, pseudonym = , birth_name = David Tidhar , birth_date = June 7, 1897 , birth_place =

Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

, death_date = , death_place = , resting_place = , occupation = , language = , nationality =

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

, ethnicity = , citizenship = , education = , alma_mater = , period = , genre =

Detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...

Encyclopedia An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

, subject = , movement = , notableworks = ''Encyclopedia of the Founders and Builders of Israel'' (19 vol.) , spouse = , partner = , children = , relatives = , awards = , signature = , signature_alt = , module = , website = , portaldisp = David Tidhar (; 7 June 1897 – 15 December 1970) was a Jewish-Israeli police officer, private detective and author.

Biography

Tidhar was born in

, and served in the

Jewish legion The Jewish Legion (1917–1921) is an unofficial name used to refer to five battalions of Jewish volunteers, the 38th to 42nd (Service) Battalions of the Royal Fusiliers in the British Army, raised to fight against the Ottoman Empire during ...

and postware in

Palestine Police Force The Palestine Police Force was a British colonial police service established in Mandatory Palestine on 1 July 1920,Sinclair, 2006. when High Commissioner Sir Herbert Samuel's civil administration took over responsibility for security from Gener ...

in Jerusalem. In 1926 he left the force and established his own private investigation office in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. This attracted the notice of author Shlomo Ben-Yisrael, who founded ''The Detective Library'' in 1930, a series of

chapbook A chapbook is a small publication of up to about 40 pages, sometimes bound with a saddle stitch. In early modern Europe a chapbook was a type of printed street literature. Produced cheaply, chapbooks were commonly small, paper-covered bookle ...

s which featured the adventures of ''David Tidhar: The First Hebrew Detective''. These were perhaps the first example of genuine

mystery fiction Mystery is a genre fiction, fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains wiktionary:mysterious, mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually prov ...

published in Israel (then

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

) and brought Tidhar (whose picture adorned the covers) much publicity. The series ran 1930-1932 and some 28 volumes. Tidhar later withdrew his name, following which the series continued with the adventures of a new, fictional Hebrew Detective. Rights to the series were later purchased by

Haynt ''Haynt'' (הײַנט - "Today"; Yidishes tageblat 1906-08) was a Yiddish daily newspaper, published in Warsaw from 1906 until 1939. Newspaper ''Yidishes tageblat'' (יידישעס טאגעבלאט) was founded in 1906 by Zionist Samuel Jackan ...

and published in

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

in the years before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Tidhar went on to edit the monumental 19-volume '' Encyclopedia of the Founders and Builders of Israel''; a non-fiction study of

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

in Palestine; and an autobiography. He is, however, best remembered for the Detective Library, individual volumes of which have since become collectors' items.

In modern fiction

* The figure of David Tidhar appears several times in the works of author

Lavie Tidhar Lavie Tidhar ( he, לביא תדהר; born 16 November 1976) is an Israeli-born writer, working across multiple genres. He has lived in the United Kingdom and South Africa for long periods of time, as well as Laos and Vanuatu. As of 2013, Tid ...

(no relation), notably in the stories "The Projected Girl" (in ''Naked City'', ed.

Ellen Datlow Ellen Datlow (born December 31, 1949) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror editor and anthologist. She is a winner of the World Fantasy Award and the Bram Stoker Award (Horror Writers Association). Career Datlow began her career ...

, 2011) and "The Time Slip Detective" (in ''Tel Aviv Noir'', ed.

Etgar Keret Etgar Keret ( he, אתגר קרת, born August 20, 1967) is an Israeli writer known for his short stories, graphic novels, and scriptwriting for film and television. Personal life Keret was born in Ramat Gan, Israel in 1967. He is a third child ...

and Assaf Gavron, 2014).

References

Israeli police officers Private investigators Israeli writers Jewish encyclopedists Burials at Kiryat Shaul Cemetery People from Jaffa 1897 births 1970 deaths {{Israel-bio-stub Israeli male writers Israeli editors