Salman Masalha
Salman Masalha (born November 4, 1953) is an Arab-Israeli poet, writer, essayist and translator. Masalha is a bilingual writer who writes in Arabic and Hebrew, and publishes in both languages. His poetry has also appeared in other languages.
Also recorded as Suliemann Masalkha · Salma'n Masa'lkhah · Salma'n Masa'lhah · Salma'n Masa'lha
Salman Masalha

Pinhas stern · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Full name
- سلمان مصالحة.
- Born
- 1953. · Maghar.
- Nationality
- Israel.
- Occupation
- linguist, poet, literary critic, translator, opinion journalist, lyricist, essayist and university teacher.
- Education
- International Writing Program and Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
- Languages
- Arabic, Druze Arabic and Palestinian Arabic.
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Documentary summary
Salman Masalha (born November 4, 1953) is an Arab-Israeli poet, writer, essayist and translator. Masalha is a bilingual writer who writes in Arabic and Hebrew, and publishes in both languages. His poetry has also appeared in other languages.
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q2911485 · wikipedia · Salman Masalha
In this article
Biography
Biography
Masalha is a frequent contributor to left-leaning Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Masalha was born on November 4, 1953, to a Druze family in Maghar, a village in the Galilee in northern Israel. After graduating from high school he moved to Jerusalem, where he has been living since 1972. Masalha studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and holds a Ph.D. degree in Arabic literature. He wrote his thesis on the mythological elements of ancient Arabic poetry. He taught Arabic language and literature at the Hebrew University and served as co-editor of the Concordance of Early Arabic Poetry. One volume of the concordance titled Six Early Arab Poets: New Edition and Concordance was published in 1999.
Writing career
Writing career
Masalha is the author of eight volumes of poetry. Some of his Arabic and Hebrew poems have been performed to music and recorded by leading Israeli and Palestinian musicians, including Marwan Abado, Kamilya Jubran, Micha Shitrit, and Yair Dalal. In 2006, Masalha was awarded the Israel's President's Prize for Literature for his collection of Hebrew poetry In Place. After first declaring he intended to boycott the 2015 general election, he ultimately endorsed Meretz.
Essays
Essays
* * * * *
Research
Research
* • Six Early Arab Poets, new edition and concordance, (co-author), Institute of Asian and African Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Max Schloessinger Memorial Series, Jerusalem 1999 *
Poetry
Poetry
• Ishq Mu'ajjal (Deferred Love, Arabic: عشق مؤجل), Raya Publishing House, Haifa 2016 • Fi al-Thara, Fi al-Hajar (In Dust, In Stone, Arabic: في الثرى، في الحجر), Raya Publishing House, Haifa 2013 • Lughat Umm (Mother Tongue, Arabic: لغة أم), Zaman Publications, Jerusalem 2006 • Ehad Mikan (In Place, Hebrew: אחד מכאן), Am Oved Publications, Tel Aviv 2004 • Khana Farigha, (Blank Space, Arabic: خانة فارغة), Zaman Publications, Jerusalem 2002. • Rish al-Bahr (Sea Feathers, Arabic: ريش البحر), Zaman Publications, Jerusalem 1999 • Maqamat Sharqiyya (Oriental Scales, Arabic: مقامات شرقيّة), Jerusalem 1991 • Ka-l-'Ankabut bila Khuyut (Like a Spider without Webs, Arabic: كالعنكبوت بلا خيوط), Jerusalem 1989 • Maghnat Ta'ir al-Khuddar (Green Bird Song, Arabic: مغناة طائر الخضّر), al-Katib Publications, Jerusalem 1979
Op-Ed
Op-Ed
• Israeli apartheid exposed at the airport, Haaretz, Jun. 5, 2014 (article screen-shot is reproduced at falkland-islands Tumblr).
Translations
Translations
Arabic into Hebrew • Mahmoud Darwish, Memory for Forgetfulness, also known: Beirut Diary (Arabic: ذاكرة للنسيان, Hebrew: זכר לשכחה), with commentary and epilogue, Schocken Publications, Tel Aviv 1989 • Sahar Khalifah, Wild Thorns (Arabic: الصبّار, Hebrew: הצבר), Galileo Publications, Jerusalem 1978 Hebrew into Arabic • Efraim Sidon, Uzu and Muzu (Hebrew: אוזו ומוזו מכפר קאקרוזו, Arabic: أوزو وموزو من كفر كاكاروزو), Nazareth 2000 • Jerusalem, Historical Studies (Arabic: القدس، دراسات في تاريخ المدينة), ed. Amnon Cohen, Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi Publications, Jerusalem 1990 • Dror Green, The Intifadah Tales (Hebrew: אגדות האינתפאדה, Arabic: حكايا الانتفاضة), Jerusalem 1989 • Haim Gouri, "Selected Poems, with an Introduction" (Arabic: خلخال ينتظر الكاحل), Masharef, No. 30, pp 204–231, 2007 • Aharon Shabtai, "Schizophrenic Homeland" (Arabic: شيزوفرينيا الوطن), selected poems with an introduction, Masharef, No. 23, pp 94–118, 2004 • Agi Mishol, "Selected Poems", Masharef, No. 17, pp 159–169, 2002 English into Arabic • Breyten Breytenbach, "selected poems", Masharef, No. 15, Haifa-Jerusalem, pp. 7–18 (1997) • Wislawa Szymborska, "selected poems", Masharef, No. 13, Haifa-Jerusalem, pp. 82–96 (1997) • Seamus Heaney, "selected poems", Masharef, No. 5, Haifa-Jerusalem, pp. 111–116, 1995
Editing
Editing
• Biblical Stories in Islamic Paintings (Arabic: قصص التّوراة في الرسومات الإسلامية), Israel Museum 1992
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
Salman Masalha was recorded at birth as سلمان مصالحة. The authorities additionally record the headings Salman Masalha, Suliemann Masalkha, Salma'n Masa'lkhah, Salma'n Masa'lhah and Salma'n Masa'lha. His recorded languages were Arabic, Druze Arabic, Palestinian Arabic and Levantine Arabic. His recorded confession was Druze.
Identity
Identity
Salman Masalha is recorded with the occupation opinion journalist. Recorded with the occupation literary critic. Recorded as linguist, poet, literary critic, translator and opinion journalist.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1953
Salman Masalha was born on 4 November 1953.
Primary material
Documents and archives
scholarly publication
reference work
- “Salman Masalha”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q2911485: Salman Masalha
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Hever, Hannan. Not my Mother Tongue.
- 2.Salman Masalha. The Virginia Quarterly Review.
- 3.Israel Needs a Few More Lessons in Apartheid. Haaretz.
- 4.Salman Masalha. Haaretz.
- 5.The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Projects initiated and managed by the Institute. The Institute of Asian & African Studies.
- 6.Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 26 December 2007.
- 7.Masalha, Salman. Why I'm voting Meretz and not for the Arab ticket. Haaretz. March 12, 2015.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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