Natan Shaḥam

Novelist and playwright Natan Shaḥam was born in Tel Aviv, the son of author Eliezer Steinman. Shaḥam served in the Palmach in Israel’s War of Independence. He then worked abroad as Israel’s cultural attaché in New York and served as editor in chief at the Sifriat Po‘alim Publishing House. His works deal with the issues of assimilation into Israeli culture and threats of war. A musician, Shaḥam received international fame with his Rosendorf Quartet, a five-part novel encapsulating the experiences of immigrants from Germany. In 2012, Shaḥam was awarded the Israel Prize for Literature.