David Witzthum (; born on January 17, 1948) is an Israeli television presenter and editor and lecturer on German history and culture. He is mostly known in Israel as one of the main presenters of the nightly news program '' MeHayom LeMahar''.

Biography

David Witzthum was born in Petah-Tikva, Israel. His father

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

from

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, his mother from

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi (, ; , ;, , see also #Names, other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivt ...

. He grew up (with his sister Orna) in

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 ...

and graduated from the

Hebrew Reali School The Hebrew Reali School of Haifa (), located in Haifa, Israel, is one of the country's oldest private schools.meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists ...

in 1966–1969, he earned a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and

International Relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

(1969–1972). A year later, he won a scholarship for graduate studies at the Collège d'Europe, in

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

, Belgium, on European Integration, (Promotion "Mazzini", 1974), and then went to

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, England (

political philosophy Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and Political legitimacy, legitimacy of political institutions, such as State (polity), states. This field investigates different ...

, 1974–1977, at Wolfson College). Later, Witzhum received his M.A. Degree from the Hebrew University (Political Science) and started research towards Ph.D. at the Hebrew University (2nd and final stage – of actual writing the dissertation on "the image of Germany in Israeli television, 1970–1995"). He serves on the Advisory Board of the

Israel Council on Foreign Relations The Israel Council on Foreign Relations (ICFR) is an independent, non-partisan forum for the study and debate of foreign policy issues, especially those relating to the State of Israel and the Jewish people. The ICFR publishes a triannual policy ...

. Witzthum is married and has two children and one granddaughter. His wife Tsipora works for the classical music department of Israel Radio. The family lives near Jerusalem, in

Mevaseret Zion Mevaseret Zion () is a town and local council located to the west of Jerusalem, straddling both sides of the Jerusalem–Tel Aviv highway. Mevaseret Zion is composed of two distinct older townships, Maoz Zion and Mevaseret Yerushalayim, under ...

Media career

Witztum has been a journalist with the

Israel Broadcasting Authority The Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA; ) was Israel's public broadcaster from 1948 to 2017, succeeded by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation. History The Israel Broadcasting Authority was an outgrowth of the radio station '' Kol Yi ...

since 1971. He became chief foreign editor in 1972 and rejoined Israel Radio in 1977 upon return from England. In summer 1982 he was sent to Europe as Bureau Chief and Correspondent in Europe for IBA Television and Radio, stationed in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, Federal Republic of Germany (till 1985). In 1987 he moved to television as Chief Foreign Editor, Israel Public Television ( Channel 1) and in 1988 became the first Moderator and Editor of the weekly foreign newsmagazine ''Roim Olam'' which started August 20, 1988. In 1991 he joined ''

Yedioth Aharonoth (, ; lit. "Latest News") is an Israeli daily mass market newspaper published in Tel Aviv. Founded in 1939, is Israel's largest paid newspaper by sales and circulation and has been described as "undoubtedly the country's number-one paper."

'', Israel's largest daily newspaper, as commentator on Foreign Affairs. As of 1994 – he serves as chief editor, commentator on foreign affairs and moderator of news and culture programs at the News division, Israeli Television (Channel 1) with responsibility to the nightly news program '' MeHayom LeMahar'' (''From Today to Tomorrow''), along with Emmanuel Halperin, and as moderator of the weekly news and culture program ''Globus''. He has directed and moderated various documentary films, among them: ''The Nahariyade'' (2004) ''German-Jewish History'' (1996), (both in Hebrew and German versions), ''From Bittburg to Berlin'' (1985), ''The German Green Movement'' (1984), ''Germany and Its Past'' (1983), and many others on Jewish history (e.g. ''Po-Lan-Ya – the 1000-year history of Polish Jewry'', a 7 parts television documentary, 1999), German history and politics, and classical music. From 1995, he has taught at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem (German History and Communication studies),

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 ...

(Political Science and Communication Studies)

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

and other institutions in Israel and abroad. His book ''Mahadura Meyuhedet'' Special Edition"explores Israeli and worldwide television coverage of terrorism and the social role of this coverage.

Published works

Books

* ''The Beginning of a Wondrous Friendship? The story of Israeli-German reconciliation 1948-1960'', Schocken Publishing House, Tel Aviv, December 2018 *''Breaking News – Television news in hard times'' (Hebrew),

Keter Publishing House Keter or Kether (; ) is the first of the ten sefirot in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, symbolizing the divine will and the initial impulse towards creation from the ''Ein Sof'', or infinite source. It represents pure consciousness and transcen ...

