{{Short description|Israeli journalist}} {{Infobox person |native_name={{Lang|he|ליאל ליבוביץ}} |birth_date={{Bya|1976}} |birth_name=Tel Aviv, Israel }} '''Liel Leibovitz''' ({{Langx|he|ליאל ליבוביץ}}; born 1976)<ref name="Q&A">{{cite web|title=Q&A With Liel Leibovitz, Author Of A Broken Hallelujah|url=http://1heckofaguy.com/2014/03/31/qa-with-liel-leibovitz-author-of-a-broken-hallelujah/|website=Heck Of A Guy – The Other Leonard Cohen Site|accessdate=10 December 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20141210203936/http://1heckofaguy.com/2014/03/31/qa-with-liel-leibovitz-author-of-a-broken-hallelujah/|archivedate=10 December 2014}}</ref> is an Israeli journalist, author, media critic, and video game scholar, as well as Zionist and ultraconservative activist.<ref>[http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/site/ataglance/2012/04/inside-nyu-steinhardt-mccs-liel-leibovitz-talks-seriously-about-video-games.html Liel Leibovitz Talks Seriously About Video Games] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605033010/https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/site/ataglance/2012/04/inside-nyu-steinhardt-mccs-liel-leibovitz-talks-seriously-about-video-games.html |date=2019-06-05 }} NYU Steinhardt, April 13, 2012</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Liel Leibovitz |url=http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/mcc/faculty_bios/view/Liel_Leibovitz |website=NYU.edu |publisher=New York University |accessdate=10 December 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141119162334/http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/mcc/faculty_bios/view/Liel_Leibovitz |archivedate=November 19, 2014 }}</ref><ref name=Hornaday>{{cite news|last1=Hornaday|first1=Ann|title=Review: 'A Broken Hallelujah: The Life of Leonard Cohen,' by Liel Leibovitz|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/review-a-broken-hallelujah-the-life-of-leonard-cohen-by-liel-leibovitz/2014/04/03/1b24c892-b6a6-11e3-8cc3-d4bf596577eb_story.html|accessdate=10 December 2014|newspaper=Washington Post|date=4 April 2014}}</ref>
==Early life and education== Leibovitz was born in Tel Aviv, Israel,<ref name="Q&A" /> to Iris and Rony Leibovitz.<ref>"Liel Leibovitz ''Aliya: Three Generations of American-Jewish Immigration to Israel'' Macmillan, 2007, p. 275</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news| url = https://www.haaretz.com/news/how-israel-put-its-most-notorious-bank-robber-on-a-stamp-1.255709| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121103122608/http://www.haaretz.com/news/how-israel-put-its-most-notorious-bank-robber-on-a-stamp-1.255709| url-status = dead| archive-date = November 3, 2012|title= How Israel Put Its Most Notorious Bank Robber on a Stamp |author=Liel Leibovitz |publisher=Haaretz |date = October 19, 2008}}</ref> Leibovitz visited his father weekly while he was in prison, and his family suffered financially after his father's incarceration.<ref>[http://tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/1554/going-postal Going Postal] Tablet Magazine, Oct 17, 2008</ref> When he was aged about 9, he became interested in the United States after visiting relatives resident there.<ref name="ReferenceA">"Sandy Brawarsky, The Jewish Week, "Giving Up America" January 11, 2006</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.wma.us/cf_news/view.cfm?newsid=443 Liel Leibovitz Ph.D. to speak at WMA Commencement] WMA, April 24, 2012</ref>
==Career== Leibovitz was a non-commissioned officer in the Spokesperson’s Unit of the Israel Defense Forces.<ref>[http://www.defenddemocracy.org/2014-2015-national-security-fellows/ 2014-2015 National Security Fellows] Defend Democracy, accessed 28 April 2015</ref> 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,<ref name="ReferenceA"/> producing "Israel Line", a daily summary of significant news taken directly from Israeli media. He served as culture editor of the ''Jewish Week'',<ref>[http://forward.com/culture/1610/to-move-or-not-to-move-a-monumental-decision/ To move or not to move a monumental decision], ''Jewish Daily Forward'', February 3, 2006</ref> and has written for ''The Nation'' and ''The New Republic''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thenation.com/authors/liel-leibovitz |title=Liel Leibovitz|date=2 April 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Author: Liel Leibovitz, all articles |url=https://newrepublic.com/authors/liel-leibovitz |magazine=The New Republic}}</ref>
Leibovitz serves as editor-at-large for the online American Jewish publication ''Tablet magazine'' in addition to hosting a pair of podcasts.<ref>{{cite web |title=Liel Leibovitz |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/contributors/liel-leibovitz |website=Tablet Magazine |publisher=Nextbook Inc. |access-date=22 July 2022}}</ref> He was a co-host on ''Tablet''{{'}}s podcast, ''Unorthodox'',<ref>{{Cite web|title=Unorthodox|url=https://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/unorthodox|access-date=2020-12-04|website=Tablet Magazine|language=en}}</ref> until October 2024, when the podcast ended and Leibovitz began to host ''Tablet''<nowiki/>'s new podcast, ''Rootless''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Introducing Rootless|url=https://www.tabletmag.com/podcasts/unorthodox/introducing-rootless-with-liel-leibovitz|access-date=2024-11-09|website=Tablet Magazine|language=en}}</ref>
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 life== Leibovitz is married to American author Lisa Ann Sandell, who has published three young adult novels.<ref>[http://tabletmag.com/author/lisaliel] Tablet Magazine, 2 December 2011</ref> He lives in New York City. Despite having lived in the United States for an extended period, he does not hold US citizenship.<ref>[https://www.makorrishon.co.il/magazine/dyukan/379079/ The Jewish Left's Fight Against Israel]</ref>
==Books== * ''How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book'' (Norton, 2023) * ''Stan Lee: A Life in Comics'' (Yale University Press, 2020) * ''A Broken Hallelujah: Rock and Roll, Redemption, and the Life of Leonard Cohen'' (Norton, 2014) * ''God in the Machine: Video Games as Spiritual Pursuit'', Templeton Press (2014) * ''Fortunate Sons: The 120 Chinese Boys Who Came to America, Went to School, and Revolutionized an Ancient Civilization'', with Matthew Miller (Norton, 2011) * ''Lili Marlene: The Soldiers' Song of World War II'' (Norton, 2009) * ''Thinking Inside the Box: Towards an Ontology of Video Games'' (Columbia University Dissertation, 2007) * ''Aliya: Three Generations of American-Jewish Immigration to Israel'' (St. Martin's Press, 2006)
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leibovitz, Liel}} Category:1976 births Category:Living people Category:Writers from Tel Aviv Category:American media critics Category:Israeli emigrants to the United States Category:Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni Category:New York University faculty Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers Category:Israeli Jews