Akiva Eldar ( he, עקיבא אלדר; born 27 November 1945) is a political analyst, author and contributor to Israeli daily Haaretz. He was chief political

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (newspaper), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the fo ...

, editorial writer and US Bureau Chief for the paper,Profile: Akiva Eldar
Al-Monitor; February 2016 where he worked for 35 years. His final column in English for the paper appeared on 13 November 2012. He also wrote columns for the Japanese daily ''

Mainichi Shimbun The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (previ ...

'', lectured in communications at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

's School of Journalism and worked as a consultant for

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

television.Speakers Profile: Akiva Eldar
''Israeli Speakers Center''; 2013Akiva Eldar Profile
The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies; November 2012

Education

Akiva Eldar graduated from the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

, where he majored in economics, political science and psychology.

Journalism career

He served as spokesperson for the former

mayor of Jerusalem The Mayor of the City of Jerusalem is head of the executive branch of the political system in Jerusalem. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within Jerusal ...

Teddy Kollek Theodor "Teddy" Kollek ( he, טדי קולק; 27 May 1911 – 2 January 2007) was an Israeli politician who served as the mayor of Jerusalem from 1965 to 1993, and founder of the Jerusalem Foundation. Kollek was re-elected five times, in 1969, 197 ...

. He was a reporter and editor at the

Kol Yisrael ''Kol Yisrael'' or ''Kol Israel'' ( lit. "Voice of Israel", also "Israel Radio") is Israel's public domestic and international radio service. It operated as a division of the Israel Broadcasting Service from 1951 to 1965, the Israel Broadcasti ...

. Eldar began working for ''Haaretz'' in 1978. In 1983–1993, he was the diplomatic correspondent for ''Haaretz''. In 1993–1996, he served as ''Haaretz''

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Bureau Chief and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, correspondent, covering the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, Israel–United States relations, American issues and Israel–

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

relations. He was a special consultant to

Abba Eban Abba Solomon Meir Eban (; he, אבא אבן ; born Aubrey Solomon Meir Eban; 2 February 1915 – 17 November 2002) was an Israeli diplomat and politician, and a scholar of the Arabic and Hebrew languages. During his career, he served as For ...

television documentaries on the

history of Israel Israel, also known as the Holy Land or Palestine, is the birthplace of the Jewish people, the place where the final form of the Hebrew Bible is thought to have been compiled, and the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity. In the course of ...

and the

Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993;

.From 2012 to 2020 he was the political analyst for Al-Monitor.com. Since than he is a permanent contributor to Haaretz and frequently interviewd by global TV news shows.

Views and opinions

Eldar was described by Nahum Barnea as one of several journalists, along with

Gideon Levy Gideon Levy ( he, גדעון לוי; born 2 June 1953) is an Israeli journalist and author. Levy writes opinion pieces and a weekly column for the newspaper '' Haaretz'' that often focus on the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories ...

and

Amira Hass Amira Hass ( he, עמירה הס; born 28 June 1956) is an Israeli journalist and author, mostly known for her columns in the daily newspaper ''Haaretz'' covering Palestinian affairs in the West Bank and Gaza, where she has lived for almost th ...

, who do not "pass the

lynch test Nahum Barnea ( he, נחום ברנע) (born October 23, 1944) is an Israeli journalist. Barnea writes for ''Yedioth Ahronoth''. He won the Israel Prize in 2007. Biography Nahum Borstein (later Barnea) was born in Petah Tikva. He served in ...

" and "who could not bring themselves to criticize the Arabs even when two Israelis were savagely murdered by a mob in

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusale ...

". Barnea called their support for the Palestinian position "absolute". Eldar responded that he was honored to be mentioned along with his fine journalist colleagues Levy and Hass, and wrote, "I admit to being guilty as charged. I am a journalist with a mission, and also no small amount of passion. Every Israeli with a conscience, in particular one who watches reality from up close on a daily basis, cannot write about the occupation from an objective observer's neutral point of view." In a response op-ed, Calev Ben-David wrote that if Eldar is not empathetic to Israelis' concerns, he will do little "to advance the Palestinian cause, as he merely preaches to the converted and makes his own conscience feel cleaner in the process".

Published works

Akiva Eldar is the co-author of the biography of

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...

; he is also the coauthor (with professor

Idith Zertal Idith Zertal (born 1945) is an Israeli historian, considered one of the "New Historians". Career After a career in journalism, Zertal began a career as a professor of history and cultural anthropology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She has ...

) of the book '' Lords of the Land: The War Over Israel's Settlements in the Occupied Territories, 1967–2007'' (

Nation Books Type Media Center (formerly The Nation Institute) is a nonprofit media organization that was previously associated with ''The Nation'' magazine. It sponsors fellows, hosts forums, publishes books and investigative reporting, and awards several an ...

, 2007) .

Awards

In October 2007, Eldar won the annual Eliav-Sartawi award for Middle Eastern journalism, awarded by

Search for Common Ground Searching or search may refer to: Computing technology * Search algorithm, including keyword search ** :Search algorithms * Search and optimization for problem solving in artificial intelligence * Search engine technology, software for findi ...

, an international conflict transformation organization, sharing it with

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

ian journalist

Salameh Nematt Salameh Nematt ( ar, سلامه نعمات) (born 1962) is a Jordanian journalist and analyst with over 25 years of experience in economic and political reporting, research and analysis of developments in the broader Middle East, Europe and the Uni ...

. In 2010, Akiva won a Peace through Media Award at the sixth annual International Media Awards hosted by the

International Council for Press and Broadcasting International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

in London.

Car crash

In May 2015, Eldar was seriously injured in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia when he was struck by a car driven by singer

Jon Stevens Jon Stevens (born 8 October 1961) is a New Zealand singer, best known for his work with Noiseworks and ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. Biography 1980–1986: career beginnings and ''Jezebel'' Stevens was born in Upper Hutt, New Zealand, and is ...

References

External links

Brief bio on the Center for Peace site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eldar, Akiva 1945 births Living people Jewish Israeli writers Israeli journalists Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Social Sciences alumni Israeli columnists Haaretz people People from Haifa Male journalists 20th-century journalists 20th-century Israeli male writers 21st-century journalists 21st-century Israeli male writers