Daniella Carmi

Daniella Carmi was born in 1941 in Tel Aviv

Daniella Carmi was born in Tel Aviv in 1941 to Ruth and Adam Kotov, Polish-born Jewish parents who spoke French. Before reaching Israel in the 1930s, the family lived in Belgium, France and Algeria. She grew up in a secular home in central Tel Aviv and attended Geula Gymnasium.

She studied philosophy and communication at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, finishing a bachelor's degree in 1970 and a master's degree in 1975. In the 1970s she was active in the Matzpen movement.

She started out translating romance novels in the early 1970s. In 1978 she wrote the TV script adapting Khirbet Khizeh by S. Yizhar. Her 1985 book The Explosion on Ahalan Street was staged a year later, and some shows were canceled after protests.

She wrote plays for the Cameri and Haifa theaters and a musical for children. Her 1994 book Samir and Yonatan on Mars received a UNESCO honorable mention and was translated into many languages. She was married to psychologist Menachem Carmi, later divorced, has 3 children and lives in Jerusalem.