Jeremy Isadore "Jerry" Levin (March 20, 1932 – February 6, 2020) was an American television journalist. He wrote on nonviolence, with an emphasis on the Middle East and in particular Palestine and Israel.

Life and career

In 1984, while working for

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

, he was kidnapped and held hostage by

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

. He escaped after eleven and a half months in captivity due to the nonviolent behind-the-scene efforts of friends and colleagues organized by his wife, Sis Levin. Of Jewish birth, Levin converted to Christianity during his captivity. In 1991, his story was made into the television film ''Held Hostage''. The film stars

David Dukes David Coleman Dukes (June 6, 1945 – October 9, 2000) was an American character actor. He had a long career in films, appearing in 35. Dukes starred in the miniseries ''The Winds of War (miniseries), The Winds of War'' and ''War and Remembrance ...

as Levin. He worked with several violence reduction organizations in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

, including

Christian Peacemaker Teams Community Peacemaker Teams or CPT (previously called Christian Peacemaker Teams) is an international organization set up to support teams of peace workers in conflict areas around the world. The organization uses these teams to achieve its aims ...

, and with

nonviolent Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...

peace and nonviolent justice organizations in the U.S. In April 2009 he and his wife were recognized by the Dalai Lama as one of 2009's "Unsung Heroes of Compassion".

Personal life

Levin was born in Detroit in 1932. He attended

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

and was in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. He and his wife, Lucile "Sis" Levin (née Hare) had six children. Levin lived in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

at the end of his life, and died on February 6, 2020, at the age of 87.

Books

*Jerry Levin. ''Reflections on My First Noël''. (Pasadena: Hope Publishing, 2002). . *Jerry Levin. ''West Bank Diary: Middle East Violence as Reported by a Former American Hostage''. (Pasadena: Hope Publishing, 2005). .

References

External links

Levin's blog (archived)
1932 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American journalists 21st-century American memoirists American male journalists American television journalists CNN people Converts to Christianity from Judaism Kidnappings by Islamists Northwestern University alumni Journalists from Birmingham, Alabama United States Navy sailors Writers from Detroit Journalists from Detroit {{US-activist-stub