Odeh Bisharat

Odeh Bisharat (عودة بشارات; עודה בשאראת; born 1958) is a journalist, writer and social activist based in Yafa an-Naseriyye, Israel. He is a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship. He publishes opinion columns in Haaretz and Al-Ittihad.

Odeh Bisharat was born to a displaced family originally from Ma'alul, an Arab village destroyed by Jews in the 1948 Palestine war. He is married and has two sons and a daughter. He served as the head of the National Committee for Arab High School Students and as the head of the Arab Student Committee at the University of Haifa. He also served as the secretary of the Hadash Movement in the early 21st century. Basharat is a board member of the Adalah organization and a member of the board of directors of the New Israel Fund. He has contributed to various Arabic websites, covering a range of topics.^[1]

He is advocating for understanding and peaceful coexistence in Palestine, but does not hesitate to criticize the Israeli government strongly.^[2] His writing has fostered a deep understanding and connection between different cultures. He has participated as a commentator in TV shows, such as Channel 12 and i24 TV.

He has also written a children’s book, Don’t Steal My Turn.

• The streets of Zatunya (novel), 2007, translated into Hebrew and Finnish
• Dunya (novel), 2015, translated into Hebrew
• Play in Arabic, 2017
• Late Tammam Makehoul (novel), 2018

• Israeli Institut for Hebrew Literature
• Berlin International Literature Festival (German)
• Frankfurt Book Fair