Moshe Shamir

Moshe Shamir (משה שמיר; 15 September 1921 – 20 August 2004) was an Israeli author, playwright, opinion writer, and public figure.

He was the author of a play upon which Israeli film He Walked Through the Fields was based.

Shamir was born in Safed.

He went to the Tel Nordau School and graduated from the Herzliya Hebrew High School in Tel Aviv.

He was one of the editors of their official newspaper Al Ha-Homa from 1939 to 1941.

Shamir's first story, appearing in print in 1940, dealt with Abraham and the binding of Isaac.

The story was published in the youth movement newspaper Al Ha-Homa.

From 1944 to 1946 he was a member of kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek.

He was founder and editor of the Israel Defense Forces official newspaper Bamahane ("In the Camp") from 1947 to 1950.

However, the anger that was aroused against Shamir was so strong that he decided to leave his kibbutz in 1947 for ideological reasons.

In his 1947 novel He Walked Through the Fields, which became the first play performed in the established State of Israel, the hero is a native-born Israeli, a "Sabra".

The book won the Ussishkin Prize.

It was adapted as a movie directed by Yosef Millo, who also directed its theatrical debut.

In 1947, he became the chief editor of the Haganah (later Israel Defense Forces) newspaper Bamahane.

He edited it until he was dismissed at the request of David Ben-Gurion for publishing an article about a celebration of the disbanding of Palmach.

Thereafter he continually aroused scandals, more than any other Hebrew author of our time.

In the 1948 Arab-Israeli War he served in Palmach.

He began his political career as a member of the movement Hashomer Hatzair, in which he filled a leadership role.

During the 1950s he was a member of the editorial board of the newspaper Maariv and the editor of its literature section.

Shamir began writing stories at a young age.

They immediately attracted attention, and not only for his literary ability.

He was always engaged with political problems, always arousing opposition.

The first opposition came from Meir Yairi, leader of the left-wing movement to which Shamir belonged, concerning what was perceived as "ideological aberration" in his stories.

In hindsight it is difficult to understand what the fuss was about.

The stories seem completely innocent and certainly are not hostile or injurious to the kibbutz movement.

Under the Sun (1950) and That You Are Naked (1959) are autobiographical pieces based on his life in the thirties and forties.

Shamir wrote additional books about the members of his family: With His Own Heart about his father, and Not Far From the Tree about his family history.

The hero of With His Own Hands: Elik's Story (1951) is his brother Elik who fell in the War of Independence.

The book became an icon of that war.

Alik's Story was translated into English, adapted into radio plays, and even merited an adaptation for television.

It is one of the greatest Israeli bestsellers of all time, selling to date over 150,000 copies.

It became part of the program of study in schools.

Besides The King of Flesh and Blood, his most translated book was a children's book, The Fifth Wheel (1961).

It is about the adventures of a kibbutznik, dispatched to bring a tractor from the port, who at every step meets various and sundry obstacles and adventures.

Joseph Klausner was critical of The King of Flesh and Blood, whose central character is the Hasmonean king Alexander Jannæus.

Menachem Begin recalled Klausner's words in a later day when Moshe Shamir, as a member of the Knesset, crossed the political lines from left to right to oppose the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty.

As the prime minister at the time, Begin spoke out against Shamir in the Knesset, indicating that Shamir's objections showed a lack of awareness of the historic moves taking place.

He said to Shamir (in Hebrew):

Moshe Shamir also wrote poetry.

However, most of his trade was in prose.