Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 18:52, 5 February 2010

Gideon Levy (Template:Lang-he; born 1953) is an Israeli journalist for the Haaretz newspaper, where he is also an editorial board member. He is a prominent left-wing commentator, and publishes on the weekly column "Twilight Zone" of Haaretz, where he covers "the hard reality on the Palestinian side" since 1988, which he attributes to the actions of Israel and to Jewish Settlers. He is a regular participant and a representative of the left-wing in a television panel on the TV show, "Moetzet Ha'Hahamim" (Trans. 'The Committee of the Wise').

Levy was awarded the 1996 Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award and the 2007 Anna Lindh Foundation Euro-Med Journalist Prize for Cultural Dialogue. Levy also served as spokesman for Shimon Peres from 1978 until 1982.

Biography

Levy was born in 1953 in Tel Aviv, the eldest of two sons to immigrants from Germany. The family settled in Shtand street in Tel-Aviv and Levy went to the nearby "Public School Alef" (Template:Lang-he). In an article, Levy recounted that a shell that hit Tel-Aviv during the Six-Day war hit a porch in the adjacent street, Reich. Levy shared a room with his younger brother, Rafi, and the two would sometimes share Hebrew poetry. Levy describes those songs, notably of Haim Hefer, as making a considerable aimpact on his life, shaping them and his spirits. Levy describes his adolescence as one in which he was "a full member of the nationalistic religious orgy." Citing a collective feeling of an "existentialistic danger," levy explains that everyone "felt that another holocaust is around the corner."

In 1974 he joined the Israeli Defense Forces becoming a writer and editor for the Israel Army Radio and was discharged in 1978. From 1978 to 1982 he served, together with Yossi Beilin, as an aide to Shimon Peres. In 1982 he began working for the Israeli daily Haaretz and in the years 1983-1987 he worked as the vice editor-in-chief. From 1986 has written extensively in its pages on 'the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank and Palestinian life under that occupation'. Since 1988, Levy has been writing the "Twilight Zone" coloumn, and as of March 2007, Levy brings -- In Haaretz's "Section B" -- personal stories of Palestinians who have been injured due to Israeli military operation in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip. Miki Kertzman provides images for the coulumn.

In 2004, the book "Twilight Zone - Life and Death under the Israeli Occupation" was published, in which an assortment of Levy's published columns from the years 1988-2003. The book's intention was to follow the evolution of the Israeli occupation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip from the years of the First Intifada trough the years of the Oslo Peace Accords and up to the Second Intifada and Operation Defensive Shield. He has also edited, alongside Haim Yavin, a documentary series, "Whispering ember" (Template:Lang-he), which dealt with Russian Jewry after the fall of communism. Levy also hosted, "Personal meeting with Gideon Levy", a weekly talkshow that was broadcast on Israeli cabels on channel 3. The show was broadcast for nearly a decade since the early 1990s to the beginning of the 2000s.

In 1996 he Levy awarded the Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. In 2007, he was awarded the Euro-Med Journalist Prize for Cultural Dialogue of the Anna Lindh Foundation for his "exceptional writings on the challanges [sic] of the region"..

Levy resides in Tel Aviv and is a devorced father of two.

Political views

Levy has said that his "modest mission is to prevent a situation in which many Israelis will be able to say, 'We didn't know'." He often criticizes what he describes as Israeli society's 'moral blindness' to the effects of its acts of war and occupation in Gaza and the West Bank. He has criticized Israel's government for refusing to stop the construction of settlements on private Palestinian land, describing the policy as 'the most criminal enterprise in history'.

During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, he shared the minority view among Israeli commentators which dismissed the idea that it was a 'just war', of the kind in which civilian casualties were both inevitable and acceptable.

While working in Gaza in early 2007 with a French film crew that was making a documentary about him, Levy declared on camera that the Gazans' plight made him ashamed to be an Israeli.

Levy supports unilateral cession of occupied Palestinian territories without asking for concessions, saying that "Israel is not being asked 'to give' anything to the Palestinians; it is only being asked to return - to return their stolen land and restore their trampled self-respect, along with their fundamental human rights and humanity." He further says that "There are not, and cannot be, any preconditions for restoring justice."

