Lizzie Doron

Her mother was a German Holocaust survivor. Doron was born in Israel and served in the Israeli Defense Force. She also lived on a kibbutz. She eventually moved to Tel Aviv. One of her children now lives in Germany.[1] Doron formerly worked as a linguist at the University of Tel Aviv.[2] In the fall term of 2019 she was the twelfth Friedrich Dürrenmatt Guest Professor for World Literature[3] at the University of Bern.

Doron writes about her family history, personal experiences and the Arab–Israeli conflict.[1] Her book, "Peaceful Times", is about a woman living in Tel Aviv who forgets her childhood in World War II.[4] Doron has also written about her changing views of the country.[5]

Doron said in a 2005 interview that she no longer shares some of the classical Zionist convictions, such as the view that Arabs, rather the internal Israeli Jewish conflicts, were the country's main problem.[2] One of her worries is the growing weight of religion in Israeli society.[2] All this makes her pessimistic about the future, which has to be approached with radical openness and more detached from the traumas of the past.[2]

Other than in Germany and Switzerland, as of 2008, Doron's recognition in Israel had still been modest.[6]

• Buchman Prize by Yad Vashem Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority (2003)[6]
• Jeanette Schocken Prize – Bremerhaven Citizens' Prize for Literature for her entire oeuvre (2007)[6]
• Her book Once There Was A Family was chosen among the 30 best books of 2007 by the Swiss newspaper Neue Zurcher Zeitung[6]
• Kugel Prize for literature, awarded by the Municipality of Holon (2010)