Yehudit Hendel (English: Judith Hendel; German: Jehudit Hendel; ) was an award-winning Israeli author. She wrote novels, short stories, and non-fiction. Much of her work focuses on the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

displaced persons Forced displacement (also forced migration or forced relocation) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR defines 'forced displaceme ...

, people with depression, and the

terminally ill Terminal illness or end-stage disease is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer, rather than fatal injur ...

. When she won the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

in 2003, the selection committee stated that "she is a unique, moving, powerful voice with psychological depth. She delves into man's soul and into the everyday existential problems with delicate observations, and out of recognition of people's tragic fates. Yehudit Hendel is a pioneer in turning from the center of the social map to its edges."

Biography

Hendel was born in 1921 in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. The same year, her grandfather moved to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

; her parents and family moved to

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

in 1930. Her father, Akiva, took a job as a bus driver. As a child, Hendel was a member of the

HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed Histadrut HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed (), most commonly translated as Working and Studying Youth and colloquially known as Noar HaOved and abbreviated No'al (), is an Israeli youth movement, a sister movement of Habonim Dror, and affiliated with the ...

, a

Zionist 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 ...

youth movement The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted otherwise. ...

. She attended the teacher's college in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, and in 1948 she married the painter Zvi Meirovitz. They had two children, Dorit (b. 1952) and Yehoshua (b. 1963). In 1980, Hendel moved to Tel Aviv, where she lived for the rest of her life.

Literary work

Israel prize award ceremony Moshe Katsav presenting author Yehudith Hendel with the literature Israel prize D810-069

Hendel's first short story, "Bi-khvot Orot" ("At lights-out"), was published in 1942 when she was seventeen years old. Her first collection of short stories, ''Anashim Aherim Hem'' (''They are different''), was published in 1950. In 1954, the manuscript for her novel ''Rehov ha-Madregot'' (''Street of'' ''steps'') won the Asher Barash Competition. It was published in 1955 and became a

bestseller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...

. This was followed by the publication of a second novel, ''He-Hazer shel Momo ha-Gedolah'' (''The courtyard of Momo the Great)'' in 1969. She was working on a third novel, to be titled ''Zelilah Hozeret'' (''Repeat dive''), in 1970 when her husband became ill and the book was set aside; her husband died in 1974. She never finished the book, but it formed the basis of a film of the same title directed by

Shimon Dotan Shimon Dotan (; born 23 December 1949) is an Israeli film director, screenwriter, and producer. Biography Early life Shimon Dotan was born in Romania in 1949 and moved to Israel in 1959. He grew up in Moshav Arugot, an agricultural cooperati ...

in 1982. In 1984, she published ''Ha-Koah ha-Aher'' ''The'' ''other force''), a biography of her late husband Zvi Meirovitz. The 1980s and 1990s were a prolific period for her work. She wrote several more novels and short stories, as well as literary reviews. In 1985, she hosted a radio program on

Voice of Israel Voice of Israel was a Jerusalem-based private global broadcast network staffed by media professionals with a Zionist and often religious orientation, who saw their mission in pro-Israel advocacy (''hasbara'') and combating the global pro-Palest ...

radio.

Publications

English translations

As primary author

* ''The Street of Steps'' (1963) * ''Kesef Katan: A Collection of Stories'' (1988) * ''Small Change: A Collection of Stories'' (2002)

As contributor

* ''Ribcage: Israeli Women's Fiction'' (1994) * ''The Oxford Book of Hebrew Short Stories'' (1996) * ''Six Israeli Novellas'' (1998) * ''Children of Israel, Children of Palestine: Our Own True Stories'' (1998) * ''Dreaming the Actual: Contemporary Fiction and Poetry by Israeli Women Writers'' (2000)

Hebrew

*“Bi-khvot Orot” (At lights-out, 1942) hort story* Twenty+ short stories (1944-1949) in ''Mi-Bifnim,'' ''

Davar ''Davar'' (, lit. ''Speech, Word'') was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in the British Mandate of Palestine and Israel between 1925 and May 1996. A similarly named website was launched in 2016, under the name ''Davar Rishon'' as an ...

'', ''Sh’naton Davar'', ''Mishmar, Le-Ahdut ha-Avodah,'' ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

'', ''Molad,'' and ''Keshet Sofrim''. *''La-Magen: Pirkei Shirah'' (Poems for the defender, 1948) oems*''Anashim Aherim Hem'' (''They are different'', 1950)

hort stories Hort may refer to: * Hort, Hungary, a settlement in Heves county * Hort., an abbreviation which indicates that a name for a plant saw significant use in the horticultural literature but was never properly published * Hort (surname) See also * ...

*''Rehov ha-Madregot'' (''Street of'' ''steps'', 1954)

ovel Bereavement in Judaism () is a combination of Jewish custom ( ''minhag'', modern pl. ''minhagim'') and commandments ( ''mitzvah'', pl. ''mitzvot'') derived from the Torah and Judaism's classical rabbinic literature. The details of observance ...

*''He-Hazer shel Momo ha-Gedolah'' (''The courtyard of Momo the Great'', 1969)

-- reprinted in 1993 as ''Ha-Hamsin ha-Aharon'' (''The last sirocco)'' *''Zelilah Hozeret'' (''Repeat dive,'' 1982) [screenplay by

, based on novel by Hendel] *''Ha-Koah ha-Aher'' (''The'' ''other force'', 1984) [biography] *''Le-Yad Kefarim Shketim: Shneym-Asar Yamim be-Polin'' (''Near quiet places: twelve days in Poland'', 1987) *''Kesef Katan: Mahzor Sippurim'' (''Small change: a cycle of stories,'' 1988)

*''Har ha-To’im'' (''The'' ''mountain of losses'', 1991) *''Aruhat Boker Temimah: Mahazor Sippurim'' (''An'' ''innocent breakfast: a cycle of stories'', 1996) *''Rehov ha-Madregot'' (1998) * reprinting of ''Anashim Aherim Hem (They are different)'', including the previously censored short story “Kever Banim” (The sons’ grave), 2000 *''Terufo shel Rofe ha-Nefesh'' (''Crack-up'', 2002)

Awards

Hendel was the recipient of many recognitions for her work, including: * Asher Barash Competition (1954), for ''Rehov ha-Madregot'' (''Street of'' ''steps'') * ACUM (Israel Association of Composers and Publishers) award (1976) * Agnon Prize (1989) * Newman Prize for Hebrew Literature (1995) *

Bialik Prize The Bialik Prize is an annual literary award given by the municipality of Tel Aviv, Israel, for significant accomplishments in Hebrew literature. The prize is named in memory of Israel's national poet Hayyim Nahman Bialik. There are two separate p ...

for Literature (1996) * Prime Minister's Prize (1975, 1998) *

for Lifetime Achievement (2003)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hendel, Yehudit Israeli women writers Israeli writers Israel Prize in literature recipients 1921 births 2014 deaths Recipients of Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine