Avigdor Hameiri (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: אביגדור המאירי; September 16, 1890 – April 3, 1970) was a Hungarian-Israeli author.

Biography

Hameiri was born as Avigdor Menachem Feuerstein in 1890, in the village of Odavidhaza (near Munkatsch),

Carpathian Ruthenia Carpathian Ruthenia ( rue, Карпатьска Русь, Karpat'ska Rus'; uk, Закарпаття, Zakarpattia; sk, Podkarpatská Rus; hu, Kárpátalja; ro, Transcarpatia; pl, Zakarpacie); cz, Podkarpatská Rus; german: Karpatenukrai ...

Austria Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with t ...

. Growing up with his grandfather instilled in him a love for the

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. Even though most of mainline Hungarian Jewry was still anti-Zionist, he had already developed an admiration for

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a Nationalism, 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 ...

when he moved to

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. He served in the Austro-Hungarian army along the

Eastern front of World War I The Eastern Front or Eastern Theater of World War I (german: Ostfront; ro, Frontul de răsărit; russian: Восточный фронт, Vostochny front) was a theater of operations that encompassed at its greatest extent the entire frontier ...

. Taken prisoner by the Russians during the Brusilov Offensive in 1916, he joined a group of Hebrew writers in Odessa after his release. With their support, he

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

in 1921, and fought in the 1948 War of Independence. He recorded the events of his war service in his memoirs, ''The Great Madness'' (1929) and ''Hell on Earth'' (1932). Alon Rachamimov writes that Hameiri's war stories "reveal the degree to which Jewish identification processes could be contextual, angst-ridden, and laden with contradictory tendencies. The extent to which Hameiri was aware of his struggles regarding notions of 'loyalty,' 'fatherland,' and 'patriotism'...illuminate the complexities of collective identification among Habsburg Jews."

Gershon Shaked Gershon Shaked ( he, גרשון שקד) (1929–2006) was an Israeli scholar and critic of Hebrew literature. Biography Gerhard Mandel (later Gershon Shaked) was born in Vienna, Austria. He immigrated to Mandate Palestine alone in 1939, and was l ...

argues that Hameiri's anti-war stance is rooted in his Judaism. His first book of poetry was published around 1912, while he was still living in Budapest. He published the Israeli State's first independent newspaper and helped to organize the worker's bank. Hameiri was the first poet to whom the title Israel's Poet Laureate was awarded. His books have been published in 12 languages. He died in Israel on April 3, 1970.

Awards

* 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. ...

(1962) *

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 ...

for literature (1968).

References

Bibliography

*
- contains chapters on

Uri Zvi Greenberg Uri Zvi Greenberg ( he, אוּרִי צְבִי גְּרִינְבֵּרְג; September 22, 1896 – May 8, 1981; also spelled Uri Zvi Grinberg) was an acclaimed Modern Hebrew poetry, Israeli poet, journalist and politician who wrote in Yiddish ...

and

Shaul Tchernichovsky Shaul Tchernichovsky ( he, שאול טשרניחובסקי) or Saul Gutmanovich Tchernichovsky (russian: link=no, Саул Гутманович Черниховский; 20 August 1875 – 14 October 1943) was a Russian-born Hebrew poet. He is c ...

as well. * Rachamimov, A. "Collective Identifications and Austro-Hungarians Jews (1914-1918): The Contradictions and Travails of Avigdor Hameiri", in Laurence Cole and Daniel L. Unowsky (eds), ''The Limits of Loyalty: Imperial Symbolism, Popular Allegiances, and State Patriotism in the Late Habsburg Monarchy'' (Oxford, Berghahn Books, 2007), 178-197.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hameiri, Avigdor Jewish Austrian writers Hebrew-language writers War writers 1970 deaths Austro-Hungarian Jews Jews in Mandatory Palestine Israeli Jews Burials at Kiryat Shaul Cemetery Israel Prize in literature recipients 1890 births Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Israeli people of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War Hungarian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Jewish Hungarian writers Jewish poets 20th-century Israeli poets Israeli male poets 20th-century Hungarian poets Hungarian male poets People from Zakarpattia Oblast

Biography

Awards

See also

References

Bibliography

External links