Samir Naqqash

Samir Naqqash (b. Baghdad 1938, d. Petah Tikva 6 July 2004) was an Iraqi Jewish novelist, short-story writer, and playwright living in Israel. He received his degree in Arabic literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and was one of the last and probably the most important Jewish writers to continue writing in Arabic throughout his career. He was well known in the Arab world and among the Iraqi community in Israel, but only one of his works was ever translated into Hebrew. Nobel Prize winner Egyptian Novelist Naguib Mahfouz had great respect for his writing. Samir Naqqash has won the Israeli Prime Ministerial Award for Arabic literature.

Naqqash often called himself an Arab who believed in Judaism. In the documentary "Forget Baghdad" (2002), he said that he had not wanted to go to Israel but was taken there in handcuffs by the Jewish Agency. He never felt at home in Israel and continued to publish and write in Arabic. He was often criticized for his Arabic sounding first name but he refused to change it. In this program Shimon Ballas, Sami Michael and Ella Shohat also talked about their roots and Arabic heritage.

After his death, Iraqi expatriates declared their wish to have him buried in iraq, reasoning that he has shown more dedication to Iraq than any other expatriate.

External links

* Art, etc. / Exiled from Babylon, Obituary in Haaretz by Neri Livneh, 6 August 2004
* [http://www.kedma.co.il/index.php?id=348&t=pages Marking the Passing of Samir Naqqash] , by David Shasha, Kedma, 22 July 2004
* [http://newleftreview.org/?view=2495 Mizrahi Wanderings] , by Nancy Hawker, New Left Review25, January-February 2004