Moriel Rothman-Zecher

Fellowship Year: 2011-2012

Placement: Rabbis for Human Rights

Interests: civil rights, democracy, human rights, shared society, social justice

Moriel Rothman-Zecher is a Jerusalem-born novelist and poet. His first novel, SADNESS IS A WHITE BIRD, was a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and the National Jewish Book Award, the winner of the Ohioana Book Award, and longlisted for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize. Moriel’s poetry and essays have been published in Barrelhouse, The Common, The New York Times, the Paris Review’s Daily, and ZYZZYVA, and he is the recipient of the National Book Foundation’s ‘5 Under 35’ Honor, two MacDowell Fellowships, and Yiddishkayt’s Wallis Annenberg Helix Fellowship. Moriel lives in Yellow Springs, Ohio, with his wife, Kayla, and their daughter, Nahar. His second novel, BEFORE ALL THE WORLD, is forthcoming from Farrar, Straus and Giroux in Fall 2022.

In My Own Words: My year as a Shatil Fellow in Jerusalem was a transformative one. During that time, I helped spearhead a campaign to prevent the eviction of the Sumarin family in Silwan. I began writing a blog, The Leftern Wall, which ultimately became home for hundreds of thousands of words of reflection on the chaos, pain and beauty of Israel-Palestine. I made lasting friendships, and got connected to Israeli Human Rights and anti-occupation communities. In general, it's a year for which I am profoundly grateful.