Former Haaretz editor David Landau dies at 67
UK-born journalist wrote extensively about politics, covered current affairs, and published several books
Former Haaretz editor-in-chief David Landau passed away Tuesday in Jerusalem. He was 67 years old.
Born in the UK, Landau emigrated to Israel in 1970, where he worked as a journalist for decades, rising to lead one of Israel’s largest newspapers.
Landau made his name as a diplomatic correspondent and later as a managing editor for the Jerusalem Post.
After leaving the Post in 1990, heading a walkout of some 30 journalists in protest of management intervention in editorial content, Landau joined Haaretz in 1993 and in 1997 established the paper’s English edition.
He took the reins of the paper’s overall operations in 2004, serving as editor-in-chief until 2008.
A religious Jew himself, Landau authored “Piety and Power” on the world of ultra-Orthodox Judaism in 1992.
Last year, he published a biography of Ariel Sharon, “Arik.”
He was also the long-time correspondent in Israel for The Economist.
Landau was awarded the Order of the British Empire, for services to peace and contribution to UK-Israel ties, last year.
“David represents a special link between the United Kingdom and Israel,” British Ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould was quoted as saying following the decision to hand Landau the award. “He has made a huge contribution over several decades to English-language journalism in Israel, and it is wonderful that Her Majesty has chosen to honor him in this way.”
Haaretz quoted Landau at the time saying he had always felt “lucky,” and that the new honor underscored that sense. “Growing up in victorious postwar Britain and living now in the reborn Jewish state, helping it, as a journalist, reach peace with its neighbors. For me, this award powerfully and poignantly vindicates that feeling,” he said.
Landau was described Tuesday as “a rare person, deeply religious but also widely liberal” by Shimon Peres, with whom Landau collaborated on two books, including the former president’s autobiography.
“David Landau’s untimely death is a very great loss, not just for his family and his many friends, but also for Haaretz and for journalism in general,” Haaretz publisher Amos Schocken said Tuesday. “As a Haaretz staffer for many years, and especially during his tenure as editor-in-chief, David made an enormous contribution to the paper as an enlightened Zionist intellectual, a liberal in the full sense of the word and a believing Jew, and he demonstrated that there is no inherent contradiction in these things.”
Landau is survived by his wife Jackie and three children. His funeral will take place on Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Jerusalem.
The Times of Israel Community.