Israeli novelist Amos Oz passed away

(Patria) - Israeli novelist Amos Oz died of cancer at the age of 79, his daughter announced on Friday.

"To those who loved him, thank you," wrote Fania Oz-Salzberger on Twitter.

Oz was born Amos Klausner in 1939 in Jerusalem. As a young man, he studied philosophy and literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He was one of the first Israelis to advocate for the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after the Six-Day War and one of the founders of the Peace Now movement. For years, he advocated for a two-state solution – Palestinian and Israeli.

Oz's first collection of stories, "Where the Jackals Howl," was published in 1965, and his first novel, "Elsewhere, Perhaps," in 1966.

He also published: "My Michael," "The Mountain of Evil Counsel," "Soumchi," "Black Box," "Fima," "A Tale of Love and Darkness," "The Same Sea," his autobiographical novel "A Tale of Love and Darkness," "Rhyming Life and Death," and the latest, "Judas."

He also published a number of essay collections, including In the Land of Israel, Israel, Palestine and Peace, and How to Cure a Fanatic.

His works have been translated into more than forty world languages.

Amos Oz is the recipient of a number of prestigious awards.