Iris Mor (; 1952 – August 2017) was an Israeli newspaper editor, literary editor and writer. She was deputy editor of the newspaper ''

Al HaMishmar ''Al HaMishmar'' (, ''On Guard'') was a daily newspaper published in Mandatory Palestine and Israel between 1943 and 1995. The paper was owned by, and affiliated with Hashomer Hatzair as well as the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party of Palestine, ...

'' weekly supplement and later of the local newspaper ''

Ha'ir ''Ha'ir'' (, lit ''The City'') is a weekly local newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel. The tabloid-sized newspaper was first published in October 1980. Since April 2005 when there was a major shakeup in the business structure of newspaper's ...

''. Mor went on to be become editor of the culture sections of the newspapers '' Hadashot'' and ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

''. She was editor-in-chief of the Keter Books publishing house between 2008 and 2012. Mor served as director of the Tel Aviv Municipality Department of Cultural Affairs from 2012 until her death in 2017.

Biography

Mor was born in 1952, in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

and grew up in the city. In her teenage years, she aided in the establishment of the youth newspaper ''Naashush''. Following the completion of her service in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

, Mor began working for the ''

'' newspaper, firstly reporting and later editing, while finishing a

Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; or or ) is the title of an academic degree in philosophy that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's degrees, the ...

degree at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

. In 1980, she flew to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada to study for a master's degree in film philosophy at

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

. When Mor went back to Israel in 1983, she got employment as deputy editor of the newspaper ''

'' weekly supplement and was later appointed deputy editor of the local newspaper ''

.'' According to Itay Stern, Mor made ''Ha'ir'' "into Israel’s leading local, one that both reflected and dictated Tel Aviv’s cultural moods." Following that, she edited '' Hadashot'''s culture section and set-up a daily magazine. In 1994, Mor returned to work at ''Haaretz''. She was assigned to work in its Hebrew-language Galeria section as editor, and converted it into a daily supplements that also featured in the newspaper's weekend edition. Mor made it Israel's leading cultural supplement, and remained in the position for the next fourteen years. On 1 December 2008, she was appointed the editor-in-chief of the Keter Books publishing house, replacing Ronit Weiss Berkowitz. Mor stayed in the role until she was named director of the Tel Aviv Municipality Department of Cultural Affairs over six other candidates in April 2012, taking over from her predecessor who left for medical reasons. She began working in the department in June 2012. Mor began and maintained several projects such as "One Moment Books", "One Moment Art" series of events, "Noise in the Library" and Saturday morning cultural events held at the Felicja Blumenthal Center.

Personal life

She was married and had two children. Mor died on the evening of 8 August 2017 after a long, serious illness. On the early evening of 9 August, she was given a funeral service at the alternative cemetery in Kibbutz Givat Brenner.

Legacy

She requested that her corneas be donated following her death. Neri Livne of ''Haaretz'' described Mor as "a meticulous, well-groomed, intelligent and wonderfully educated woman" who was "highly esteemed by those who worked under her, for whose rights she fought as a lioness, and aroused some terror among those who were not among her benefactors."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mor, Iris 1952 births 2007 deaths Writers from Tel Aviv 20th-century Israeli women writers 21st-century Israeli women writers Academic staff of Tel Aviv University York University alumni Haaretz people Israeli women journalists Israeli newspaper editors Israeli women newspaper editors Literary editors