Oz, Amos (1939– )

Israeli writer. His poetic novels and short stories document events in Israeli and kibbutz life; for example, the novel My Michael (1972), set in Jerusalem in the 1950s. He is a spokesperson for liberal Israelis who oppose Jewish extremism towards the Palestinians, and has been a leading figure in the ‘Peace Now’ movement since 1977. Other novels include Black Box (1987), The Third State (1991), Panther in the Basement (1995), and The Same Sea (2001).

Oz was born in Jerusalem, the son of Russian immigrants from Poland who arrived in 1933, and was educated at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, and in the UK at Oxford University. He moved to a kibbutz in 1954. His first novel, Elsewhere, Perhaps (1966), depicted life on a kibbutz near the Syrian border.

Touch the Water, Touch the Wind (1973) was set against the background of Israeli history between World War II and the Six-Day War. Where the Jackals Howl and Other Stories was published in 1981. His non-fiction works include In the Land of Israel (1983), Israel, Palestine, and Peace (1994), and Under this Blazing Light: Essays (1995). In 1998 he was awarded the Israel Prize for Literature.