Levy wrote that the Gaza War was a complete failure for Israel, writing that none of the objectives of the war were achieved. Levy wrote that "The conclusion is that Israel is a violent and dangerous country, devoid of all restraints and blatantly ignoring the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, while not giving a hoot about international law."

Levy is against an Israeli attack on Iran, writing that such an attack would end in disaster. Levy wrote that it is important "for Israel to finally wean itself of the ideology that force is a solution to everything, and that it is the policeman (aka thug) of the Middle East."

Criticism

Levy's ideological work often raises controversy, and he was described by Le Monde as a 'thorn in Israel's flank'. He was criticized for "amateur journalism" for not speaking Arabic and depending on interpreters with an agenda. He has been criticized by Israeli journalists and commentators, including Maariv editor Amnon Dankner and novelist Irit Linur, for showing a "particular attitude towards the State of Israel" and for coming from an "anti-Israeli" and "pro-Palestinian" base of perspective. Aginst this, it was argued that his work reflects the Palestinian hardships as they are and that criticism derives from "the mirror he places before the Israeli public."

Criticism by others, including Ben Dror Yemini, and PMW's media analyst, Itamar Marcus, has been that Levy is promoting Palestinian violence and is being glorified, along with fellow Haaretz correspondents Amira Hass and Danny Rubinstein, by the Palestinian media who cite his views as "proof of the justness of their way against Israel". In right-wing publication, Israel National News, he was critised for having his Haaretz column cited by Hamas as support for their usage of bulldozer attacks in Jerusalem. Following the Palestinian elections of 2006, Gideon Ezra, the former deputy Minister of Internal Security in Israel, suggested that the General Security Services should monitor Levy and supervise his reports as he is treading on the borderline of someone having anti-Israeli interests.

Haaretz subscription cancellations

Levy was also credited by Der Spiegel as the main reason given by Haaretz readers for subscription cancellations and Levy himself is on record as quipping that somewhere in Haaretz's newsroom there exists a thick file of notifications by regular readers canceling their subscriptions after reading his articles. Levy's main publisher, Haaretz, saw a wave of angry letters and subscription cancellations following the mainstream publication of a letter to Haaretz by Israeli novelist Irit Linur, in which she announced the cancellation of her own subscription and argued that the newspaper had become compromised by a radical anti-Zionist, pro-Palestinian agenda, and she cited Levy's work and ideology as an example. Another public figure canceling his subscription to the paper was the military and security correspondent for Israeli Channel 2, Roni Daniel, who cited Levy's use of a television review section to criticize his correspondence.

Haaretz's publisher, Amos Schocken, expressed puzzlement at Linur's public letter, describing his newspaper as "exceedingly Zionist" and suggesting Levy's reports should be "read mainly as a description to the effect of the Israeli occupation in the territories".

Publications

• "Twilight Zone - Life and Death under the Israeli Occupation. 1988-2003". Babylon Priniting 2004, Tel Aviv

