S. Yizhar, Israeli academic and politician (died 2006)

Yizhar Smilansky, known by his pen name S. Yizhar, was an Israeli writer and politician. Widely regarded as one of the preeminent figures in Israeli literature, he was awarded the Israel Prize in 1959 for fine literature. He was also awarded several other prizes of national distinction. In his political life, Yizhar served in the Knesset under Mapai almost continuously from 1949–1967.