Moshe Sakal is the author of five Hebrew novels, including the bestselling novel YOLANDA, which was shortlisted for the Sapir Prize (the Israeli Booker) in 2011. Sakal was awarded the title of Honorary Fellow in Writing by the University of Iowa, the Eshkol prize for his work, and a Fulbright grant (the America-Israel Education Trust). He has published essays and opinion pieces in several major Israeli outlets, including Ha’aretz as well as in Le Monde (France) and Forward (USA). His novel, SISTER, was published in Israel in May 2016 and was longlisted for the Sapir prize. Fluent in three languages, Sakal studied and worked in France between 2000 and 2006. Until recently, he headed the Literary Division of the Israeli Center for Books and Libraries.

Books by Moshe Sakal

The Diamond Setter

written by Moshe Sakal, translated by Jessica Cohen - Fiction, Literary Fiction

The uneventful life of a jeweler from Tel Aviv changes abruptly in 2011 after Fareed, a handsome young man from Damascus, crosses illegally into Israel and makes his way to the ancient port city of Jaffa in search of his roots. In his pocket is a piece of a famous blue diamond known as "Sabakh." Intending to return the diamond to its rightful owner, Fareed is soon swept up in Tel Aviv's vibrant gay scene, and a turbulent protest movement. He falls in love with both an Israeli soldier and his boyfriend --- the narrator of this book --- and reveals the story of his family's past: a tale of forbidden love beginning in the 1930s that connects Fareed and the jeweler.