Mediaארי שביט

Ari Shavit

Ari Shavit is an Israeli journalist and writer, known for his columns in Haaretz and his 2013 book My Promised Land.

born 1957Columns in HaaretzThe book My Promised LandIn-depth interviews with public figures

Born: 26 November 1957, Rehovot
Occupation: journalist, writer, opinion journalist
Education: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Princeton University, University of Oxford

Ari Shavit was born in 1957 in Rehovot

Shavit was born in Rehovot in 1957. His father, Nehemiah Shavit, was a scientist at the Weizmann Institute, and his mother, Rachel Shavit-Bentwich, was an artist. Several members of his mother's Bentwich family held roles in the Zionist movement.

He was drafted into the IDF in 1975 and served in the Paratroopers Brigade, fighting in Operation Litani. In March 1978 he joined a letter to the Chief of Staff describing misconduct by soldiers during the operation, and an internal inquiry followed. He later studied philosophy and psychology at the Hebrew University.

In 1981 he joined Peace Now and helped write its platform. From 1984 he worked at the weekly Koteret Rashit. He began writing for Haaretz in 1990 and became a columnist and editorial board member in 1995.

His book My Promised Land appeared in 2013 and won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and the Jan Michalski Prize. He also chaired the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.

In 2016 several women accused him of sexual harassment, and he apologized and resigned from Haaretz and Channel 10. He returned to journalism in 2019 as a columnist for Makor Rishon. His book The Third Home was published in 2021.