Mati Shemoelof Israeli poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

, editor

Editing

Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...

, journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

 and activist. Much of Shemoelof’s literary work and activism deals with issues of ethnicity and class among Mizrahi Jews

Mizrahi Jews

Mizrahi Jews or Mizrahiyim, , also referred to as Adot HaMizrach are Jews descended from the Jewish communities of the Middle East, North Africa and the Caucasus...

 in Israel.

Biography

Shemoelof was born and raised in Haifa

Haifa

Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...

, Israel. He now lives in Tel Aviv and teaches at Kedma High School in Jerusalem. He also teaches creative writing at Ron Vardi Center for Gifted Children, and is a lecturer of Israeli culture at Minshar College in Tel Aviv. Shemoelof received his BA

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 from the Department of Theater at Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv University

Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...

 and an MA

Master of Arts (postgraduate)

A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 in History

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

 from the University of Haifa

University of Haifa

The University of Haifa is a university in Haifa, Israel.The University of Haifa was founded in 1963 by Haifa mayor Abba Hushi, to operate under the academic auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....

. His MA thesis was entitled, "The cultural and mythical meanings of the appearance of the character of Malcolm X in Spike Lee movie (1992)". For this work, he received the Dean

Dean (education)

In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...

’s Prize of Excellence.

He is currently pursuing a PhD

PHD

PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 in Literature

Literature

Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...

 at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. His dissertation topic is “A Monograph of Yakov Rabinovitch as a Cultural Critic (1910-1948)”. He is a fellow at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute

Van Leer Jerusalem Institute

The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute is an academic institute in Jerusalem established in 1959 by the Van Leer family of the Netherlands.The Van Leer Institute is a center for the interdisciplinary study and discussion of issues related to philosophy, society, culture and education...

, a Jerusalem-based think tank that addressing issues of identity and class. Shemoelof participated in a workshop for promising PhD students, and also in Kedmata forum at the Ben Zvi Institute in Jerusalem.

Literary work

Shemoelof has published three poetry books, "The Scar Minimizer" (2001) and "Poetry Between Hazaz and Shemoelof" (2006) "Why Don’t I write Israeli Love Songs" (2010). In addition to having his poetry and articles published in a number of leading Hebrew-language magazines and journals. He co-edited two poetry anthologies, Adoma (Red) (2007) and Tehudot Zehut (Echoing Identities) (2007) La-Tzet! [To Get Out]! (2009) Al Tagido BaGat (The influence of the Palestinian Nacba on the Hebrew Poetry) (2010). From 2006 – 2008, he was an editor at the literary journal, HaCivon Mizrah (Eastward).

He has been a regular op-ed contributor to NRG site, the online edition of the Hebrew-language newspaper Ma’ariv. He is currently an op-ed contributor at Israel HaYom

Israel HaYom

Israel HaYom is an Israeli national Hebrew-language free daily newspaper first published on July 30, 2007 and currently published in Tabloid format. The name is a variation of the popular USA Today, though there is no relation between the two publications...

 (Israel Today), a daily Hebrew-language newspaper, and writes reviews at Ynet

Ynet

Ynet is the most popular Israeli news and general content website. It is owned by the same conglomerate that operates Yediot Ahronot, the country's secondleading daily newspaper...

, Israel’s leading news website. Shemoelof’s writing focuses mainly on poetry, Mizrahi literature, and political and social thought within the cultural context.

He wrote an autobiographic story titled “The Icebergs of the Memory”, which was included in the anthology “Echoing Identities”, published by Am Oved Publisher House in 2007.

Mati Shemoelof co-edited La-Tzet [To Get Out]! an anthology of works against the war in Gaza, which was the result of the cooperation of a number of literary projects, Cultural Guerilla among them. The anthology of art and poetry came out on the third day of the war and sold an edition within one month. La-Tzet! Can be seen as a continuation of the spirit of unification and revolt in front of the political situation through cultural cooperation seen in projects such as Red: An Anthology of Class Poetry (2007) that has sold three editions. La-Tzet was translated into Arabic and published both in Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 and Lebanon

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

.

With the election of U.S. president Barack Obama, Shemoelof was part of the publication of the Manifesto, which called “New Spirit: An open letter from Israeli Descendants of the Countries of Islam”: “We, the Israeli sons and daughters of parents originating in the Islamic and Arab countries, show our support of the new spirit exemplified by President Obama in his speech in Cairo – a spirit of pacification, sensible vision, and the pursuit of justice and respect. Respect to the different religions, cultures, and humans.”

