Israel Shamir
Israel Shamir is an Israeli Jewish writer and journalist of Russian origins. Shamir is opposed to Zionism and supports Palestinian rights. Some accuse Shamir of anti-Semitism.
A native of 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 his military service he resumed his study of Law at the 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, and later went 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 the Israeli daily Maariv and other papers from Japan. While in Tokyo, he wrote Travels with My Son, his first book, and translated a number of Japanese classics.
After returning to Israel in 1980, Shamir wrote for the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz and the newspaper Al Hamishmar, and worked in the Knesset as the spokesman for the Israel Socialist Party (Mapam). He translated the works of S.Y. 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. It was republished in a new updated version in 2004 by Ultraculture, Moscow.
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 the daily Pravda and the weekly Zavtra. 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 English.
In response to the second Palestinian Intifada, Shamir abandoneded his literary occupation and resumed his work as a journalist. In the midst of the endless talk of a "Two State solution", Shamir, along with the late Edward Said, became a leading champion of the "One Man, One Vote, One State" solution in all of Palestine/Israel. Many of his essays were widely circulated on the Internet.
Two prominent Palestinian activists, Ali Abunimah and Hussein Ibish have written an open letter arguing that Shamir's alleged anti-Semitism is unhelpful to the Palestinian cause. They cite a number of 'serious concerns' about Shamir's anti-Semitism.
Shamir (55) lives in Jaffa and is the father of two sons.