The Hebrew Writers Association in Israel ( he, אגודת הסופרים העברים במדינת ישראל, previously אגודת הסופרים העבריים בארץ ישראל or אגודת הסופרים העבריים) is a professional association of writers and poets, who write in 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 ...

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 ...

. (There are also associations of writers in Israel who write in other languages, including

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

History

The Association was established 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 ...

in 1921 by

Hayim Nahman Bialik Hayim Nahman Bialik ( he, חיים נחמן ביאַליק; January 9, 1873 – July 4, 1934), was a Jewish poet who wrote primarily in Hebrew but also in Yiddish. Bialik was one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew poetry. He was part of the vangu ...

, to enrich the Hebrew cultural arena in the then

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 ...

. The first meeting was attended by some 70 writers and

Nahum Sokolow Nahum ben Joseph Samuel Sokolow ( he, נחום ט' סוקולוב ''Nachum ben Yosef Shmuel Soqolov'', yi, סאָקאָלאָוו; ) was a Zionist leader, author, translator, and a pioneer of Hebrew journalism. Biography Nahum Sokolow was born ...

was elected honorary president. Others who have held this position include: Hayim Nahman Bialik,

Ahad Ha'am Asher Zvi Hirsch Ginsberg (18 August 1856 – 2 January 1927), primarily known by his Hebrew name and pen name Ahad Ha'am ( he, אחד העם, lit. 'one of the people', Genesis 26:10), was a Hebrew essayist, and one of the foremost pre-state Zi ...

, Mordechai ben Hillel,

Jacob Fichman Jacob Fichman ( he, יעקב פיכמן) also transliterated as Yakov Fichman (25 November 1881 – 18 May 1958), was an acclaimed Hebrew language, Hebrew poet, essayist and literary critic. Biography Fichman was born in Bălți, Bessarabi ...

Asher Barash Asher Barash was a writer, editor, teacher, and translator. He wrote stories, non-fiction, and poetry about the “early struggles of Palestinian Jewry.” He was born in Galicia. He won the Bialik Prize in 1940 for his Hebrew language novel ‘ ...

and

Aharon Avraham Kabak Aharon Avraham Kabak ( Smorgon, 1880 - Jerusalem 1944) was a Lithuanian born Hebrew language author. He was recipient of the Bialik Prize for Literature in 1943. His "On the narrow path" ''Ba-Mishcol Ha-Tsar'' was a novelization of the life of ''Y ...

. The Association currently has approximately 450 members, including authors, poets, directors, and dramatists. The Association publishes a literary journal called ''"Moznaim"'' (Scales), founded in 1928 by Hayim Nahman Bialik, the first issue being published on 15 March 1929. In 1950, at the initiative of Asher Barash, the Association established Machon Genazim (Repository Institute), now known as the Asher Barash Bio-Bibliographical Institute, as a central archive for the conservation of works in Hebrew. Other operations of the Association are designated for the promotion of Israeli writers and their work. The Association operates as a trade union, representing its members to ACUM, the publishers association of Israel, tax authorities and other institutions. The offices of the Association are at "Beit HaSofer", Tel Aviv, which also houses the archives and editorial staff of the journal.

Controversy

In April 2012, the Hebrew Writers Association in Israel launched a blistering attack on "

What Must Be Said "What Must Be Said" (german: Was gesagt werden muss) is a 2012 prose poem by the German writer Günter Grass, recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature.International PEN PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internationa ...

to "publicly distance itself from

Grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

' icremarks and to come out against all expressions of delegitimization against Israel and the Jewish people".

References

External links

Website of the Hebrew Writers Association in Israel
''(primarily in Hebrew)''
Asher Barash Bio-Bibliographical Institute
''(primarily in Hebrew)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hebrew Writers Association In Israel Writers Association Professional associations based in Israel Arts organizations established in 1921 1921 establishments in Mandatory Palestine

History

Controversy

See also

References

External links