Avi Issacharoff (; born 1973) is an Israeli journalist, known for his focus on Palestinian affairs.
He is a Middle East commentator for ''
The Times of Israel'' and its sister news outlet
Walla!,
and the Palestinian and Arab Affairs Correspondent for ''
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 ...
''. Issacharoff is known as one of the creators of the TV-series ''
Fauda''.
Early life and education
Issacharoff was born in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
to a seventh generation
Bukharian Jewish family. His ancestors were among the first inhabitants of Jerusalem's
Bukharim Quarter. He grew up in the
Givat Shaul neighborhood of Jerusalem and attended a
Kurdish-Jewish synagogue, where he also picked up Arabic. He went on to become fluent in the language. He studied at
Hebrew University High School.
During his military 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 ...
, he served in the
Duvdevan Unit, having been placed there due to his knowledge of Arabic.
[
He is a graduate of ]Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) (, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public university, public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Named after Israeli List of national founders, national founder David Ben-Gurion, the unive ...
and holds an M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies and Literature from 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 ...
. He has a daughter, and is in a relationship with his partner Merav.
Media career
Issacharoff was Middle Eastern Affairs Correspondent for Israel Radio. In 2004, Issacharoff co-wrote with Amos Harel, ''The Seventh War: How we won and why we lost the war with the Palestinians,'' a book about the Second Intifada
The Second Intifada (; ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was a major uprising by Palestinians against Israel and its Israeli-occupied territories, occupation from 2000. Starting as a civilian uprising in Jerusalem and October 2000 prot ...
, winner of the 2005 Tshetshik Prize from the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies. In 2008, they wrote a second book, ''34 Days: Israel, Hezbollah and the War in Lebanon'', about the 2006 Lebanon War
The 2006 Lebanon War was a 34-day armed conflict in Lebanon, fought between Hezbollah and Israel. The war started on 12 July 2006, and continued until a United Nations-brokered ceasefire went into effect in the morning on 14 August 2006, thoug ...
, winner of the 2009 Chechic Award.
From 2005 until 2012, he was the Palestinian and Arab affairs correspondent for the Israeli newspaper ''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 ...
''. He is a former correspondent with Israel Radio where he won the 2002 "Best Reporter" award for his coverage of the Second Intifada
The Second Intifada (; ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was a major uprising by Palestinians against Israel and its Israeli-occupied territories, occupation from 2000. Starting as a civilian uprising in Jerusalem and October 2000 prot ...
. He has written and directed short documentary films broadcast on television in Israel.
In 2014, Issacharoff and a cameraman were attacked and beaten by "masked Palestinian rioters" while covering a violent protest demonstration in Beitunia. According to Issacharoff's account, the two were set upon after a Palestinian demonstrator who accused them of being Israeli intelligence agents.
He is the co-author of the Israeli television series '' Fauda'', winner in 2016 of 6 Ophir Awards and in 2018 of another 11 Ophir Awards, granted by the Israeli Academy of Film and Television. Faraway Road Productions, which produces ''Fauda'', was also co-founded by Issacharoff and Lior Raz, then was acquired by Candle Media in early 2022, with the continued involvement of both partners.
Published works
* ''The Seventh War: How we won and why we lost the war with the Palestinians''. with Amos Harel. 2004 (Winner of the 2005 Chechic award for outstanding security research.)[ It was translated into French and Arabic.]
* ''34 Days: Israel, Hezbollah and the War in Lebanon''. With Amos Harel. Hebrew edition 2006. English Edition 2008 by Palgrave-Macmillan Books. (Winner of the 2009 Chechic award for outstanding security research.)[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Issacharoff, Avi
Israeli journalists
Israeli columnists
Israeli people of Uzbekistani-Jewish descent
Israeli Mizrahi Jews
Journalists from Jerusalem
Living people
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev alumni
Tel Aviv University alumni
1973 births
Bukharan Jews
Hebrew University Secondary School alumni
Israeli television producers
Israeli radio journalists