Sayed Kashua

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Sayed Kashua (1975- ) is an Israeli-Arab author and journalist.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Sayed Kashua was born in Tira in the Triangle region of Israel. In 1990, he was accepted to a prestigious boarding school in Jerusalem.[1]He studied sociology and philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Kashua lives with his wife and daughter in Beit Safafa, an Arab neighborhood in southern Jerusalem.

[edit] Literary career

Kashua writes satiric columns in Hebrew for Haaretz newspaper and a local Jerusalem weekly, HaIr. In a humorous, tongue-in-cheek style, Kashua addresses the problems faced by Arabs in Israel, caught between two worlds.[2]

While Kashua's two books have been praised by the Israeli press they have not been well-received by literary critics in the Arab world.[3]

[edit] Television

Avoda Aravit (Arab Labor), a satiric sitcom written by Kashua is broadcast on Israel television.[4] A large part of the dialogue is in Arabic, with Hebrew subtitles. The show is about a young Arab couple, Amjad and Bushra, and their young daughter, who live in an Arab village on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Amjad is a journalist working for a Hebrew newspaper (much like Haaretz) who desperately seeks to assimilate into the prevailing Israeli Jewish cultural milieu with mixed and hilarious results. [5] The show holds a mirror up to the racism and ignorance on both sides of the ethnic divide and has been compared with All in the Family.

[edit] Published works

  • Dancing Arabs (2002)
  • Let it be Morning (2006)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Straddling Cultures, Irreverently, in Life and Art - New York Times
  2. ^ http://bostonreview.net/BR31.5/lalami.html Native Speaker Lalami, Laila. Boston Review.
  3. ^ Kayyal, Mahmoud: “Arabs Dancing in a New Light of Arabesques': Minor Hebrew Works of Palestinian Authors in the Eyes of Critics;' Middle Eastern Literatures (2008) p.47
  4. ^ http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2008/01/07/arab-labor-israeli-tv-comedy-hit/ 'Arab Labor' Israeli TV Comedy Hit
  5. ^ Straddling Cultures, Irreverently, in Life and Art - New York Times