Jerrold Kessel

Yoram Jerrold Kessel (March 3, 1944 – February 24, 2011) was an Israeli journalist, sports journalist, author and foreign correspondent. Kessel, a former news editor for the Jerusalem Post, reported on the Middle East for CNN from its Jerusalem bureau from 1990 to 2003, when he became recognizable to viewers for his white beard. He had been called "one of Israel’s leading English-language journalists."

Kessel moved from South Africa to Israel at an early age. He initially worked for Israel Radio, the Jerusalem correspondent for the London Jewish Chronicle, and the Jerusalem Post before joining CNN as an on-air correspondent in 1990. He covered major events affecting Israel for CNN, including the Oslo Accords and the assassination of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Kessel began producing and co-producing independent television programming after leaving CNN in 2003. He also authored a book of soccer and began writing a sports column for the daily newspaper, Haaretz, the last of which was published a week before his death in 2011. Instrumental in introducing cricket to Israel, Kessel played for the Israel national cricket team in the ICC Trophy from 1979 to 1990.

Jerrold Kessel died from cancer on February 24, 2011, at the age of 66. He was surivived by his wife, Lorraine, their son, Ariel, and four grandchildren. His funeral was held at Givat HaShlosha in central Israel.