Yehonatan Geffen

Yehonatan Geffen was born in 1947 in Nahalal

Geffen was born in 1947 in the moshav Nahalal and grew up there. His mother Aviva was the sister of Moshe Dayan. His mother died of a medication overdose in 1967, and his sister Nurit took her own life in 1977.

He served in the paratroopers and later as a platoon commander in the Golani Brigade, and was discharged in 1969 as a lieutenant. In 1973 he fought in the Yom Kippur War as a reserve officer. He later spoke of nightmares from the battles and of turning to alcohol.

After his discharge he moved to Tel Aviv, began publishing poems and joined the Lul group. He studied at Cambridge and in 1972 began a weekly column in Maariv, which he wrote until 2013. In 2014 he moved his column to Haaretz.

His works for children include the collection The Sixteenth Lamb. He also wrote lyrics, plays and stage shows, and translated songs into Hebrew. In 2018 a poem he posted about Ahed Tamimi drew criticism from ministers, and he published an apology.

He married Nurit Makover in 1969, and they had two children, Shira and Aviv. He later married Ava Haddad, and their daughter Natasha was born in 1995. He died at home in 2023 and was buried in Nahalal.