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Naim Araidi
Naim Araidi
نعيم عرايدي
Born	April 2, 1950; Maghar, Israel
Died	October 2, 2015 (aged 65)
Nationality	Israel
Occupation(s)	Academic, writer, ambassador
Known for	Poetry in Hebrew and Arabic

Naim Araidi (Arabic: نعيم عرايدي, Hebrew: נעים עריידי; April 2, 1950 – October 2, 2015) was an Israeli Druze academic, Israeli Ambassador to Norway, and writer known for his poems in both Hebrew and Arabic.

Education

Araidi was born in Maghar, Israel and completed his elementary school in his village, then moved to Haifa to complete his secondary education. He went on to gain B.A in Hebrew language and Political Science and another B.A in Hebrew Literature and Comparative Literature. Then he gained a M.A in Hebrew Literature and Comparative Literature at the University of Haifa. This was followed with a Ph.D in Hebrew Literature from Bar-Ilan University. His doctoral thesis was on the poetry of Uri Zvi Greenberg.

Work and writing career

He served as an instructor and a lecturer in both the University of Haifa and Bar-Ilan University. Then he moved to Gordon College and the Arab College for Education in Israel. He then served as the Director of the Children's Literature center at the Arab College as well as the coordinator of Studies for the Non-Jewish students at Gordon College. Dr. Naim presented two weekly programmes on Channel 2, a children's programme and a news programme. He also established "Al-Sewar" magazine. He held many public positions and participated in a large number of international festivals for writing and poetry. Many of Araidi's published works appear in translation. For the first time in Italy in 2014 an anthology of his poems was published by Seam Edizioni. The first edition was presented during the roman poetical twinning with Ottobre in Poesia^[1] in 2013. The second edition occasioned a tour organized by the same publisher and poets Uke Bucpapaj Beppe Costa, Stefania Battistella who translated the work.^[2]^[3]

Nissan Festival

Araidi established the Nissan organization for Literature in 1999. The international Nissan Festival is held annually in April in Maghar.

Ambassadorship

In April 2012, Araidi was supposed to serve as Israeli ambassador to New Zealand.^[4] In June, that decision was changed and he was instead appointed as ambassador to Norway^[5] where he served until 2014,^[6] when he resigned after allegations of “inappropriate behaviour.”^[7]

Personal life

In June 2024, Araidi's 43-year-old son Rabia was found decapitated in the Bedouin town of Basmat Tab’un. He was reportedly murdered amid a criminal dispute.^[8]

Published works

In Hebrew

Is Love Possible
In Five Dimensions
Soldier of Water
Perhaps it Love
Back to the Village
Compassion and Fear

In Arabic

Devils and Graves
As Illusions of Land
As Illusion of the Sun
Alone
Hope is Forever
Songs of the Carmel in Maritime Love

In Italian

Canzoni di Galilea ISBN 9788881795154, Seam Ed. (2013, 2° ed. 2014)

Prizes and awards

Prime Minister's Award for Hebrew Literature, 1986
Creative award for Arabic Literature
Senate of Paris Award, 1990
Honorary doctorate, The International Center for Poetry, USA, 1991
Prize awarded by "Omanut La'am for the Promotion of Culture in Israel", 1993

References

^ "«Cultura, veicolo di pace tra israeliani e palestinesi» - Spettacoli - iltempo". Archived from the original on 2013-10-23. Retrieved 2014-04-14., Il Tempo: Cultura, veicolo di pace tra israeliani e palestinesi.
^ [1], Corriere della Sera: Naim Araidi, le mille voci del Medio Oriente.
^ [2], Euronews: torna in italia il grande poeta Naim Araidi.
^ Itamar Eichner (2012-04-22). "Druze professor appointed ambassador to New Zealand". ynet. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
^ Itamar Eichner (2012-06-06). "Integration at Israel's embassy in Norway". ynet. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
^ "Israel's diplomatic network - Israeli Embassy in Norway (with photo)". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2012-04-22. Retrieved 2012-12-24.(in Norwegian)
^ Ambassador left under a cloud, February 24, 2014, News in English.no
^ Shaalan, Hassan (2024-06-13). "Severed head of former ambassador's son found by northern Israel school". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2024-07-13.