Salman Masalha

Salman Masalha (Arabic: سلمان مصالحة‎, Hebrew: סלמאן מצאלחה‎; born November 4, 1953) is a poet, writer, essayist and translator. He is a Palestinian Druze. Masalha is a bilingual writer who writes in Arabic and Hebrew, and publishes in both languages. His poetry has also appeared in other languages. Salman is a frequent contributor to left-leaning Israeli newspaper, Haaretz.

Biography

Masalha was born on November 4, 1953 to a Druze family in Maghar, a village in the Galilee in northern Israel. After graduating from high school he moved to Jerusalem, where he has been living since 1972. Masalha studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and holds a Ph.D. degree in Arabic literature. He wrote his thesis on the mythological elements of ancient Arabic poetry. He taught Arabic language and literature at the Hebrew University and served as co-editor of the Concordance of Early Arabic Poetry. One volume of the concordance titled Six Early Arab Poets: New Edition and Concordance was published in 1999.