A native Israeli, Yoram Kaniuk was born on May 2, 1930. He served in the Haganah and later in the War of Independence. He was in the United States from 1950 to 1961, sharpened his artistic abilities, and developed a nostalgic vision of Tel Aviv and a deep attachment for Jerusalem. In May 2011, Kaniuk petitioned the Israeli Interior Ministry to change his religion status from "Jewish" to "no religion." This stemmed from his desire not to belong to a "Jewish Iran" or "what is today called the religion of Israel." In October 2011, a district court judge approved his petition, meaning that Kaniuk was then considered a Jew by nationality, but not by religion. Hundreds of other Israelis intend to do the same; a new verb, lehitkaniuk (to Kaniuk oneself) was coined to refer to this process.
Kaniuk published 17 novels, a memoir, seven collections of short stories, two books of essays and five books for children and youth. His books have been published in 25 languages and he has won numerous literary prizes. He died on June 8, 2013.
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