Asher Salah is an Israeli historian. He is one of the leading specialists in Italian Hebrew literature

Hebrew literature

Hebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in the Hebrew language. It is one of the primary forms of Jewish literature, though there have been cases of literature written in Hebrew by non-Jews...

 and a translator of Hebrew literature. He has written extensively in cinema studies and contemporary Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

 politics working as a columnist for different Italian newspapers.

Education and teaching

Salah went to school in Spain, Argentina and Italy before entering the University of Geneva

University of Geneva

The University of Geneva is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland.It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin, as a theological seminary and law school. It remained focused on theology until the 17th century, when it became a center for Enlightenment scholarship. In 1873, it...

 where he graduated in political philosophy. He received his Ph.D. in Paris with a thesis on Italian Jewish Literature in the 18th century. He immigrated to Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 in 1991. He teaches at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design

Bezalel Academy of Art and Design

Bezalel Academy of Art and Design is Israel's national school of art, founded in 1906 by Boris Schatz. It is named for the Biblical figure Bezalel, son of Uri , who was appointed by Moses to oversee the design and construction of the Tabernacle ....

 in Jerusalem since 1998 and at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...

 from 1998 to 2005 and since 2008. He is a member of the ASSEI (Israeli Historical Association of Italian Jewish Studies), of the AISG (Associazione Italiana per lo Studio del Giudaismo) and of the AIS (Association of Israel Studies). He has been the president of the Swiss Union of Jewish Students (UEJS) from 1988 to 1990, MP of the European Union of Jewish Students

European Union of Jewish Students

The European Union of Jewish Students is an umbrella organization for 34 national Jewish student unions in Europe and the FSU, representing over 200,000 Jewish students...

, researcher for the Israel Democracy Institute

Israel Democracy Institute

The Israel Democracy Institute , established in 1991, is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank in Jerusalem, Israel. -History and goals:...

, from 1997 to 1999 and he is presently vice-president of the Dante Alighieri Society

Dante Alighieri Society

The Dante Alighieri Society is a society that promotes the Italian culture and language around the world.It was formed in Italy in July 1889. The society was named after Dante Alighieri , a pre-Renaissance poet from Florence and the author of The Divine Comedy...

in Jerusalem.

Awards

• 1991: Nahum Goldmann Fellowship, Moscow
• 1997: Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD)
• 2002: Zanea et Cobilovici Fellowship, Casip-Cojasor, Paris
• 2005: First prize for the best short story, international competition “Energheia”, Matera
• 2008: silver medal of the International Society Dante Alighieri for his role in the diffusion of Italian Culture and Language.

Publications

Books

• Future’s Past: The Italian Futurism and its Influence, Gal Ventura & Asher Salah (eds.), January (2011), monographic issue of Bezalel E-Journal http://bezalel.secured.co.il/zope/home/en/1292052032
• La République des Lettres : Rabbins, médecins et écrivains juifs en Italie au XVIIIè, Brill, Leiden/Boston, 2007 (in French).
• "Viaggi, percorsi e stravaganze di un illuminista ebreo italiano": il caso di Samuele Romanelli, prefazione a Samuele Romanelli, Visioni d’Oriente, Asher Salah (ed.), La Giuntina, Firenze, 2006 (in Italian).
• La storia dell’altro: israeliani e palestinesi, Asher Salah, Barbara Bertoncin (Eds.), Pierre Vidal-Naquet (preface), Forlì, Una Città, 2003 (in Italian).
• La bandiera nera: testimonianze e interviste da Israele sulla nuova sinistra, Asher Salah, Barbara Bertoncin, Francesco Papafava (Eds.), Forlì, Una Città, 2002 (in Italian).
• Bibliografia ebraico-sicula, Istituto Internazionale di Studi Ebraici, Enna, 2002 (in Italian).
• Historia veAtarim Yehudim beItalia (History and Places in Jewish Italy), Machon Zalman Shazar, Jerusalem, 2002 (in Hebrew).
• Israele Palestina, culture di frontiera, numero monografico delle Nuove Effemeridi 53, Asher Salah (ed.), 2001 (in Italian

