Haim Watzman
Encyclopedia
Haim Watzman is an American-born, Jerusalem-based writer, journalist, and translator.
Watzman was born in Cleveland, Ohio and grew up in Silver Spring
, Maryland
. After receiving a B.A. from Duke University
, Watzman made aliyah
to Israel
, where he has lived since 1978 and worked as a freelance translator and journalist. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife, Ilana, and four children.
Watzman is the author of Company C: An American’s Life as a Citizen-Soldier in Israel (Farrar, Straus & Giroux 2005), a memoir centered on his service in a reserve
infantry
unit in the Israel Defense Forces
and A Crack in the Earth: A Journey Up Israel’s Rift Valley (Farrar, Straus & Giroux 2007).
Watzman is known for his English
translations of recent works by Hebrew-language
authors. His translations include Tom Segev
’s The Seventh Million, Elvis in Jerusalem, and One Palestine Complete, as well as David Grossman
’s The Yellow Wind, Sleeping on a Wire, and Death as a Way of Life.
He served for 25 years as Israel correspondent for The Chronicle of Higher Education
, and is now Israel correspondent for the British science journal Nature
. His opinion pieces have appeared on the pages of The New York Times
, Los Angeles Times
, and The Forward
.
Watzman currently writes the monthly “Necessary Stories” column for The Jerusalem Report, and co-authors the widely-read South Jerusalem blog, along with Gershom Gorenberg
.
Watzman was born in Cleveland, Ohio and grew up in Silver Spring
Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 71,452 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.The urbanized, oldest, and...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. After receiving a B.A. from Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, Watzman made aliyah
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, where he has lived since 1978 and worked as a freelance translator and journalist. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife, Ilana, and four children.
Watzman is the author of Company C: An American’s Life as a Citizen-Soldier in Israel (Farrar, Straus & Giroux 2005), a memoir centered on his service in a reserve
Military reserve force
A military reserve force is a military organization composed of citizens of a country who combine a military role or career with a civilian career. They are not normally kept under arms and their main role is to be available to fight when a nation mobilizes for total war or to defend against invasion...
infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
unit in the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
and A Crack in the Earth: A Journey Up Israel’s Rift Valley (Farrar, Straus & Giroux 2007).
Watzman is known for his English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
translations of recent works by Hebrew-language
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
authors. His translations include Tom Segev
Tom Segev
Tom Segev is an Israeli historian, author and journalist. He is associated with Israel's so-called New Historians, a group challenging many of the country's traditional narratives.-Early life:Segev was born in Jerusalem in 1945...
’s The Seventh Million, Elvis in Jerusalem, and One Palestine Complete, as well as David Grossman
David Grossman
David Grossman is an Israeli author. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages, and have won numerous prizes.He is also a noted activist and critic of Israeli policy toward Palestinians. The Yellow Wind, his non-fiction study of the life of Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied...
’s The Yellow Wind, Sleeping on a Wire, and Death as a Way of Life.
He served for 25 years as Israel correspondent for The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty, staff members and administrators....
, and is now Israel correspondent for the British science journal Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
. His opinion pieces have appeared on the pages of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, and The Forward
The Forward
The Forward , commonly known as The Jewish Daily Forward, is a Jewish-American newspaper published in New York City. The publication began in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily issued by dissidents from the Socialist Labor Party of Daniel DeLeon...
.
Watzman currently writes the monthly “Necessary Stories” column for The Jerusalem Report, and co-authors the widely-read South Jerusalem blog, along with Gershom Gorenberg
Gershom Gorenberg
Gershom Gorenberg is an American-born Israeli historian, journalist and blogger, specializing in Middle Eastern politics and the interaction of religion and politics. He is currently a senior correspondent for The American Prospect, a monthly American political magazine...
.
Books translated
- Tamar El-Or, Reserved Seats: Religion, Gender and Ethnicity in Contemporary Israel. Wayne State University Press (in process)
- Menachem Klein, A Possible Peace. Columbia University Press, 2007
- Hillel CohenHillel CohenHillel Cohen is an Israeli scholar who studies and writes about Jewish-Arab relations in Palestine/Israel. He is a Research Fellow at the Harry S...
, Army of Shadows, Palestinian Collaboration with Zionism, 1917–1948. University of California Press, 2007 - Yaakov Lozowick, Hitler's Bureaucrats: The Nazi Security Police and the Banality of Evil. Continuum, 2003
- Menachem Klein, The Jerusalem Problem: The Struggle for Permanent Status. University of Florida Press, 2003
- David GrossmanDavid GrossmanDavid Grossman is an Israeli author. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages, and have won numerous prizes.He is also a noted activist and critic of Israeli policy toward Palestinians. The Yellow Wind, his non-fiction study of the life of Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied...
, Death as a Way of Life. Farrar Straus, 2003 - Igal Sarna, The Man Who Fell into a Puddle. Knopf, 2002
- Tom SegevTom SegevTom Segev is an Israeli historian, author and journalist. He is associated with Israel's so-called New Historians, a group challenging many of the country's traditional narratives.-Early life:Segev was born in Jerusalem in 1945...
, Elvis in Jerusalem. Metropolitan, 2002 - Tamar El-Or, Next Pesach: Literacy and Identity among Young Orthodox Jewish Women. Wayne State University Press, 2002
- Menachem Klein, Jerusalem: The Contested City. Hurst/NYU Press, 2001
- Tom Segev, One Palestine Complete. Metropolitan, 2000
- Oz AlmogOz AlmogOz Almog, an Israeli–Austrian artist was born on April 15, 1956, in Kfar Saba, Israel. He comes from a family of Russian/Ukrainian pioneers and Romanian/Russian immigrants...
, The Sabra: A Portrait, California University Press. 2000 - Tamar El-Or, Educated and Ignorant: On Ultra-Orthodox Women and Their World. Lynne Reinner, 1993
- David Grossman, Sleeping on a Wire. Farrar Straus, 1993
- Tom Segev, The Seventh Million. Hill & Wang, 1993
- David Grossman, The Yellow Wind. Farrar Straus, 1988
External links
- Official website, includes links to his articles published in the mainstream and Jewish press
- South Jerusalem blog, co-authored with Gershom GorenbergGershom GorenbergGershom Gorenberg is an American-born Israeli historian, journalist and blogger, specializing in Middle Eastern politics and the interaction of religion and politics. He is currently a senior correspondent for The American Prospect, a monthly American political magazine...