David Levhari

David Levhari was born in 1935 in Ramat Gan

David Levhari was born in 1935 in Ramat Gan, then in Mandatory Palestine, to Dina and Zvi Levhari. He spent his childhood in Ra'anana.

From 1953 to 1955 he served in the Armored Corps and fought in the Sinai Campaign. Between 1955 and 1961 he earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at the Hebrew University under Nissan Liviatan. In 1964 he completed his doctorate at MIT, supervised by Robert Solow and Paul Samuelson.

Back in Israel he helped found the economics department at Tel Aviv University. He became a full professor at the Hebrew University in 1973, chaired its economics department from 1975 to 1978, and headed the Falk Institute for Economic Research from 1984 to 1993. He was a visiting professor at several American universities.

He served as a director of public companies and as economic adviser to Benjamin Netanyahu when he was finance minister. He supported a free economy and opposed cartels in the capital and banking markets. He also appeared as a guest football commentator on television.

He was among the founders of Kfar Idud, a village for adults with learning and functional difficulties, inspired by his daughter Michal. He lived in Jerusalem, and his wife Ruth Aviva died in 1987. He died on January 20, 2023.