Sayed Kashua is a Palestinian citizen of Israel, born in Tira, Israel.
19 Facts About Sayed Kashua
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Sayed Kashua is known for his books and humorous columns in Hebrew and English.
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Sayed Kashua studied sociology and philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
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Sayed Kashua was a resident of Beit Safafa before moving to a Jewish neighborhood of Jerusalem with his wife and children.
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Sayed Kashua became a journalist, columnist and screenwriter, especially of TV series.
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Sayed Kashua's declaration elicited numerous responses in the Israeli press from colleagues and readers who were concerned by the issues he raises.
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Sayed Kashua began teaching at the University of Illinois through the Israeli Studies Project, a sponsorship program for Israeli writers and scholars run by Illinois and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.
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Sayed Kashua served as a visiting clinical professor from 2014 to 2018.
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Sayed Kashua participated in the Creative Writing program's bilingualism workshop at the University of Chicago, and was a clinical professor in the Israel Studies program.
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Sayed Kashua wrote with the goal of creating a more equal Israel.
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Sayed Kashua's primary vehicle of communication was a personal weekly column in Hebrew for Haaretz and a local Jerusalem weekly, Ha'Ir.
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In one such piece, Sayed Kashua pondered one's ability to truly integrate into a new culture while recounting mundane yet familiarly realistic conversations between family members.
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Sayed Kashua uses the perspective of his children to highlight the absurdity of social norms, such as his daughter's sad confession that she knows she will "always be an Arab" to the rest of Israeli society.
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Sayed Kashua did not think Hebrew speakers would care to read his work for much longer.
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Sayed Kashua wrote his most recent novel, Track Changes, in Hebrew; an English translation was published in 2020.
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Today, Sayed Kashua continues to publish opinion pieces through various platforms, including The Guardian, The New Yorker, and The New York Times.
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Avoda Aravit, or in English, Arab Labor, is a satirical sitcom written by Sayed Kashua and aired on Israel's Channel 2.
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Sayed Kashua is highly acclaimed internationally, often praised for his frankness and "striking satire".
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The winner of many international awards, Sayed Kashua has been lauded as the "greatest living Hebrew writer".