Zev Chafets - Early Life and Israel

Early Life and Israel

Chafetz was born and raised in Pontiac, Michigan. After graduating from the University of Michigan, he moved to Israel. He spent a decade in the army, government service and politics. In 1977, he was appointed director of the Government Press Office, a post he held for five years during the administration of Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Chafets was an active participant in the Egyptian-Israeli peace process and a delegate to the first Israeli-Egyptian peace negotiations.

He was the founding managing editor of the Jerusalem Report magazine and is the author of twelve books of fiction, media criticism, and social and political commentary, three of which have been named Notable Books of the Year (by The New York Times). He is also the recipient of the 2008 Wilbur Award for his book A Match Made In Heaven.

He was a regular columnist for the New York Daily News from 2000 until 2004. Today his columns appear frequently in major newspapers around the world, including The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Post. He is a frequent contributor to the New York Times Sunday Magazine. In 2008, his NYT Magazine cover story on Mike Huckabee was a finalist for the National Magazine Award.

Chafets is a spirited political polemicist. A strong supporter of Israel, he has been a vocal critic of Arab dictatorships, Islamic radicalism, extremist groups such as Hizbollah and Hamas, and what he perceives as a pro-Palestinian bias in academia and the media. He is also well known for his opposition to the role of religious political parties in Israel.