Zrubavel Gilad ( he, זרובבל גלעד, also ; 9 December 1912 – 12 August 1988) was a
Hebrew poet,
editor
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...
and
translator
Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...
.
Biography
Gilad was born in 1912 in
Bender,
Bessarabia
Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...
(then part of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
and now in
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...
), and his family (
Bessarabian Jews The history of the Jews in Bessarabia, a historical region in Eastern Europe, dates back hundreds of years.
Early history
Jews are mentioned from very early in the Principality of Moldavia, but they did not represent a significant number. Their m ...
) fled to
Odessa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. After the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
, they moved to
Mandate Palestine
Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...
. In 1924, they settled in
Ein Harod
Ein Harod ( he, עֵין חֲרוֹד) was a kibbutz in northern Israel near Mount Gilboa. Founded in 1921, it became the center of Mandatory Palestine's kibbutz movement, hosting the headquarters of the largest kibbutz organisation, HaKibbutz H ...
, where he lived until his death in 1988. He was one of the first children in the
kibbutz
A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...
.
Gilad began to publish stories in 1929 and poetry in 1931. He published articles in most newspapers and magazines in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.
He was active in getting young members of the cooperative agricultural communities of the
Jezreel Valley
The Jezreel Valley (from the he, עמק יזרעאל, translit. ''ʿĒmeq Yīzrəʿēʿl''), or Marj Ibn Amir ( ar, مرج ابن عامر), also known as the Valley of Megiddo, is a large fertile plain and inland valley in the Northern Distr ...
to participate in
HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed 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.
0 ...
activities. He was Secretary of the Central Committee of the movement between 1933 and 1935. Many of his poems were published in the movement's newspaper ''Bamaale'' ( he, בַּמַּעֲלֶה).
In November 1937, he was sent to
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
to work with the pioneering movement
Hehalutz
HeHalutz or HeChalutz ( he, הֶחָלוּץ, lit. "The Pioneer") was a Jewish youth movement that trained young people for agricultural settlement in the Land of Israel. It became an umbrella organization of the pioneering Zionist youth moveme ...
, returning home in 1939.
Gilad was one of the first members of the
Palmach
The Palmach (Hebrew: , acronym for , ''Plugot Maḥatz'', "Strike Companies") was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of the British Mandate for Palestine. The Palmach ...
, and one of its poets. He wrote the Palmah Anthem in 1941. In 1946, he participated in the
Night of the Bridges
The Night of the Bridges (formally Operation Markolet) was a Haganah venture on the night of 16 to 17 June 1946 in the British Mandate of Palestine, as part of the Jewish insurgency in Palestine (1944–7). Its aim was to destroy eleven bridges l ...
at the Sheik Hussein Bridge, and was arrested two weeks later in the
Black Shabbat, spending some time in British jails.
Between 1950 and 1953, he worked on the ''Palmach Book'', an
anthology
In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors.
In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...
he edited with Matti Megged. It is considered one of the most important anthologies of the time.
He was the editor of the
HaKibbutz HaMeuhad
The Kibbutz Movement ( he, התנועה הקיבוצית, ''HaTnu'a HaKibbutzit'') is the largest settlement movement for kibbutzim in Israel. It was formed in 1999 by a partial merger of the United Kibbutz Movement and Kibbutz Artzi and is made ...
magazine ''Mebefnim''( he, מבפנים) for many years and a senior editor in the movement's publishing house.
In his later years, after the death of his first wife, he married the Israeli literary scholar and a translator
Dorothea Krook-Gilead
Dorothea Krook-Gilead (Hebrew: דורותיאה קרוק-גלעד b. 11 February 1920 d. 13 November 1989) was an Israeli literary scholar, translator, and professor of English literature at the University of Cambridge, the Hebrew University of J ...
, who translated many of his poems into English.
In 1990, his
autobiography
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life.
It is a form of biography.
Definition
The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
''Maayan Gideon'' ("Gideon's Spring") was published. Individual poems he wrote have been published in Danish, French, German, Hungarian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian and Spanish.
Awards
Gilad won many awards for his literary achievements. These include the following:
* awarded by the Municipality of
Holon
Holon ( he, חוֹלוֹן ) is a city on the central coastal strip of Israel, south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the metropolitan Gush Dan area. In it had a population of . Holon has the second-largest industrial zone in Israel, after Haifa. ...
(1961)
*
Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works
The Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works, also known as the Levi Eshkol Literary Award, named after Israel's third Prime Minister, is an annual award granted to writers in the Hebrew language. The prize was established in 1969.
Abou ...
(1976)
*
Bialik Prize for Literature (1981)
Books published in Hebrew
*Youth (poetry), Ba-Maale, 1936
eurim*Springs (poetry), Davar, 1939
l Ha-ayin*The Gilboa Sights (poetry), Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1943
ar'ot Gilboa*The Magic Spike (poetry), Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1949
hibolet Pelayim*The Palmach, Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1950
irkei Palmah*Tunes in the Storm (poetry), Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1946
igunim Ba'Sa'ar*The Beehive and the Lady Queen (children), Am Oved, 1946
a'ase Be-Kaveret U-Ba-Malkah ha-Gveret*Secret Shield, The Jewish Agency, 1948
agen Ba-Seter*A Legacy of Heroism, Kiriat Sefer, 1948
oreshet Gevurah*Pines in Bloom (poetry), Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1950
erihat Oranim*The Palmach Book, Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1953
efer Ha-Palmah*Conversation at the Beach (stories), Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1954
ihah Al Ha-Hof*The Green River (poetry), Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1955
ahar Yarok*The Small Rabbit (children), Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1957
a'aseh Be-Arnav Katan*A Drop of Dew (children), Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1958
gel Tal*Shining Dust (poetry), Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1960
fer Noher*The Upper Sea (poetry), Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1966
am Shel Ma'ala*Returning Light (poetry), Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1970
r Hozer*Green Tunes (poetry), Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1972
emirot Yerukot*In the Valley of Shiloh (poetry), Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1974
e-Emek Shilo*Coals of Juniper (poetry), Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1980
ehalei Retamim*The Well (poetry), Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1983
a-Be'er*The Mountain Light (poetry), Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1986
r Ha-Har*The Shade of the Fig Tree (poetry), Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1988
e-Tzel Ha-Te'enah
Books in translation
*Selected Poems (English) Tel Aviv, Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1983
See also
*
Hebrew literature
Hebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in the Hebrew language. It is one of the primary forms of Jewish literature, though there have been cases of literature written in Hebrew by non-Jews. Hebrew literature was pro ...
*
List of Bialik Prize recipients
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
Hayim Nahman Biali ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilad, Zrubavel
1912 births
1988 deaths
Moldovan Jews
Jews in Mandatory Palestine
20th-century Israeli Jews
Jewish poets
20th-century poets
People from Bender, Moldova
Palmach members
Soviet emigrants to Mandatory Palestine