Israeli author and intellectual Amos Oz dies at age 79

Israeli author, journalist and intellectual Amos Oz died on Friday at the age of 79.

“My beloved father, Amos Oz, a wonderful family man, an author, a man of peace and moderation, died today peacefully after a short battle with cancer,” tweeted Fania Oz-Salzberger. “He was surrounded by his lovers and knew it to the end. May his good legacy continue to amend the world.”

During his five-decade career, Oz wrote about the Jewish state’s history—from its founding in the aftermath of the Holocaust to its internal politics such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, where he was an early proponent of the two-state solution following the 1967 Six-Day War.

His most notable works, which have been published in 45 languages, included novels My Michael, Black Box and The Hill of Evil Counsel, in addition to his 1983 nonfiction book In the Land of Israel.

One of his more recent books, A Tale of Love and Darkness, was made into a feature film in 2015 starring Israeli-born actress Natalie Portman.

Oz earned numerous awards, including the Bialik Prize, Israel Prize, France’s Prix Femina and Officier des Arts et Lettres, Italy’s Primo Levi Prize and the Frankfurt Peace Prize.

He was born in 1939 in Jerusalem to Yehuda Arieh and Fania Klausner. In 1960, Oz married Nily Oz-Zuckerman and had three children.

Tributes poured in following the news of Oz’s death.

French intellectual Bernard-Henri Levy tweeted, “Often, in the tragic moments, when the certainties seemed to wobble and the ground was shirking, I wondered: what does Amos Oz think? What does Amos Oz say?”

“’#Israel, which was born upon dreams and hope,’ ” tweeted the Italian embassy in Israel. “Deeply saddened by the passing of #AmosOz. Our heartfelt tribute to one of Israel’s leading authors. His strong commitment for #peace will not be forgotten.”