Gideon Levy

Gideon Levy is an Israeli journalist for the Haaretz newspaper, where he is also an editorial board member. He is a prominent left-wing commentator and was also a former spokesman for Shimon Peres between 1978 and 1982.

Background

Levy was born in 1955 in Tel Aviv, the son of European immigrants. From 1978 to 1982 he served, together with Yossi Beilin as an aide to Shimon Peres. Since 1982 he has written for the Israeli daily Haaretz, in which, from 1986, he has written extensively on 'the occupation and Palestinian life under the occupation'. In 1996 he was awarded the Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.

Political views

A recurrent theme in his articles is what he calls the 'moral blindness' of Israeli society to the effects of its acts of war and occupation in Gaza and the West Bank, an attitude which reflects, he believes, a systematic dehumanization of its neighbors by Israel. During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, he shared the view of a distinct minority of Israeli commentators who rejected 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. The French newspaper Le Monde has described him as a 'spine in Israel's flank'.

Criticism

Gideon Levi, being a prominent left-wing journalist, has seen many criticisms for his political views.

In a publicized letter canceling her subscription to Haaretz, Israeli novelist and Journalist Irit Linur cited Levy's articles as one of the reasons for her decision. Noting that pro-Palestinian tendencies and finger-pointing towards Israel are the most glaring and consistent part of his reports, she described him as heading the newspaper's 'Palestinian department,' and alleged that he blocked publication of negative reports on Palestinians. She took him to task for not knowing Arabic, suggesting that his reliance on interpreters indicated his amateurishness and that his political affiliation have long tainted his reports and conclusions. Haaretz's publisher, Amos Shoken, expressed both an apology and confusion at the 'radical left-wing' and 'anti-Zionist' labels he and his paper have been ascribed by Linur's letter. He described his newspaper as highly Zionist and noted Levy's reports should be read as, 'a description of the effect of the Israeli occupation on the lives of the Palestinians in the territories.' Levy has also been accused by the controversial polemicist Steven Plaut, of 'celebrating the victory of Hamas'. Former deputy Minister of Internal Security, Gideon Ezra, suggested that Levy be put under surveillance by the Shin Bet.

Also, Professor Steven Plaut of the Haifa University has called Levy an "anti-Israel leftist fanatic" and accused him of 'celebrating the victory of Hamas'.

On The Knesset Channel, Gideon Levi was interviewed by Daniel Ben Simon, a fellow Haaretz commentator and Israeli Journalist. Ben Simon stated that even Levi's friends from Haaretz, known as a left wing paper, consider him an extremist.

Gideon Ezra, an Israeli politician, suggested when filling the position of Vice to the Minister of Internal Security, that he'd be watched by the General Security Services to supervise his reports and stated that Levi is treading on the borderline of someone having anti-Israeli interests.^[1]

External links

• Interview with Levy on PBS (2003)
• Selection of articles by Levy
• Article about Levy in the French daily Le Monde September 2006
• Gideon Levy's Official Lecturer Page