Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2001 07:21:23 +0100 (BST)
From: =?iso-8859-1?q?anna=20miller?= <ruboutthewords-AT-yahoo.co.in>
Subject: More about Israel Shamir


Israel Shamir is a leading Russian-Israeli
intellectual, writer,
                           translator and journalist.

                           Shamir was born in
Novosibirsk, Siberia, a grandson of a
                           professor of mathematics
and a descendant of a Rabbi from
                           Tiberias, Palestine. He
studied at the prestigious School of
                           the Academy of Sciences,
and read Math and Law at
                           Novosibirsk University. In
1969, He moved to Israel, served
                           as paratrooper in the army
and fought in the 1973 war.
                           After the army, he resumed
his study of Law at Hebrew
                           University of Jerusalem,
but abandoned the legal profession
                           in pursuit of a career as a
journalist and writer.

                           He got his first taste of
journalism with Israel Radio. As a
                           freelance, his varied
assignments included covering
                           Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia
in the last stages of the war in
                           South East Asia. In 1975,
Shamir joined the BBC and
                           moved to London. In 1977-79
he wrote for Maariv and other
                           papers from Japan. While in
Tokyo, he wrote ‘Travels With
                           My Son’, his first novel.
He also managed to find time to
                           translate a number of
Japanese classics.

                           After returning to Israel
in 1980, Shamir wrote for the Israeli
                           daily newspaper Haaretz and
Al Hamishmar newspapers
                           and worked in the Knesset
as the spokesman for the Israel
                           Socialist Party (Mapam). He
translated the works of SY
                           Agnon, the only Hebrew
Nobel Prize winning writer, from
                           the original Hebrew to
Russian. His work was published and
                           reprinted many times in
both Israel and in Russia. He also
                           translated selected
chapters of Joyce’s Ulysses, which were
                           well received by publishers
in Moscow, Tel Aviv, New York
                           and Austin, Texas. Another
of his translations, the
                           Israeli-Arab Wars by
President Herzog, was published in
                           London.

                           His most popular work, the
Pine and the Olive, the story of
                           Palestine/Israel, was
published in 1988. Its cover carried a
                           painting by the Ramallah
painter, Nabil Anani. As the first
                           Palestinian Intifada began,
Shamir had left Israel for Russia,
                           where he covered the
eventful years 1989-1993. While in
                           Moscow, he reported for
Haaretz, but was sacked for
                           publishing an article
calling to the return the Palestinian
                           refugees and the rebuilding
of their ruined villages. He wrote
                           for various Russian
newspapers and magazines, including
                           Pravda and Zavtra weekly.
In 1993, he returned to Israel
                           and settled in Jaffa. He
wrote for Russian newspapers both
                           in Israel and Russia and
contributed to various literary
                           magazines. During this
period, he also worked on a new
                           translation of the Odyssey,
which was published in 2000 in
                           St. Petersburg, Russia. His
next big project was translating a
                           Hebrew medieval Talmudic
manuscript into Russian.

                           In response to the second
Palestinian uprising in thirteen
                           years, Shamir has
temporarily abandoned his literary
                           occupation and resumed his
work as a journalist. In the
                           midst of all the endless
talk of a "Two State solution",
                           Shamir, along with Edward
Said, has become a leading
                           champion of the ‘One Man,
One Vote, One State’ solution
                           in all of Palestine/Israel.
His most recent essays have been
                           circulating widely on the
Internet and are now posted on
                           many prominent media sites.
With every new article, Shamir
                           is establishing himself as
a journalist whose work speaks to
                           the aspirations of both the
Israelis and the Palestinians. His
                           most recent works include
Acid Test, Rape of Dulcinea,
                           Galilee Flowers, Joseph
Revisited and Kid Sister.

                           Shamir (50) lives in Jaffa,
he is father of two sons. 

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