Ruth Bondy
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Ruth Bondy (; 19 June 1923 – 14 November 2017) was a Czech-Israeli journalist and translator. Bondy was a Holocaust survivor who wrote for the Israeli newspaper
Davar ''Davar'' (, lit. ''Speech, Word'') was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in the British Mandate of Palestine and Israel between 1925 and May 1996. A similarly named website was launched in 2016, under the name ''Davar Rishon'' as an ...
and translated books written in Czech to Hebrew. She was awarded the
Sokolov Award The Sokolov Award, also known as Sokolov Prize, is an Israeli journalism award, awarded by the Tel Aviv municipality, in memory of Nahum Sokolow. The award has been granted since 1956, initially to print journalists and since 1981 to journalists ...
in 1987 and the
Tchernichovsky Prize Tchernichovsky Prize is an Israeli prize awarded to individuals for exemplary works of translation into Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasia ...
in 2014.


Early life and education

Bondy was born on 19 June 1923 in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
. She studied literature and journalism in
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
and was a member of a
Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
group as a teenager.


Career

Bondy began her career as a translator for the UP News Agency in the 1940s. During the
Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
, Bondy was sent to
Theresienstadt Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination c ...
in 1942 and
Birkenau Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...
in 1943. After the end of World War II, Bondy trained in the military as a volunteer and moved to
Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...
,
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
in 1948. After arriving in Israel, Bondy was a journalist for the Israeli newspaper ''
Davar ''Davar'' (, lit. ''Speech, Word'') was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in the British Mandate of Palestine and Israel between 1925 and May 1996. A similarly named website was launched in 2016, under the name ''Davar Rishon'' as an ...
'' before working for the news magazine '' Devar ha-Shavua'' and the newspaper ''Omer'' in 1953. She remained in journalism for over thirty years and taught 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 ...
. Outside of journalism, Bondy translated Czech books into Hebrew and wrote multiple biographies including ones about
Jakob Edelstein Jakob Edelstein (also written as Yacov, Yaakov, Jakub Edelstein or Edlstein; 25 July 1903 – 20 June 1944) was a Czechoslovak Zionist, social democrat and the first Jewish Elder in the Theresienstadt ghetto. He was murdered in Auschwitz-Birkenau ...
and
Pinchas Rosen Pinchas Rosen (; 1 May 1887 – 3 May 1978) was an Israeli statesman, and the country's first Minister of Justice, serving three times during 1948–51, 1952–56, and 1956–61. He was also leader of the Independent Liberals and three times tur ...
. Her 1976 book ''The Emissary: The Life of Enzo Sereni'' won the
Yitzhak Sadeh Prize The Yitzhak Sadeh Prize for Military Literature is an annual award literary award given in Israel for the finest book on a military topic. It is named in honor of Yitzhak Sadeh. Winners * 1976, ''The Emissary: The Life of Enzo Seren'' by Ruth B ...
.


Awards and honours

In 1967, Bondy was the first woman to be awarded the
Sokolov Award The Sokolov Award, also known as Sokolov Prize, is an Israeli journalism award, awarded by the Tel Aviv municipality, in memory of Nahum Sokolow. The award has been granted since 1956, initially to print journalists and since 1981 to journalists ...
. In 2014, she was honoured with the
Tchernichovsky Prize Tchernichovsky Prize is an Israeli prize awarded to individuals for exemplary works of translation into Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasia ...
. Other awards Bondy was given include the Jiri Theiner and Gratias Agit awards.


Death

On 14 November 2017 Bondy died in
Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...
, Israel.


Personal life

Bondy had one daughter with her husband and remained married until their divorce in 1981.


Works

* ''The Emissary: The Life and Death of Enzo Sereni'' (1973) * ''Small Comforts'' (1975) * ''Felix: Pinhas Rosen and his Time'' (1980) * ''Chaim Sheba: Physician for All People'' (1981) * ''Signed and Sealed: A Guide to Journalistic Writing'' (1982) * ''Elder of the Jews: Jacob Edelstein of Theresienstadt'' (1989) * ''Whole Fragments'' (1997) * ''Uprooted Roots'' (2002) * ''Trapped: Essays on the History of the Czech Jews, 1939–1945'' (2008) * ''Not just Kafka and the Golem : In Names, Food and Language: The History of Czech Jews with a Personal Perspective'' (2014, in Hebrew)


Translations

* ''
The Good Soldier Schweik ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
'', by
Jaroslav Hašek Jaroslav Hašek (; 1883–1923) was a Czechs, Czech writer, Humorism, humorist, Satire, satirist, journalist, Bohemianism, bohemian, first anarchist and then communist, and commissar of the Red Army against the Czechoslovak Legion. He is best k ...
(1980) * ''
Immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some species possess "biological immortality" due to an apparent lack of the Hayflick limit. From at least the time of the Ancient Mesopotamian religion, ancient Mesopotamians, there has been a con ...
'', by
Milan Kundera Milan Kundera ( ; ; 1 April 1929 – 11 July 2023) was a Czech and French novelist. Kundera went into exile in France in 1975, acquiring citizenship in 1981. His Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979, but he was granted Czech citizenship ...
(1991) * '' Life with a Star'' by
Jiří Weil Jiří Weil (; 6 August 1900, Praskolesy – 13 December 1959, Prague) was a Czech writer of Jewish origin and Holocaust survivors, Holocaust survivor. His noted works include the two novels ''Life with a Star'' (''Život s hvězdou''), and ''Men ...
(1991) * ''Call Me Friend: The Children's Newspaper "Kamarad" from the Theresienstadt Ghetto, 1943–1944'' (1998)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bondy, Ruth 1923 births 2017 deaths Czechoslovak emigrants to Israel Czech women journalists Czech translators Theresienstadt Ghetto survivors Czech Jews Czech Zionists 20th-century Israeli translators Writers from Prague Czech women writers Auschwitz concentration camp survivors 21st-century Israeli translators Sokolov Award recipients