# Yishai Sarid

Yishai Sarid (Hebrew: ישי שריד; born 1965) is an Israeli author, novelist and lawyer.

## Biography

Yishai Sarid was born and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel. He is the son of senior politician and journalist Yossi Sarid. Between 1974-1977 he lived with his family in the northern town of Kiryat Shmona, near the Lebanon border. Sarid was recruited to the Israeli Army in 1983 and served for 5 years. During his service, he finished the IDF's officers school and served as an intelligence officer. He studied law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Sarid has a Public Administration master's degree (MPA) from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University (1999).
Sarid is married to Dr. Racheli Sion-Sarid, a critical care paediatrician, and they have 3 children.

## Legal career

In 1994-1997 he worked for the Government as an Assistant District Attorney in Tel-Aviv, prosecuting criminal cases. Today he is a lawyer and arbitrator, practicing mainly civil and administrative law. His law office is located in Tel Aviv.

## Literary career

His second book, Limassol, became an international best-seller. His fourth book, The Third, won the Bernstein literary award. His fifth book, The memory monster, was included on the New York Times list of 100 notable books of 2020.

## Published works

* The Investigation of Captain Erez, Yedioth Ahronoth, 2000. A female soldier accuses an officer of raping her, and a young lawyer is called to investigate the case. The book was published also in France.
* Limassol, Am Oved, 2009. It was translated to 8 languages, won the Grand Prix de litterature policiere in France (2011) and was shortlisted to the Irish IMPAC prize. It tells the story of a secret service agent getting involved in a plot with an ailing Palestinian poet from Gaza, his exiled terrorist son, and an Israeli female peace activist.
* Naomi's Kindergarten, Am Oved, 2013. A story of one crucial year in the life of a Tel Aviv preschool assistant. It was shortlisted for the Sapir Literary Prize in Israel, and published also in German.
* The Third, Am Oved, 2015. The story takes place in the Third Temple built in Jerusalem, after the state of Israel is replaced by the religious kingdom of Judea. It became a best seller in Israel and has been a subject of significant public discussion there, due to its relevance to cultural, political and religious issues that dominate Israeli society. It won the Bernstein literary award. It has been published in translation in French and Italian, and in 2024 into English under the title The Third Temple.
* The Memory Monster, Am Oved, 2017. A report written by a young historian to the chairman of the Yad Vashem (Israel's national Holocaust memorial authority), about the way his life has become trapped in the memory of the Holocaust due to his work as a guide to the sites of Nazi German extermination camps in Poland. It was included on the New York Times list of 100 notable books of 2020 and translated to 8 languages. The novel was adapted into a monodrama by the actor Ben Yosepovitch and presented by Israel's national theatre "Habima".
* Victorious, Am Oved, 2020. A veteran military psychologist, specializing in the mental training of combat soldiers, is consulting the chief of staff of the Israeli Army on how to win the next war. When her son is recruited to combat duty, a conflict of duties emerges.
* Vulnerabilities, Am Oved, 2023. A coming of age story of a young specialist hacker of smartphones, working for an Israeli cyber company. The book won the Brenner Prize.
* The Panelist, Am Oved, 2024. A veteran journalist, long forgotten, gets a chance to return to the spotlight in the patriotic TV channel. He catches this opportunity as a lifeline and is ready to sell his soul for it.

## Awards and recognition

In 2011 Sarid won the Grand Prix de litterature policiere in France for "Limassol". In 2016 he won the Bernstein literary award for "The Third". In 2023 Sarid won the Levi Eshkol Prize for Hebrew writers, and announced he would donate it to The Israeli-Palestinian Parents Circle-Families Forum. Also in 2023 his book Vulnerabilities won the Brenner Prize for Hebrew literature.