Activism

Shemoelof was a founding member of the Haifa branch of the political info-shop, Salon Mazal

Salon Mazal

Salon Mazal is an infoshop in Tel Aviv, Israel. Its purpose is to spread information and raise awareness of issues related to social change, including human rights, animal rights, the environment, globalization, social and economic oppression, consumerism, feminism and gender issues...

.

Shemoelof is currently active in the Mizrahi Democratic Rainbow Coalition

Mizrahi Democratic Rainbow Coalition

The Mizrahi Democratic Rainbow Coalition is a social justice organization among Mizrahi Jews in Israel....

, a social justice organization made up of Mizrahi Jews in Israel working to push Mizrahi issues into the current public agenda. Between 2006 - 2008, Shemoelof organized meetings at Beit Livik between the Young Ashkenazi Identity Movement and activists from the Mizrahi Democratic Rainbow Coalition.

Between 2006-2008, Shemoelof has been part of MiMizrach Shemesh, an organization devoted to the Jewish tradition of social responsibility.

With poet Roy Arad, he founded the Guerrilla Tarbut

Guerrilla Tarbut

Guerrilla Tarbut is an activist group of Israeli poets. Founded in 2007, the group aims to promote social and political causes through poetry, both in Hebrew and in Arabic, performed by its members during dmonstrations against social injustice.-Activities:Guerrilla Tarbut's activities take a form...

 Movement, made up of artists, poets and activists, and funded in part by the New Israel Fund

New Israel Fund

The New Israel Fund is a U.S. based non-profit organization established in 1979, and describes its objective as social justice and equality for all Israelis.-Ideology:...

. The movement is committed to the bridging of social change and art, with a particular focus on wealth disparity in the country.

Poetry

• Scar Minimizer (Tel-Aviv: Gwanim Publishers, 2001).
• Poetry Between Hazaz and Shemoelof (Tel-Aviv: Yaron Golan, 2006).
• Why I Do Not Write Israeli Love Songs (Tel-Aviv: Nahar-Sfarim, 2010).

Editorial

• Adoma (Red), ed. Mati Shemoelof, Roy Arad, Yaara Shehori, Asma Agabaria, Joshua Simon, and Nir Nader, (Tel-Aviv: Ha Civon Mizrah, Maayan and Etgar, 2007).
• Tehudot Zehut (Echoing Identities), ed. Mati Shemoelof, Naftali Shem-Tov, and Nir Baram (972 Series, Tel Aviv: Am Oved, 2007).
• HaCivon Mizrah (Eastward: A Literary Journal) No. 12, ed. Mati Shemoelof, Bat Shachar Gurfinkel (Summer 2006). Dedicated to the Work of Poet Erez Bitton.
• HaCivon Mizrah (Eastward: A Literary Journal) No. 13, ed. Mati Shemoelof, Bat Shachar Gurfinkel (Winter 2007). The Mizrahi Gallery Takes Back the Right to Speak: A Critical Discussion of Football.
• HaCivon Mizrah (Eastward: A Literary Journal) No. 14, ed. Mati Shemoelof, Bat Shachar Gurfinkel, and Omri Herzog (Summer 2007). A Discussion of Hybrid Identity.
• HaCivon Mizrah (Eastward: A Literary Journal) No. 15, ed. Mati Shemoelof, Bat Shachar Gurfinkel. (Winter 2008). A Wall Without a Painting: Social and Political Comics.
• La-Tzet [To Get Out]!, second ed. Guerrila Culture, Maarav, Maayan, Etgar, Daka, 2009
• Al Tagido Bagat [The Influence of the Palestinian Nacba on the Hebrew Poetry), Sedek Vol. 5, Zocrot, Parhesia and Pardes, 2010.

External links

• Personal Blog
• Mati Shemoelof - Left Bank Journal / Hagada Hasmalit
  Hagada Hasmalit
  Hagada Hasmalit is an Israel radical left-wing website. First published in Hebrew in Spring 2002, an English version began to be published in March 2007....
  
  (English).
• Articles by Shemoelof at nrg.co.il (Maariv online)
• Mati Shemoelof on the new literature lexis icon
• "Between family and postcolonial Earth", By Yitzhak Laor, Haaretz, 24.8.2007.
• History & Theory, Issue No. 4 - The Ides of April, Eli Petel: Re-identity, Social Process and Inter-generational Vista.
• My society, my self, Tahel Frosh, Haaretz, 29.03.2008.
• As a New Black Panther Party Forms, Poetry and Music Bring Mizrahi Jews Together in Celebration 31, Mati Shemoelof
• Guerrilla Culture, The Poetic Science of Resistance, 8/12/2008
• Shemoelof songs in Arabic
• poets, artists, activists visit embattled Beduin Village, Ben Hartman, Jerusalem Post, 22.8.2010