Sameh Zoabi is a Palestinian Israeli film writer and director best known for his 2019 film Tel Aviv on Fire. Zoabi grew up in Iksal, a village near Nazareth, Israel. His father is a farmer. He studied at Tel Aviv University, graduating with a dual degree in film studies and literature, and then attended Columbia University on a Fulbright scholarship, receiving his MFA in 2005. Zoabi lives in Brooklyn and teaches at New York University.