David Witzthum


David Witzthum is an Israeli television presenter and editor and lecturer on German history and culture. He is mostly known in Israel as one of the main presenters of the nightly news program MeHayom LeMahar.

Biography

David Witzthum was born in Petah-Tikva, Israel. His father immigrated from Berlin, his mother from Chernivtsi. He grew up in Haifa and graduated from the Hebrew Reali School in 1966. After military service as a meteorologist in 1966–1969, he earned a B.A. in Political Science and International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
A year later, he won a scholarship for graduate studies at the Collège d'Europe, in Bruges, Belgium, on European Integration,, and then went to Oxford University, England. Later, Witzhum received his M.A. Degree from the Hebrew University and started research towards Ph.D. at the Hebrew University.
He serves on the Advisory Board of the Israel Council on Foreign Relations.
Witzthum is married and has two children and one granddaughter. His wife Tsipora works for the classical music department of Israel Radio. The family lives near Jerusalem, in Mevaseret Zion.

Media career

Witztum has been a journalist with the Israel Broadcasting Authority since 1971. He became chief foreign editor in 1972 and rejoined Israel Radio in 1977 upon return from England. In summer 1982 he was sent to Europe as Bureau Chief and Correspondent in Europe for IBA Television and Radio, stationed in Bonn, Federal Republic of Germany. In 1987 he moved to television as Chief Foreign Editor, Israel Public Television and in 1988 became the first Moderator and Editor of the weekly foreign newsmagazine Roim Olam which started August 20, 1988. In 1991 he joined Yedioth Aharonoth, Israel's largest daily newspaper, as commentator on Foreign Affairs. As of 1994 – he serves as chief editor, commentator on foreign affairs and moderator of news and culture programs at the News division, Israeli Television with responsibility to the nightly news program MeHayom LeMahar, along with Emmanuel Halperin, and as moderator of the weekly news and culture program Globus.
He has directed and moderated various documentary films, among them: The Nahariyade German-Jewish History,, From Bittburg to Berlin, The German Green Movement, Germany and Its Past, and many others on Jewish history, German history and politics, and classical music.
From 1995, he has taught at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University Open University and other institutions in Israel and abroad.
His book "Mahadura Meyuhedet" explores Israeli and worldwide television coverage of terrorism and the social role of this coverage.

Published works

Books