Shulamith Hareven was born in Warsaw, Poland but grew up in Jerusalem, where she lived until her passing in 2003. A writer, translator, and activist, Hareven served as a writer-in-residence at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and was the first (and for twelve years, the only) female member of the Academy of the Hebrew Language.
In 1962, she published her first book, a book of poems titled Predatory Jerusalem. After that, she wrote prose books, translations of books, and plays. She published essays and articles about Israeli society and culture in literary journals Masa, Orlogin, and Keshet, and in newspapers Al Ha-Mishmar, Maariv, and Yedioth Ahronoth. Her essays are collected in four volumes. She also published a thriller under the pen name Tal Yaeri. Her books have been translated into twenty-one languages.
Hareven was an activist for Peace Now, and in 1995, the French weekly L'Express deemed her an Author of Peace and listed her among the 100 women "who move the world."
