Eli Schechtman

Eli Schechtman (or Shekhtman or Shechtman) (Yiddish: עלי שעכטמאן‎; September 8, 1908 – January 1, 1996) was a Yiddish writer. He defined the purpose of his work as follows: "My mission in Jewish literature was and still is ... to show to those who negate the power of the Galut, how mighty – spiritually and physically – were the generations who grew up in that Galut, even in the most godforsaken places."

In March 1953, several days before the official announcement of Stalin's death, Eli Schechtman was imprisoned as a Jewish nationalist and charged with espionage and Zionism. He was released several months after Stalin's death due to "lack of evidence of guilt."

Schechtman lived and worked in Israel from 1972 until his death in 1996.