Akiva Eldar

Akiva Eldar is the chief political columnist and an editorial writer for Haaretz. His columns also appear regularly in the Ha'aretz-Herald Tribune edition. In May 2006 The Financial Times selected him among the most prominent and influential commentators in the world, "whose comments inspire callers from across the political spectrum".

Between 1993 and 1996, Eldar served as the Haaretz U.S. Bureau Chief and Washington correspondent, covering the peace process, U.S.-Israel relations, American issues and Israel-Diaspora relations. Prior to this, Eldar spent 10 years as the diplomatic correspondent for Haaretz, as well as its municipal correspondent for Jerusalem from 1978 to 1983. Before joining Haaretz, Eldar was a reporter and editor for Israel Radio and spent two years as spokesperson for former Mayor of Jerusalem, Teddy Kollek.

Eldar is the author of several books on Israel and the Middle East, including "The ambush on Jerusalem", which deals with U.S.-Israel-Jewish community relations, and "Lords of the Land", an exploration of the Jewish settlements in the West Bank. In 2007 he received the annual "Search for Common Ground" award for Middle East journalism.

Eldar was a special consultant to Abba Eban's PBS television documentaries on the history of Israel and the Oslo peace initiative. He regularly appears on major television and radio networks in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Europe and Israel. He appeared many times on news programs such as Nightline, The Lehrer Show, Charlie Rose Show, CNN News and CBS Morning News, current affair programs on Israeli television, as well as NPR talk shows.

Eldar contributes to the op-ed pages of The New York Times, LA Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The International Herald Tribune and The New York Jewish Week. During his stay in the U.S. Mr. Eldar lectured extensively for the Jewish community and on campuses throughout the U.S., Canada and Australia. He has also participated in various Israeli-Arab-European seminars.

Mr. Eldar was born in Haifa, Israel in 1945. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he majored in Economics, Political Science and Psychology.