Yotam Reuveny

Yotam Reuveny was born in 1949 in Iași

Reuveny was born Jean Riven in December 1949 in Iași, Romania, to the family of a Jewish tailor. His mother died in 1957. He spent part of his childhood in the village of Bivolari, near the Prut River.

In 1964 he immigrated to Israel with his father and three brothers and settled in Ashdod. He studied at a high school in the city, then lived on Kibbutz Mishgav Am, joined a Nahal group and served under the Nahal Command.

He Hebraized his name and worked as an editor at Haaretz and Yedioth Ahronoth. His first book, a 1978 story collection, dealt openly with homosexuality. He later published poetry, novels and stories, and in 2000 founded the Nimrod publishing house, which issues translated classic texts among other works.

In 2015 he was included among 40 influential figures in the history of the LGBT community. He also turned to theater and set up a room theater in his home. His last poetry book appeared in 2019, and he died of cancer at his Ashdod apartment in November 2021.