Selected articles On Jewish Literature and History

• “Rabbini e letterati nella Livorno del secolo dei Lumi”, in Livorno 1606-1806: luogo di incontro tra popoli e culture, Adriano Prosperi (ed.), Allemandi, Torino, 2009, pp. 187–210.
• “Shoshana-Rose Marzel, L'Esprit du chiffon. Le vêtement dans le roman français du XIXe siècle”, in Studi Culturali, aprile (2009), pp. 159–161.
• “Nota biobliografica” in Baruch Hagani, Vita di Teodoro Herzl, con prefazione del 1919 di Francesco Ruffini e introduzione di Luigi Compagna, Talete, Roma, 2008, pp. XV-XVIII.
• “Juifs, convertis et cabalistes dans l’Histoire de ma vie de Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798)”, in Culture Européenne et Kabbale, M. Burgada & Y. Dureau (eds.), L’Harmattan, Paris, 2008, pp. 257–300.
• “A Contextual Analysis of the Jewish Italian Elegy at the Time of the Ghettos (16th-18th centuries)”, in A Message upon the Garden: Studies in Medieval Jewish Poetry, Masha Izhaki & Alessandro Guetta (eds.)., Brill, Leiden/Boston, 2008, pp. 117–138.
• “Il resto di Israele: la letteratura degli ebrei in Italia del Settecento tra isolamento e integrazione”, in La Rassegna Mensile di Israel, LXXIII, No 3 (2007), pp. 97–110.
• “La Ketubbah come fonte per la conoscenza del rabbinato italiano nel Settecento”, in Mahberet Oshri, 2007, pp. 3–8 (in Italian and Hebrew)
• "’Bein Ghevule Ashkenaz VeItalia’: Elia Morpurgo nel contesto delle riforme scolastiche nelle Unite Contee di Gradisca e Gorizia tra Sette e Ottocento”, in Cultura ebraica nel Goriziano, Marco Grusovin (ed.), Istituto di Storia Sociale e Religiosa, Gorizia, 2007, pp. 101–123.
• “Ktiva Pratit Ukhtiva Tzibburit: Hibburim SheNikhtevu BeItalia BeIqvot Praot 1799”, in Qanoni Upopulari (Canonical and Popular: Literary Dialogues), Yael Shapira, Omri Herzog, Tamar Hess (eds.), Resling, Tel Aviv, 2007, pp. 99– 108, 227-231.
• ”Les Lumières: le siècle d’or de l’imprimerie en Italie”, in Cahiers du Judaïsme, A. Grinberg (ed.), 22 (2007), pp. 114–124.
• ”Qu'est-ce qu'une catastrophe pour un poète juif? L'élègie dans la poèsie hébraïque italienne a l'âge des ghettos (XVI-XVIII siècles)”, in Babel, Elegies, 12 (2005), pp. 51–77.
• ”Y-a t’il eu un roman juif? Roman et romanesque dans la littérature hébraïque du XVI au XVIIIème siècle”, in Babel, Rhéthoriques Méditerranéennes, J.-E. Bernard (ed.), N° 7 (2003), pp. 95–120.
• “Livorno: Elia Benamozegh”, in La Rassegna Mensile di Israel, Settembre-Dicembre, N° 3 (2000), pp. 113–124.
• “Israel Knohl’s The Masiach before Jesus”, in La Rassegna Mensile d’Israel, Maggio-Agosto, Vol. LXVI, N° 2 (2000).

Selected articles On Film Studies

• “Futurismo e cinema”, in Future’s Past: The Italian Futurism and its Influence, History & Theory: The Protocols (Gal Ventura & Asher Salah eds.), January, 2011 E-Journal http://bezalel.secured.co.il/zope/home/en/1292052032
• “Lo Stato d’Israele nell’immaginario cinematografico italiano”, in Roma e Gerusalemme. Israele nella vita politica e culturale italiana (1949–2009), Marcella Simoni & Arturo Marzano (eds.), Genova, ECIG, 2010, pp. 75–96.
• “I perseguitati? Un fardello di redenzione”, in Pagine ebraiche, 11 (2010), p. 35.
• “Il cinema israeliano di animazione”, in Il cinema israeliano contemporaneo, Maurizio De Bonis, Ariel Schweitzer, Giovanni Spagnoletti (eds.), Marsilio, Venezia, 2009, pp. 195–206.
• “Tradizione e modernità nel cinema israeliano”, in Ebraismo, D. Bidussa & M. Luzzatto (eds.), Einaudi, Torino, 2008, pp. 326–353.
• “Le sable dans le cinéma d’Uri Zohar”, in Tel Aviv : Cent ans d’architecture, Yod, revue de l’INALCO, Masha Yitzhaki (ed.), 13 (2008), pp. 301–313.
• “Exodus: The Italian Version”, in Jerusalem Film Festival, 2008, p. 32.
• "Nokhehim Nifqadim : HaYehudim BaQolnoa HaItalqi”, in Italia Ebraica : Lemaala meAlpaim Shnot Mifgash Bein HaTarbut HaItalqit LeYahadut, Museon Eretz Israel, Tel Aviv, 2008, pp. 259–266 (an Hebrew version of the previous article)
• “Maschere Giudaiche: gli ebrei al cinema italiano”, in Italia Ebraica: oltre duemila anni di incontro tra la cultura italiana e l’ebraismo, Allemandi, Torino, 2007, pp. 221–235.
• “The other place in Italian Cinema: Matera and Lucania - HaMaqom HaAher BaQolnoa HaItalqi: Matera VeEzor Lucania”, in Jerusalem Cinematheque, May (2006), p. 5 (in Hebrew).
• “Roma set mundi– Ir HaNetzah BaQolnoa”, in Jerusalem Cinematheque, May (2004), p. 3 (in Hebrew).
• “Stranieri in patria: l’invisibile frontiera nel cinema israeliano e palestinese della seconda intifada”, in Catalogo della 53a edizione della mostra internazionale del cortometraggio, Montecatini, 2002, pp. 112–121.
• “Tre prospettive su Gerusalemme: Marcello Piacentini, Chris Marker, Paul Celan”, in Arts and Artists in Israel and Palestine, Palazzo delle Papesse, Siena, 2000, pp. 20–26; 135-137 (in Italian and English).

