Liel Leibovitz

Israeli journalist

Liel Leibovitz (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]

## Early life and education[edit]

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]

## Career[edit]

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 is a co-host on Tablet's podcast, Unorthodox.[15] 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.

## Personal[edit]

Leibovitz is married to American author Lisa Ann Sandell, who has published three young adult novels.[16] He lives in New York City. Despite having lived in the United States for an extended period, he does not hold US citizenship.[17]

## Books[edit]

* Stan Lee: A Life in Comics (2020), Yale University Press
* A Broken Hallelujah: Rock and Roll, Redemption, and the Life of Leonard Cohen, (2014) Norton
* God in the Machine: Video Games as Spiritual Pursuit, (2014) Templeton Press
* Fortunate Sons: The 120 Chinese Boys Who Came to America, Went to School, and Revolutionized an Ancient Civilization with Matthew Miller, (2011) Norton
* Lili Marlene: The Soldiers' Song of World War II, (2009) Norton
* Thinking Inside the Box: Towards an Ontology of Video Games (2007)
* Aliya: Three Generations of American-Jewish Immigration to Israel, (2006) St. Martin's Press

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "Q&A With Liel Leibovitz, Author Of A Broken Hallelujah". Heck Of A Guy – The Other Leonard Cohen Site. Archived from the original on 10 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
2. ^ Liel Leibovitz Talks Seriously About Video Games NYU Steinhardt, April 13, 2012
3. ^ "Liel Leibovitz". NYU.edu. New York University. Archived from the original on November 19, 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
4. ^ Hornaday, Ann (4 April 2014). "Review: 'A Broken Hallelujah: The Life of Leonard Cohen,' by Liel Leibovitz". Washington Post. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
5. ^ "Liel Leibovitz Aliya: Three Generations of American-Jewish Immigration to Israel Macmillan, 2007, p. 275
6. ^ Liel Leibovitz (October 19, 2008). "How Israel Put Its Most Notorious Bank Robber on a Stamp". Haaretz.
7. ^ Going Postal Tablet Magazine, Oct 17, 2008
8. ^ a b "Sandy Brawarsky, The Jewish Week, "Giving Up America" January 11, 2006
9. ^ Liel Leibovitz Ph.D. to speak at WMA Commencement WMA, April 24, 2012
10. ^ 2014-2015 National Security Fellows Defend Democracy, accessed 28 April 2015
11. ^ To move or not to move a monumental decision, Jewish Daily Forward, February 3, 2006
12. ^ "Liel Leibovitz". 2 April 2010.
13. ^ "Author: Liel Leibovitz, all articles". The New Republic.
14. ^ "Liel Leibovitz". Tablet Magazine. Nextbook Inc. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
15. ^ "Unorthodox". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
16. ^ [1] Tablet Magazine, 2 December 2011
17. ^ The Jewish Left's Fight Against Israel

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