Literatureגלית חזן-רוקם

Galit Hasan-Rokem

Galit Hasan-Rokem is an Israeli folklorist, poet and translator, and a professor of folklore at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

born 1945Research on proverbs and folkloreFolklore in rabbinic literatureHebrew poetry and translationIsraeli-Palestinian peace activism

Born: 29 August 1945, Helsinki
Occupation: folklorist, poet, translator, literary scholar
Education: Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Galit Hasan-Rokem was born in 1945 in Helsinki

Galit Hasan-Rokem was born in Helsinki in 1945 to Jewish parents from Finland. She attended the Helsinki Jewish day school and moved with her family to Israel in 1957, settling in Kiryat Haim. She was a member and counselor in Hashomer Hatzair.

She studied Hebrew and English literature at the Hebrew University. In 1968/9 she studied Finnish and comparative folklore in Helsinki under Matti Kuusi and Lauri Honko. She earned her doctorate on proverbs in folk tales in 1978 under Dov Noy.

She began teaching at the Hebrew University in 1970 and rose to full professor. Her research covers proverbs, Middle Eastern folklore and folklore in rabbinic literature. She headed the Mandel Institute of Jewish Studies from 2001 to 2004 and led the International Society for Folk Narrative Research from 1998 to 2005.

She has published three books of Hebrew poetry and translated poetry into Hebrew, including the complete poems of Tomas Tranströmer in 2013. She took part in founding peace groups of Israeli and Palestinian women and the Palestine Israel Journal.

She is married to Freddie Rokem, a theater scholar at Tel Aviv University, and they have three children. Their son Amitai died in a hiking accident in 1990.