Yitzhak Lamdan

Yitzhak Lamdan was born in 1899 in Mlyniv

Yitzhak Lamdan was born Itzi-Yehuda Lubes in Mlynov, in Volhynia, then part of the Russian Empire and now in Ukraine. The year of his birth is given as 1897 or 1899. He received a Hebrew education as a child.

During World War I he wandered through southern Russia with his brother Moshe and later served for a time in the Red Army. His brother was killed in a pogrom. Before leaving, he taught Hebrew in Berestechko and guided a youth group of the HeHalutz movement.

In 1920 he immigrated to the Land of Israel with the Third Aliyah. He worked with the Labor Battalion, paving roads and breaking stones, and in forestry at Ben Shemen. In 1923 he settled in Tel Aviv.

In 1927 he published the poem Masada, which shaped the Masada myth among Jewish youth. In 1933 he began editing and publishing the literary journal Gilyonot, which printed early work by S. Yizhar. He also translated and collected folk tales for young readers.

He won the Brenner Prize in 1946. He died in Tel Aviv in 1954 and was buried in Kiryat Shaul Cemetery. He was awarded the Israel Prize for literature in 1955.