, Jerusalem 2006 *'' Mahadura Meyuhedet'' ("Special Newscast") (Hebrew)

Articles

* "A Political avoidance of Tragedy": Israel-German Relations, in: Shahran Chubin (ed.): ''Germany and the Middle East: Patterns and Prospects'', Pinter, London 1992. (English) pp. 55 – 92. * Israeli Media: Engagierte Medien - kämpferische Medien, (German) in: ''Kultur in Israel; eine Einführung''. Anat Feinberg (ed.), Gerlingen: Bleicher Verlag, 1993, pp. 207 – 229. * Ernst Nolte, the Holocaust and Today's Extremism, in ''SoWi-Sozial-Wissenschaftliche Informationen'', heft 1/1993, (German). * The Israeli Media and Germany, in Zimmermann M. (ed.): ''Normal Relations: 25 Years of Israeli-German Relations''. (Hebrew) Magnes Press, Jerusalem 1994, pp. 103 – 128. * Image and Reality: Israeli Media and Germany, (German: Realität und Image; die bilateralen Beziehungen) in H. Lichtenstein, O. R. Romberg (eds.): ''Füenfzig Jahre Israel: Vision und Wirklichkeit'', Bonn 1998, pp. 244–254. Appeared also in ''Tribüne; Zeitschrift zum Verständnis des Judentums''. Frankfurt a.M. no. 146 (1998), pp. 216 – 228, English version in: From Vision to Reality, Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, Bonn 1998 * "Conservative Revolutionaries": Composers and Music in the Third Reich, (Hebrew) in M. Zimmermann (ed.): ''The Third Reich, a Historical Balance'', Magnes Press, Jerusalem 1999, pp. 158–177. * The Image of Germany in Israel, (in German – "Gegenwaert und Gedaechtnis"), with M. Zimmermann), in Krauts – Fritz – Piefkes…? – in: ''Deutschland von aussen, Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland'' (ed.) Bonn 1999, pp. 132–139. * Die jüdischen Grundpositionen zu Jerusalem und den Heiligen Stätten, (German), In: ''Provokation Jerusalem; eine Stadt im Schnittpunkt von Religion und Politik'': Konkel M. And Schuegraf O. (eds.), Münster: Aschendorff, 2000 pp. 143–155 * Shifts in Israeli society (English): in Alfred Witttstock (ed.): Israel in Nahost – Deutschland in Europa: Nahstellen. Westdeutscher Verlag, Wiesbaden, Germany 2001, pp. 187–194. * The Israeli - Palestinian Conflict: The Role of the Media (English and German), in: ''Media, Conflict and Terrorism'', Die Deutsche Stiftung für internationale Entwicklung (DSE), Bonn 2002. Also in: https://web.archive.org/web/20041023152050/http://www.dse.de/ef/media/witzthum.htm#top * The Television News Report and History, in: ''History and Cinema – Dangerous Relationships?'' Bereshit H., Zand S. and Zimmermann M. (eds.), Shazar Center, Jerusalem 2004 (Hebrew), pp. 169–197. * Israeli-German Relations: the role of the Media (Hebrew), in M. Zimmermann (ed.): ''Germany and the land of Israel, a Cultural Encounter'', Magnes Press, Jerusalem, Israel 2004, pp. 188–216. * The Media, Israel and Europe (English), in ''Bertelsmann Stiftung Seminar Papers 2004'', Guetersloh and Jerusalem (forthcoming). * Die israelisch-palästinensische Konfrontation und ihre Widerspiegelung in der öffentlichen Meinung Israels (German), in: ''Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte'', B 20/2004 Berlin, pp. 29–37. Also in http://www.bpb.de/publikationen/DFO8Y1,0,Die_israelischpal%E4stinensische_Konfrontation_und_ihre_Widerspiegelung_in_der_%F6ffentlichen_Meinung_Israels.html * Deutsche Presse in hebräischer Sprache: Drei Wenden und ihre Bedeutung, in: Zimmermann M., Hotam Y., (eds.): ''Zweimal Heimat: Die Jeckes zwischen Mitteleuropa und Nahost'' (German), Beerenverlag, Frankfurt a.M. 2005 pp. 287–294. (also in The same book in Hebrew). * "Der lange Weg zur politischen Vernunft: Joschka Fischers Welterklärung und deutsche Nahost-Politik" (book review), in ''Internationale Politik'', Berlin, (German) vol. 60 (2005) no.8 pp. 128–130. * "Nahariyade": in Gisela Dachs (ed.): ''Die Jeckes, Jüdischer Almanach des Leo Baeck Instituts'': Jüdischer Verlag im Suhrkamp, (German) Frankfurt a.M. 2005, pp. 79–85. * "History and the Moving Picture", in Hotam y. Schmidt M. and Zadoff N. (eds.): ''History as Vocation'', a collection of essays in honor of

Moshe Zimmermann Moshe Zimmermann (; born 25 December 1943) is an Israeli historian and writer. He is a professor emeritus at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. From 1986 to 2012 he was the director of the Richard Koebner Minerva Center for German History. Bio ...

on the occasion of his 60th birthday, Magnes Press (Hebrew), Jerusalem 2006, pp. 57–64. * Israels medien in Zeiten der Not, (German), in: ''Aus Politik Und Zeitgeschichte'' no. 17/2008, Berlin, also in: http://www.bpb.de/publikationen/SC0B5O,0,Israels_Medien_in_Zeiten_der_Not.html

References

External links

Interviews by Witzthum

* ttp://web11.mediazone.co.il/media/sicsa/090105/ Between Berlin and Jerusalem: Jewish Problems-German Problems

Doron Mendels Doron Mendels () is a full professor in the history department of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Research Mendels researches primarily the Hellenistic world from various perspectives (beginning with the period of Alexander the Great in the ...

, Angelika Timm, David Witzthum, Robert Wistrich, January 9, 2005 (in Hebrew) {{DEFAULTSORT:Witzthum, David Israeli radio presenters 1948 births Living people Israeli television presenters College of Europe alumni Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Social Sciences alumni People from Mevaseret Zion Sokolov Award recipients