Writer and columnist Gail Hareven was born in Jerusalem in 1959. She studied behavioral sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Talmud and Jewish philosophy at the Shalom Hartman Institute. Hareven has written widely on politics and feminist issues; she has been a columnist for Maariv, Hadashot, the Jerusalem Report and Lady Globes; she also writes book reviews for the Hebrew press. In addition, Hareven teaches feminist theory, gives writing workshops and lectures on a variety of socio-cultural topics. In 2006, she was visiting professor at the University of Illinois. Hareven has published eight novels, four collections of short stories, two non-fiction books, two children's books and four plays, all of which have been staged.