Liel Leibovitz | |
---|---|
ליאל ליבוביץ | |
Born | Tel Aviv, Israel 1976 (age 47–48) |
Liel Leibovitz (Hebrew: ליאל ליבוביץ; born 1976)[1] is an Israeli journalist, author, media critic and video game scholar.[2] Leibovitz was born in Tel Aviv, immigrated to the United States in 1999, and earned a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 2007. In 2014, he was Visiting Assistant Professor of Media, Culture and Communication at New York University.[3][4]
Leibovitz was born in Tel Aviv, Israel[1] to Iris and Rony Leibovitz.[5] His father, born into a wealthy family, became known in Israel as the "Motorcycle Bandit" who robbed 21 banks and served 8 years in prison during his son's childhood.[6] Leibovitz visited his father weekly while he was in prison, and his family suffered financially after his father's incarceration.[7] When he was aged about 9, he became interested in the United States after visiting relatives resident there.[8] He received his B.A. from Tel Aviv University and after moving to New York City, he received an M.S. in journalism and a Ph.D. in communications from Columbia University.[9]
Leibovitz was a non-commissioned officer in the Spokesperson’s Unit of the Israel Defense Forces.[10] He attended the film school at Tel Aviv University before moving to New York. He worked at a hardware store and then at the Israeli Consulate as a senior press officer,[8] producing "Israel Line," a daily summary of significant news taken directly from Israeli media. He served as culture editor of the Jewish Week,[11] and has written for The Nation and The New Republic.[12][13]
Leibovitz serves as editor-at-large for the online American Jewish publication Tablet magazine in addition to hosting a pair of podcasts.[14] He was a co-host on Tablet's podcast, Unorthodox[15] until October 2024, when the podcast ended and Leibovitz began to host Tablet's new podcast, Rootless.[16]
Since the August/September 2021 issue of First Things, Leibovitz has written a column entitled Leibovitz at Large, replacing the long-running column Litvak at Large by Shalom Carmy.
Leibovitz is married to American author Lisa Ann Sandell, who has published three young adult novels.[17] He lives in New York City. Despite having lived in the United States for an extended period, he does not hold US citizenship.[18]