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

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

, displaced persons, people with depression, and the terminally ill. When she won the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

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 1925 in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. The same year, her grandfather moved to

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; her parents and family moved to

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the 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 metropol ...

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

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

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. She attended the teacher's college in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, 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

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 ( he, שמעון דותן; 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, ...

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 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 Hort may refer to: People * Erik Hort (born 1987), American soccer player * F. J. A. Hort (1828–1892), Irish theologian * Greta Hort (1903–1967), Danish-born literature professor * Josiah Hort (c. 1674–1751), English clergyman of the Chur ...

* Twenty+ short stories (1944-1949) in ''Mi-Bifnim,'' ''

Davar ''Davar'' ( he, דבר, lit. ''Word'') was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in the British Mandate of Palestine and Israel between 1925 and May 1996. It was relaunched in 2016, under the name ''Davar Rishon'' as an online outlet by th ...

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

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

'', ''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: People * Erik Hort (born 1987), American soccer player * F. J. A. Hort (1828–1892), Irish theologian * Greta Hort (1903–1967), Danish-born literature professor * Josiah Hort (c. 1674–1751), English clergyman of the Chu ...

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

ovel Bereavement in Judaism () is a combination of ''minhag'' and ''mitzvah'' derived from the Torah and Judaism's classical rabbinic texts. The details of observance and practice vary according to each Jewish community. Mourners In Judaism, the p ...

*''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 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