Herbert Pundik or Nahum Pundak ( he, נחום פונדק; September 23, 1927 – December 8, 2019) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

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 ...

journalist and author. He worked for the newspaper

Information Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level information pertains to the interpretation of that which may be sensed. Any natural process that is not completely random ...

and as a correspondent for

Danmarks Radio DR (), officially the Danish Broadcasting Corporation in English, is a Danish public-service radio and television broadcasting company. Founded in 1925 as a public-service organization, it is Denmark's oldest and largest electronic media enterp ...

. Since 1965, he worked for the newspaper

Politiken ''Politiken'' is a leading Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1884 and played a role in the formation of the Danish Social Liberal Party. Since 1970 it has been independe ...

, from 1970 to 1993 as

executive editor Executive (Exe (disambiguation), exe., Exec (disambiguation), exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (exec ...

. Under his leadership Politiken went from sloping sales figures to becoming the largest daily newspaper in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Biography

Herbert was born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

in 1927 to

Danish Jewish The history of the Jews in Denmark goes back to the 1600s. At present, the Jewish community of Denmark constitutes a small minority of about 6,000 persons within Danish society. The community's population peaked prior to the Holocaust at whi ...

parents, who had migrated to Denmark from

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

in order to escape threatening pogroms. He escaped to Sweden during the German occupation of Denmark in World War II, and in 1945 enlisted in the

Danish Brigade in Sweden The Danish Brigade in Sweden ( da, Den Danske Brigade i Sverige) or in short, the Danish Brigade (''Den Danske Brigade''/''DDB'') (also referred to as Danforce) was a military unit made up of Danish refugees during World War II. Trained and suppl ...

. From 1948–1949 he served in the Israeli

Hagana Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the Is ...

. He admitted to spying for Israel for a decade during the 1960s. His son

Ron Pundak Ron Pundak ( he, רון פונדק; 14 May 1955 – 11 April 2014) was an Israeli historian and journalist. He played an important role in starting the Oslo peace process in 1993, and was part of the core group behind the Geneva Initiative. Pundak w ...

was an Israeli historian, who played a vital role in establishing the diplomatic connections between the Israeli and the Palestinians which eventually led to 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;

. Ron died on 11 April 2014 after a lengthy battle with cancer. His son Uri was killed during the 1973

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 the years from 1973 to 2019 Herbert Pundik's family was increasingly active in the peace movement. Already in 1967 Herbert Pundik warned about the consequences of the occupation of Palestine and over the years he became a strong voice for peace and reconciliation with the Palestinian people. Herbert Pundik was also active in founding th
Parents Circle
an organisation for Israeli and Palestinian families who lost their loved ones in the conflict. The organisation work for reconciliation and for the ending of the occupation of Palestine. While executive editor, he continued to live with his family 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 ...

, where they had lived since 1954. Until his death, Pundik continued to live in Israel while working for Politiken as a senior foreign correspondent. In 2008, he was appointed as adjunct professor at

Aalborg University Aalborg University (AAU) is a Danish public university with campuses in Aalborg, Esbjerg, and Copenhagen founded in 1974. The university awards bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and PhD degrees in a wide variety of subjects within humanities ...

Awards and honors

* 1966 Cavlingprisen * 1993 Rosenkjærprisen * 1993 Modersmål-Prisen * 1996 Paul Hammerich-Prisen

References

1927 births 2019 deaths Danish military personnel Jewish Danish writers Writers from Copenhagen 20th-century Danish journalists 20th-century Danish non-fiction writers 20th-century Danish newspaper editors Politiken editors Israeli Jews Israeli spies 20th-century Danish writers {{denmark-journalist-stub