Yehuda Burla

Yehuda Burla was an Israeli author.

Biography

Burla was born in 1886 in Jerusalem, then part of the Ottoman Empire, to a Sephardi Jewish family with rabbinical roots, originating from İzmir. As a child, he lived in the Ezrat Yisrael neighborhood near the corner of Jaffa Road and King [George Street (Jerusalem)|King George Street]. Until the age of 18, he had a religious education, studying at yeshiva and beth midrash. After graduating from the "Ezra" teachers seminary in Jerusalem, he began working, in both a teaching and administrative capacity, in various schools affiliated to the Zionist Organization. During World War I, Burla served in the Turkish army as an interpreter, and following the war, he taught in the Hebrew school in Damascus, where he lived for five years. He continued teaching until 1944, when he started working in the public sector and was at one stage Head of the Arab Department of the Histadrut. His children were Oded Burla, a writer, poet and artist, Yair Burla, a writer and translator, Ofra Adar Burla, a writer and translator, and Zuria Ben Nun.

Awards

Burla was twice awarded the Bialik Prize for literature, in 1939 and 1954.
In 1961, he was awarded the Israel Prize, for literature.

Published works

Lunah, 1926
Enchanted Homeland, 1926
Without a Star, 1927
His Hated Wife, 1928
In Darkness Striving, 1929
Stories, 1929
Bat Zion, 1930
Singer, 1930
Na`ama, 1934
In Holyness or Love, 1935
The Adventures of Akaviah, 1939
City Tricks, 1939
Adam, 1943
On the Horizon, 1943
At Dawn, 1946
Women, 1949
Tom and Mary
In the Circles of Love, 1953
The First Swallow, 1954
Yearning, 1955
The Journeys of Judah Halevi, 1959
Rabbi Yehuda Halevi, 1960
Sparkles, 1961
The Dignitary, 1962
Collected Works, 1962
Two Special Love Stories, 1964
Marching In, 1965
In High Tide and in Low Tide, 1971
Collected Stories, 1975
The Kingdom of David, 1978