Sami Michael, Iraqi-born and award-winning Israeli author and activist, dies at 97

Iraqi-born Israeli author Sami Michael, left, is congratulated by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, right, as he receives an Emet Prize in Jerusalem Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2007. Sami Michael, an award-winning Iraqi-Israeli author who was known for writing poignantly about oppressed minorities and the challenges faced by Jews from Arab countries, has died. He was 97. (AP Photo / Jim Hollander, Pool, File)

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By Associated Press

April 1, 2024 at 8:55 PM UTC

Updated on

April 1, 2024 at 9:03 PM UTC

JERUSALEM (AP) — Sami Michael, an award-winning Iraqi-Israeli author who was known for writing poignantly about oppressed minorities and the challenges faced by Jews from Arab countries, died on Monday. He was 97.

His characters, who were often Arabic-speaking Jews like himself, opened a window into the particular pains and challenges faced by Mizrahi Jews from the Middle East and North Africa, as well as his close relationships with Israeli Palestinians in the mixed city of Haifa.