Gideon Levy COUNTRY: Israel AGE: 55 WORK PLACE: Haaretz WINNING ARTICLE: The children of 5767

Writing for me is a way of expression, a way of struggling for truth and justice

I started my career in the IDF radio station at the age of 18. I served there four years as a reporter and news magazine editor. This was my real school of journalism: being so young, and broadcasting live the historical landing of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat in Israel November 1977. My next step in my career was crossing the lines and working for four years as spokesperson and press officer for Shimon Peres, then leader of the Israeli Labor party. In the year of 1982 I joined the leading Israeli daily, Haaretz, where I work until today. I started to cover the occupation in the first intifada, the Palestinian uprising 1987. My main focus is covering the life of the Palestinian people under the Israeli occupation, and writing editorials about it. I also write TV criticism and book reviews.

Above all I like the writing. Writing for me is a way of expression, a way of struggling for truth and justice, and maybe also a way to have influence. Not less than this, I like my travels to the occupied territories, a place very few Israelis still dare to visit. I like my work as long as it is meaningful. Unfortunately, I don't always feel that, since the Israeli public opinion has been brainwashed for decades, and doesn't want to read, doesn't want to know, and doesn't want to hear about the occupation.

About my article

Around 850 Palestinian children were killed by the Israeli occupation in the last seven years. I thought that on the eve of the Jewish New Year, Rosh hashana, Israelis should be reminded of their existence. I picked up all the stories I had published throughout the last year about the killed children and decided to put them together in one article in order to show the Israeli reader what was done on his behalf between one New Year to the other.