Gershom Schocken

Gershom Schocken
Date of birth 29 September 1912
Place of birth Zwickau, Germany
Year of aliyah 1933
Date of death 20 December 1990(1990-12-20) (aged 78)
Place of death Tel Aviv, Israel
Knessets 3
Faction represented in Knesset
1955–1959 Progressive Party

Gershom Gustav Schocken (Hebrew: גרשום גוסטב שוקן‎‎, born 29 September 1912, died 20 December 1990) was an Israeli journalist and politician who was editor of Haaretz for more than 50 years and a member of the Knesset for the Progressive Party between 1955 and 1959.

Biography

Born in Zwickau in Germany, Schocken studied at the University of Heidelberg and the London School of Economics. Following Adolf Hitler's rise to power, he made aliyah to Mandatory Palestine in 1933 one year before the rest of his family,[1] and got a job at Anglo-Palestine Bank, where he remained until 1936. In 1939 he became editor of the Haaretz newspaper, which had been bought by his father Salman two years earlier, remaining in post until his death in 1990.[2] In 1950 he was amongst the founders of the ITIM news agency.[2] He also published poetry in German, English and Hebrew under the penname Robert Pozen, as well as publishing a book, Poems for Times of Celebration in 1969. In 1983 he was named International Editor of the Year Award by the World Press Review for Haaretz's "excellence in coverage of Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982".[2][3]

In 1955 he was elected to the Knesset on the Progressive Party list, and served on the House Committee, the Economic Affairs Committee and the Labor Committee. He quit politics and lost his seat in the 1959 elections.[3]

Schocken was married to Shulamit Parsitz, daughter of General Zionists MK Shoshana Parsitz, and had three children, Amos (the current publisher of Haaretz), Hillel (an architect) and Racheli. He later left his wife without divorcing her and lived with Yehudit Yona.

He died of liver cancer at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv on 20 December 1990 at the age of 78.[2]

References

  1. ↑ A newspaper's mission Haaretz
  2. 1 2 3 4 Gershom Schocken; Israeli Editor Urged Civil Rights LA Times, 25 December 1990
  3. 1 2 Gershom G. Schocken, 78, Editor Of Israeli Newspaper for 50 Years New York Times, 24 December 1990
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