David Zafrir Berlin (born May 14, 1951) is a Canadian editor, writer, politician, educator best known for being the co-founder and first editor of '' The Walrus'' from 2003 to 2004 and former editor and owner of the '' Literary Review of Canada'' from 1998 to 2001. He has edited several books including ''What’s Left: The New Democratic Party in Renewal'' (2001) as well as over a hundred essays and articles. Berlin was born in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in 1951 but raised in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, where his family settled in 1953. He returned to Israel in 1970, living there for eight years, before returning to Canada. He served his military duty with the

Israeli Army The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branc ...

in the reconnaissance unit,

Sayeret Shaked Special forces units in the Israel Defense Forces encompass a broad definition of specialist units. Such units are usually a regiment or a battalion in strength. Sayeret ( he, סיירת, pl.: ''sayarot''), or ''reconnaissance'' units in the I ...

under

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. S ...

's command and took part in Sharon's

Suez campaign The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

during the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...

in 1973. He attended medical school at Tel-Aviv University and then graduated from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

's program on social and political thought, and taught at several universities. Berlin's writing has appeared in '' Saturday Night'', the ''Literary Review of Canada'', ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', the ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'' and '' Ha'aretz'' among other publications. Berlin was the

New Democratic Party of Canada The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * th ...

's candidate in

Toronto Centre Toronto Centre (french: Toronto-Centre) is a federal electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1872 to 1925, and since 1935, under the names Centre Toronto (1872–1903) ...

in the 2000 federal election. In 2015, he founded and led of The Bridge Party of Canada, running as its candidate in

University—Rosedale University—Rosedale is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2015. History University—Rosedale was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistrib ...

in the 2015 federal election. The party was deregistered on January 31, 2017. In 2011, Berlin wrote ''The Moral Lives of Israelis: Reinventing the Dream State'' in which he argued for Israel to become "not a Jewish state, but only a state rather like New York City – a state in which many Jews live." In June 2017, Berlin announced his candidacy for the

leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...

of the NDP. However, he was unable to submit a deposit and the required number of nominating signatures by the July 3, 2017 deadline and thus did not qualify as a candidate.

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berlin, David Living people Jewish Canadian writers Canadian magazine editors Canadian book editors 1951 births Israeli emigrants to Canada University of Chicago alumni 21st-century Canadian non-fiction writers New Democratic Party candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Canadian political party founders 21st-century Canadian male writers Canadian male non-fiction writers