Nahum Slouschz

Nahum Slouschz (right) with S. Shalom (standing) and Asher Barash (center), 1948

Nahum Slouschz (; November 1872 – December 1966) was a Russian-born Israeli writer, translator and archaeologist. He was known for his studies of the "secret" Jews of Portugal and the history of the Jewish communities in North Africa, mostly, in Libya and Tunisia.

Biography Nahum Slouschz was born in Smarhon’ and raised in Odessa. In 1909, an English version of the thesis incorporating new material was published under the title The Renascence of Hebrew Literature (1743-1885). In 1904, he lectured on Neo-Hebraic literature at the University of Paris. In 1919 he immigrated to Palestine.

Archaeology In 1921, Slouschz excavated an ancient synagogue at Hamat Tiberias under the sponsorship of the Jewish Palestine Exploration Society. It was the first dig under Jewish auspices in the history of Israeli archaeology.

Published works Besides Slouschz's contributions to the journals, he published "Mah Ya'aseh ha-Adam we-lo Yeheteh" (Jerusalem, 1890) and "Ha-Osher me-Ayin Yimmatzeh " (1892), both translations of works by Paolo Montegazza; "Massa be-Lita" (1898); "Kovetz Sippurim" (Warsaw, 1899), a translation of some of Émile Zola's novels; "Keneset ha-Gedolah" (1899); "Massa be-Mitzrayim" (1900); "Ha-Kongres ha-Ziyoni ha-Revi'i" (1901), on the Zionist Congress; "Emil Zola, Khayav u-Sefarav" (1901); "Ktavim Nivkharim" (7 vols., 1904-1905), selections from Guy de Maupassant translated into Hebrew with a monograph by Slouschz.

Awards In 1942, Slouschz was awarded the Bialik Prize for Jewish thought.