Haim Gouri


Haim Gouri was an Israeli poet, novelist, journalist, and documentary filmmaker.

Biography

Haim Gurfinkel was born in Tel Aviv. After studying at the Kadoorie Agricultural High School, he joined the Palmach and completed a commander's course. He participated in the bombing of a British radar station being used to track Aliyah Bet ships carrying illegal Jewish immigrants to Palestine. In 1947 he was sent to Hungary to bring Holocaust survivors to Mandate Palestine. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War he was a deputy company commander in the Palmach's Negev Brigade.
Gouri studied literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Sorbonne in Paris. As a journalist he worked for LaMerhav and later, Davar. He achieved fame with his coverage of the 1961 trial of Adolf Eichmann.
Gouri lived with his wife, Aliza, in Jerusalem.
Gouri died on January 31, 2018 at the age of 94.

Literary career

Gouri's first published poem, Day Voyage, appeared in Mishmar, edited by Abraham Shlonsky, in 1945. His first complete volume of poetry, Flowers of Fire, was published in 1949 following the Israeli War of Independence.

Awards and recognition

Poetry