References

1. ^ Six Day War prompts reflection in Middle East ABC, 11 June 2007
2. ^ "לקסיקון אנציקלופדי לתקשורת ועיתונות - גדעון לוי" (in Hebrew). העין השביעית. 26/02/2008. Retrieved 30 January 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
   Translation:
   The ideological nature of Levy's journalist work, and especially the column "The Twilight Zone", often raised controversy. His critics claim that he blindly prefers the Palestinian version over the Israeli one, and that his covering lacks since he does not speak Arabic and thus depends on interpreters with interests.
   Original:
   אופיה האידיאולוגי של עבודתו העיתונאית של לוי, ובמיוחד הטור "אזור הדמדומים", עורר מחלוקות תדיר. מבקריו טוענים כי הוא מעדיף באופן עיוור את הגרסה הפלסטינית על זו הישראלית, וכי סיקורו לוקה בחסר משום שהוא אינו מדבר ערבית ולכן תלוי במתורגמנים בעלי אינטרסים.
   Translation:
   On the otherhand it was argued that his work reflects with loyalty the hard reality on the Palestinian side, and that the harsh responses he is receiving derive from the portrait that is reflected from the mirror he places in front of the Israeli public.
   Original:
   מנגד נטען כי עבודתו משקפת בנאמנות את המציאות הקשה בצד הפלסטיני, וכי התגובות הקשות שלהן הוא זוכה נובעות מן הדיוקן הנשקף מן המראה שהוא מציב מול הציבור הישראלי.
3. Gideon Levy wins Anna Lindh Journalistic Prize for his exceptional writings on the challenges of the region, Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures, 27 July 2008
4. Gideon Levy The Israel Speakers Center
5. אזור הדמדומים | 100 בהיסטוריה, by Gideon Levy.
6. לוי, גדעון (10/04/09). "בוא שיר עברי" (in Hebrew). Haaretz. Retrieved 30 January 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "שני שיבר ושליש ירכתיים" ignored (help)
7. ^ Gideon Lévy : une épine dans le flanc d'Israël Le Monde, 4 September 2006 Template:Fr icon
8. Award citation
9. What do you mean when you say 'no'? Haaretz, 18 November 2007
10. ^ Ha'aretz, Israel's Liberal Beacon The Nation, 6 September 2007
11. Gideon Levy, ‘Demands of a thief,’ Haaretz 25/11/2007
12. Gaza war ended in utter failure for Israel, Gideon Levy, Haaretz, 22/01/2009.
13. Israel should forget about bombing Iran Gideon Levy, Haaretz, 15/02/2009.
14. ^ Problems at Israel's Haaretz: A Newspaper Without a Country
15. Interview with Gideon Levy (in Hebrew),(2002-2-26)
    Translation:
    About the Arabic language, to my great shame no, that is my great failure. I had a private teacher and for a year I only managed to get one word, which is thank you (which I knew beforehand).
    Original:
    לגבי השפה הערבית, לבושתי הגדולה לא, זה המחדל הגדול שלי. היה לי מורה פרטי ובמשך שנה הצלחתי לקלוט רק מילה אחת, שהיא תודה. (שגם ידעתי אותה לפני כן).
16. ^ Translation:
    Furthermore, and maybe this also does not have to be noted, his whole carrer is touched with unseriousness, since he is one of the few journalists for Arab matters in the world who does not speak Arabic, does not understand Arabic and does not read Arabic. He gets a simultaneous translation, and that's enough. For me, that is amateur journalism.
    Original:
    כמו כן, ואולי גם את זה לא צריך לציין, כל הקריירה שלו נגועה בחלטוריזם, מכיוון שהוא אחד הכתבים היחידים בעולם לעניינים ערביים, שלא יודע ערבית, לא מבין ערבית ולא קורא ערבית. מתרגמים לו סימולטנית, וזה מספיק. לטעמי, זו עיתונות חובבנית. Cite error: The named reference "IritLetter" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
17. יעקובסון, אלכסנדר. "דילמת הידיים הנקיות" (in Hebrew). Haaretz. Retrieved 2009-04-09. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
19. ^
    Translation:
    Gideon Levy, "Haaretz" reporter, has a negative role in the Israeli journalism and public. Levy is a pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli propagandist, who's writing is characterized by lack of any sense of criticism to Palestinian propaganda, including the purging of any vermin, even of the most loathsome of terrorist attacks, and with presenting Israel in a color that is more black than black.
    Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) Cite error: The named reference "Omedia" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
20. עשר דילמות של עיתונות בימי טרור by פרופ' גבי וימן
    Translation:
    "Criticism of Gideon Levy and Amira Hass is based on that they come out of an anti-Israeli base of perspective that shows preference to the Palestinian side over the side of their own people." (Amnon Dankner, "Maariv", 1.5.02)
    Original:
    "הביקורת על גדעון לוי ועמירה הס מתבססת על כך שהם יוצאים מבסיס השקפה אנטי-ישראלי שיש בו העדפה לצד הפלשתיני על פני הצד של בני עמם." (אמנון דנקנר, "מעריב", 1.5.02)
21. ^ השראה לתעמולת חמאס: גדעון לוי
22. Yemini, Ben Dror (2009-01-17). "Conscience pimps - סרסורי מצפון" (in Hebrew). Ma'ariv. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
23. מרכוס, איתמר (6/5/2009). "גיבורי הפלסטינים: גדעון לוי, עמירה הס, ודני רובינשטיין" (in Hebrew). Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 2009-04-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
24. אירועי תקשורת Israel Democracy Institute Template:He icon
25. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=209509&contrassID=2&subContrassID=4&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
26. שכניק, רז (2009-01-16). "עד מתי אוקטובר 65'" (in Hebrew). מוסף "7 לילות" של "ידיעות אחרונות". {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)