1927 -
Israeli writer and satirist.
Amos Keinan helped create Israeli culture and served as one of its severest critics. A member of the generation that fought for an independent Jewish state, he soon accused Israel of moral and political decline particularly with regard to its military actions. Influenced by the Canaanite movement, Keinan also argued that Israel lacked a genuine national identity. As a regular columnist for two of Israel's leading newspapers, Yediot Aharonot and Haaretz, Keinan was widely known for his caustic satire. Keinan's writings are pessimistic and preoccupied with the possibility of destruction. Among his works are Shoah II (Holocaust II; 1975); Ba-Derekh Le-En Harod (On the road to En Harod; 1984, recounting the destruction of Israel); Mi-Tahat La-Perahim (Under the flowers; 1979), an anthology of short stories describing attitudes toward death during war; and Sefer ha-Satirot (Book of satires; 1984). A collection of his plays appeared in 1979.
Bibliography
Almog, Oz. The Sabra: The Creation of the New Jew, translated by Haim Watzman. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.
Shaked, Gershon. Modern Hebrew Fiction, translated by Yael Lotan. Bloomington: University of Indiana Press, 2000.
— ANN KAHN
UPDATED BY DONNA ROBINSON DIVINE
