In a ceremony held Tuesday, in Ma’alot-Tarshiha, Mif’al HaPais awarded the esteemed 2024 Sapir Prize for Literature to Yossi Avni-Levy for his powerful novel Three Days in Summer (Kinneret Zmora Dvir). The prestigious prize celebrates the pinnacle of Israeli literary excellence.
Avni-Levy, whose poignant narrative struck a deep chord with the panel of judges, will receive NIS 180,000 ($50,000). His novel will also be translated into Arabic and another language of his choosing, broadening its reach and fostering cross-cultural dialogue.
In his acceptance speech, Avni-Levy spoke of themes of belonging and the search for a secure refuge, stating, “We must ensure that we always have a home. We must protect the precious thing we have, the miracle that happened to us.” He also echoed Emily Damari’s iconic victory gesture, symbolizing resilience and triumph. “Everything that transpired in my book is rooted in reality,” he shared, “and it happened because we didn’t have a home – that is the foundation of it all.”
Three Days in Summer, his eighth novel, powerfully recounts the final, agonizing days of the Jewish community in the fictional Lithuanian town of Gilishkis before its destruction. Through evocative prose, the novel explores the fragility of life and the enduring strength of the human spirit.
“The first decision I made in writing was that this would not be a historical book,” Avni-Levy explained in a 2023 interview with Ha’aretz. He continued, “It is not a manifesto of accusations and defenses about who did what and who saved whom. I wanted it to be a story about people – about the mountains and valleys within the human soul, especially those who were there.”
The prize-winning author went on to explain his deliberate choice to create multi-dimensional characters, rather than adhering to a simplistic narrative of good versus evil. “There were murderers and victims, but both were human beings. I was compelled to explore their emotions, vulnerabilities, desires, and their small transgressions. An entire community, an entire congregation, was obliterated – sometimes in a single day, sometimes in mere hours. I wanted to speak about people,” he said.
“Flattening the Holocaust narrative obscures the fact that even the perpetrators were human, with psychological complexities. That’s the dimension I sought to uncover.”
Judges praises
In their reasoning for awarding him the prestigious prize, the judges said: “In Three Days in Summer, Yossi Avni-Levy explores the enigma of the calm before the storm, the surprising shift from routine in a pastoral setting to a violent historical event. Much like the painting Landscape with the Fall of Icarus by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, life in the Lithuanian settlement flows gently with its loves, distresses, and affairs, indifferent to the great drama that will change everything.
“Avni-Levy managed to illuminate an episode from the Holocaust in an innovative way, deliberately straying from the well-trodden path of extensive fiction on the subject,” they said. “Surprisingly, the writing style is semi-legendary, and the Jewish characters are not at the center. History, thus, becomes timeless, and the timeless and legendary take on a historical dimension.
“With a fresh and attentive eye for subtleties, Avni-Levy describes a human microcosm that serves as a parable of the absence of humanity alongside humanity for its own sake. Despite the complexity of the subject, Avni-Levy’s writing transitions from prose to poetic expression, soaring from pain to pure beauty.”
Established in 2000 in memory of Pinchas Sapir, who alternated between being Israel’s minister of finance and of trade and industry from 1955-72, Israel’s most celebrated and generous literary award seeks to champion Hebrew literature and foster a culture of reading nationwide.
The Sapir Prize’s Debut Novel category, established in 2019, honored Ayal Hayut-Man this year for Tractate of the Void (Masachet Tehom). Also published by Kinneret Zmora Dvir, it is a historical fantasy novel that brings to life the world of ancient Judea, filled with sages, priests, and mystical elements.