Selected articles On Israel

• “La philosophie israélienne face a la guerre”, in Philosophie et pensées juives : histoire et actualité, A. Guetta (ed.), Yod, 15 (2010), pp. 317–344 (a French version of a previous article in Italian).
• “Orgoglio e pregiudizio : osservazioni contro il boicottaggio delle università israeliane”, in Una Città, 148 (2007), pp. 22–23.
• “Un manuale per le scuole israeliane e palestinesi”, in La storia dell’altro: israeliani e palestinesi. Seminario della fondazione Querini e Stampalia del 24 marzo 2004, Venezia, 2006, pp. 21–28.
• “Lo spazio bianco della storia”, in Verifiche, Aprile, 2 (2006), pp. 18–21.
• “La filosofia israeliana di fronte alla guerra”, in Conflitti, a cura di Alessandro Alienzo e Dario Caruso, Libreria Dante e Descartes, Napoli, 2005, pp. 465–484.
• “Pace, dialogo, tolleranza: le parole sono importanti”, in Gli argomenti Umani, sinistra e innovazione, Giugno, N° 6 (2003), pp. 56–59.
• “Guerra o pace? Per chi facciamo il tifo”, in Keshet, rivista dell’ebraismo laico, Anno II, Settembre-Ottobre, N° 1-2 (2003), pp. 21–24.
• “L’archeologia del futuro: paradigmi della nuova storia israeliana”, in Le nuove effemeridi, N. 53 (2001), pp. 6–21.

Book Translations

• Formica Enrico, Cassuto David & Peres Shimon, Gerusalemme a 360 gradi, Hever, Ivrea, 2008.
• Kleiman Ephraim & Shapira Anita, Brutti ricordi: il dibattito in Israele sulle espulsioni di palestinesi nel 1948-1949, Una Città, Forlì, 2007.
• Romanelli Samuele, Visioni d’Oriente, La Giuntina, Firenze, 2006 (from Hebrew to Italian)
• Veronesi Sandro, Hayav HaAherim (La forza del passato), Keren, Tel Aviv, 2005 (from Italian to Hebrew)
• Lattes Yaaqov Andrea, Sull'assimilazione in Italia ed i metodi per affrontarla, Bar Ilan, Ramat Gan, 2005 (from Hebrew to Italian)
• Bar-On Dan, Adwan Sami, La storia dell’altro, Una Città, Forlì, 2003 (from Hebrew and Arabic)
• Yehoshua A.B., Lettore allo specchio. Autobiografie, diari, interviste, Einaudi, Torino, 2003 (from Hebrew to Italian).
• Yehoshua A.B., La terribile forza di una piccola colpa, sette saggi su morale e letteratura, Einaudi, Torino, 2000 (from Hebrew to Italian)
• Siddur (libro di preghiera) bilingue italiano-ebraico di Shabbat e Kippur, DLI, Milano, 1998 (in cooperation with Annalisa Bernardi).
• Rabbi Najman de Breslev, Animo, editora Breslev, Jerusalem, 1994 (from French to Spanish)

External links

• http://www.keshet.it/rivista/sett-ott-03/pag4.htm
• http://www.verifiche.ch/index.cfm?scheda=251
• http://www.unacitta.it/pagineinternazionalismo/letteraboicottaggioAsher.html
• http://assei.bravehost.com/recensioni.html
• http://www.brill.nl/product_id26645.htm
• http://www.giuntina.it/dettautori.asp?AutoreId=302
• http://www.energheia.org/dblog/storico.asp?s=&m=&pagina=5&ordinamento=desc