sociology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and of Jewish philosophy at

Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic ...

(Ph.D.).

Books

Orgad published 3 books for adults and 70 children's and young adult books. *1979, 1993: ''Testing Time'' (בשעת מבחן) (for ages 12–16) *:A

mistaken identity Mistaken identity is a defense in criminal law which claims the actual innocence of the criminal defendant, and attempts to undermine evidence of guilt by asserting that any eyewitness to the crime incorrectly thought that they saw the defenda ...

story: Hamid, a medical student at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

, an Arab, rents a room from an old lady Miriam Rosen, who insists on calling him Haim. It turns out that she takes him for her son. Miriam's daughters accuse him of deception... *:Translations: German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean *1984 (original Hebrew: הנער מסיביליה), 2006 (English): ''The Boy from Seville'' (translated by Sondra Silverston, for ages 10–13) *:Set in the early 17th century Spain, it is a novel about 12-year-old boy Manuel Nunez and his

Sephardic Jew Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...

ish family of ''

Marranos Marranos were Spanish and Portuguese Jews living in the Iberian Peninsula who converted or were forced to convert to Christianity during the Middle Ages, but continued to practice Judaism in secrecy. The term specifically refers to the charge ...

'', Jews who were converted to Christianity, but continued to practice Judaism and for what they were persecuted by the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

in Spain and Portugal. *:The book was also translated into Russian, German, Spanish, French, Italian, and Serbian *2006: (for ages 9–14) "Kalkidan"
a review at the ITHL **The story of a 14-year-old boy from a family who came to

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Jews of the Old Yishuv, and became a permanent s ...

from

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...

The boy manages to deal with his life despite the racism he meets due to his black skin. For the unflattering portrayal of the Israeli society the novel was met with both criticism and praise. *2017: השתיקה של יורי (''Yuri Breaks His Silence'', for ages 10–17)New Books for Children from Israel. ITHL Fall 2017 Catalogue Supplement
/ref> *:A 12-year-old boy Ilyusha (Ilish) while living in Moscow meets a strange silent boy Yuri. When Yuri is injured by a fall from a tree, Ilish's grandmother takes case of Yuri, and Ilish and Yuri become friends, but Yuri remains silent. After Ilish and family move to Israel, Ilish meets a boy named Uri who looks remarkably similar to Yuri...

Awards

Her awards include: *

Lamdan Prize The Lamdan Prize was an Israeli prize awarded annually, from 1954 to 1983, for literary works for children and youth. The prize was presented by the Ramat Gan Municipality in conjunction with the Hebrew Writers Association in Israel and was foun ...

(1981) *Ashman Prize for Short Children's Stories (1982) *Haifa University's Adrian Tomas Prize (1984) * (1987) *

Bernstein Prize The Bernstein Prize is an annual Israeli literary award for writers 50 years of age and younger. The prize is awarded by the Bernstein Foundation, named after Mordechai Bernstein, who left money in his estate to establish a foundation in order to ...

from Haifa University's Education Department (1987) *Hadassah & Haifa Foundation Prize (2000) *Honor Citation from the

WZO The World Zionist Organization ( he, הַהִסְתַּדְּרוּת הַצִּיּוֹנִית הָעוֹלָמִית; ''HaHistadrut HaTzionit Ha'Olamit''), or WZO, is a non-governmental organization that promotes Zionism. It was founded as the ...

for lifetime achievement and for her books about children from Ethiopia (2004) *

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

Award (2005 ?) *Verghereto Award (Italy, 2006) for the best children's book of the year for the English edition of ''The Boy from Seville''Deanna Silverman, "Practicing Judaism secretly during the Spanish Inquisition"
''Ottawa Jewsih Bulletin'' February 18, 2008
p. 31, ''The Boy from Seville'' book review (retrieved February 28, 2024) *Ministry of Culture Award (2007) for ''Kalkidan'', which was also selected Most Popular young adult Novel by Israel's Ministry of Education *Public Libraries Award (2012) for ''Kalkidan'' *

Dvora Omer Dvora Omer ( he, דבורה עומר; October 9, 1932 – May 2, 2013) was an Israeli author. Biography Dvora OMER was born in 1932 in Kibbutz Ma'oz Haim in Mandatory Palestine.

Award for book ''Yuri Breaks his Silence'' (2017) * Lifetime Achievement Award (2018)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orgad Dorit 1936 births Living people Israeli writers Israeli women children's writers Israeli children's writers Women writers of young adult literature Writers of young adult literature Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Mandatory Palestine