Meir Shalev

Meir Shalev (; 29 July 1948 – 11 April 2023) was an Israeli writer and newspaper columnist for the daily Yedioth Ahronoth. Shalev's books have been translated into 26 languages. Shalev was drafted into the IDF in 1966, and did his military service in the Golani Brigade. He served as a soldier, a squad leader in the brigade's reconnaissance company. Shalev fought in the Six-Day War, and a few months after the war was injured in a friendly fire incident.

Shalev began his career by presenting ironic features on television and radio. He also moderated the program Erev Shabbat ("Friday night") on Israel channel one. His first novel, The Blue Mountain, was published in 1988.

Shalev also wrote non-fiction, children's books, and a weekly column in the weekend edition of Yediot Ahronot.

Shalev lived in the Jezreel Valley until his death on 11 April 2023, following a prolonged battle with cancer. He was 74.

Views and opinions According to a January 2009 interview, Shalev identified with the Israeli left and believed that the conflict with the Palestinians could be resolved by establishing two states for two peoples. However, he expressed disappointment towards the extremism in the Palestinian camp, saying: "Radical Palestinians still say that the only solution would be for all Jews to pack their bags and return to where their grandparents came from. When there are no more Jews left in the Middle East, then the problem is solved, according to their logic. As long as they continue to think that way, there will be no peace. We are here and we are going to stay. Only after that fact is generally accepted can progress be made."

Awards and recognition Bernstein Prize (original Hebrew novel category) (1989) Juliet Club Prize (1999) Porta Siberia Prize (2009)

Published works

Fiction

1988 The Blue Mountain (1988, originally published in Hebrew as Roman Rusi) English translation in 1991 by Hillel Halkin. Reprinted, 2010 1991 Esau 1994 As a Few Days, also called The Four Meals or The Loves of Judith 1998 His House in the Desert (or "Alone in the Desert") 2002 Fontanelle 2006 A Pigeon and A Boy (originally published in Hebrew as Yona v'naar by Am Oved Publishers, Tel Aviv), translated by Evan Fallenberg, Random House, New York, 2013 Two She-Bears 2017 My Wild Garden

Children's books 1982 Michael and the Monster of Jerusalem 1987 Zohar's Dimples 1988 My Father Always Embarrasses Me 1990 Nehama the Louse (also published as A Louse Named Thelma) 1993 How the Neanderthal Inadvertently Invented Kebab 1994 A flood, a snake and two arks 2021 “A Snake, a Flood, a Hidden Baby” (Eng, Kalaniot Books, USA) 1995 The Tractor in the Sandbox 2000 Aunt Michal 2004 A Lion at Night 2004 Roni and Nomi and the Bear Yaacov 2007 Uncle Aaron and his Rain