Haim Watzman and Matti Friedman both hail from North America and now live and write in Jerusalem. Both have worked as reporters observing Israeli life with the detachment of a foreigner and the keen eye of an insider. Both have published new books which they’ll be discussing in English.
Haim was born in Cleveland and moved to Israel in 1978. His first book, “Company C,” detailed his experiences as a new immigrant soldier in an IDF combat unit. For nine years his monthly “Necessary Stories” have graced the pages of The Jerusalem Report and his new book of the same name brings together a collection of 24 of the best.
Matti hails from Toronto. His first book was “The Aleppo Codex,” an investigation into the strange fate of an ancient Bible manuscript. His latest book, “Pumpkinflowers: A Soldier’s Story” based on his military service in an isolated Israeli army outpost in Lebanon, was chosen as a New York Times notable book and one of Amazon’s 10 best books of 2016.