Literatureדורית אורגד

Dorit Orgad

Dorit Orgad is an Israeli writer of children's and young adult books who also writes for adults.

born 1936Children's and young adult booksThe Boy from SevilleKalkidan

Born: 5 October 1936, Wrocław
Occupation: journalist, writer, young adult author, children's writer
Education: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Bar-Ilan University

Dorit Orgad was born in 1936 in Wrocław

Dorit Orgad was born on October 5, 1936, in Breslau, Germany, today Wrocław in Poland. Her father, Karl Ledermann, was a physician. In 1939 her family immigrated to the Land of Israel and settled in Netanya.

She studied economics and sociology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1986 she received a doctorate in Jewish philosophy from Bar-Ilan University, with a thesis on Franz Rosenzweig and Judah Halevi.

In the IDF she served as a Gadna instructor. She later worked in youth guidance and teaching, in journalism, and taught at academic institutions.

Her books deal with new immigrants, outsiders, Jewish history and Israeli life. They include The Boy from Seville, about a Marrano family in 17th century Spain, and Kalkidan, about a boy from an Ethiopian family in Petah Tikva. Some of her books were translated into other languages and adapted for television, theater and radio.

She leads creative writing workshops and writes prose and poetry for adults. She was married to Amos Orgad, an accountant, until his death in 2016. The couple had 3 daughters.