{{short description|Canadian-born Israeli journalist and author}} {{Use Canadian English|date=May 2026}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2026}} [[File:Mati Friedman DSC0087.jpg|thumb|300px|Friedman in 2017]] '''Matti Friedman''' ({{langx|he|מתי פרידמן}}) is a [[Israeli Canadian|Canadian-Israeli]] journalist and author. He is currently a columnist for [[The Free Press (CBS News)|''The Free Press'']].<ref>{{cite news |title=Matti Friedman |url=https://www.thefp.com/w/matti-friedman |website=The Free Press |access-date=14 January 2026}}</ref>

==Biography== Matti Friedman was born to a [[History of the Jews in Canada|Canadian Jewish]] family and grew up in [[Toronto]].<ref name="Gladstone">{{cite news |last=Gladstone |first=Bill |title=Matti Friedman is a natural-born storyteller |url=https://www.cjnews.com/culture/books-and-authors/matti-friedman-is-a-natural-born-storyteller |access-date=26 March 2019 |work=[[The Canadian Jewish News]] |date=18 March 2019}}</ref> His family attended an [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] synagogue. In 1995, he [[aliyah|immigrated]] to [[Israel]] at the age of seventeen and settled in [[Ma'ale Gilboa]]. His parents and sister joined him a year later.<ref name="jweekly 2016-05-13">{{cite news |last=Davidson |first=Lyn |date=May 13, 2016 |title=Writer coming to S.F. with gripping tale of IDF service |newspaper=[[J. The Jewish News of Northern California|j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern California]] |url=https://jweekly.com/2016/05/13/writer-coming-to-s-f-with-gripping-tale-of-idf-service/}}</ref><ref name="Haaretz rigged">{{cite news |date=14 September 2014 |title=Why journalists say Israeli-Arab reporting is 'rigged' |url=https://www.haaretz.com/2014-09-14/ty-article/.premium/why-journalists-say-israeli-arab-reporting-is-rigged/0000017f-e22f-df7c-a5ff-e27fcffb0000 |newspaper=Haaretz}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://mattifriedman.com/ |title=Homepage |date= |website=Matti Friedman official website}}</ref>

He was conscripted into the [[Israel Defense Forces]] and served in the [[Nahal Brigade]]. He was deployed to the Israeli security zone in southern Lebanon during the [[South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000)|South Lebanon conflict]] in the late 1990s, spending much of his service at an Israeli position called Outpost Pumpkin, the name of which was to inspire the title of a book he later wrote about his experiences in Lebanon. Following his military service he studied at the [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]].

Friedman is married with three children and lives in [[Jerusalem]].<ref name="jweekly 2016-05-13" /> His wife is the descendant of an [[Old Yishuv]] Jewish family with roots in the old Sephardi community of [[Jerusalem]] and [[Hebron]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Friedman |first=Matti |date=1 June 2014 |title=Mizrahi Nation |website=[[Mosaic (magazine)|Mosaic]] |url=https://mosaicmagazine.com/essay/uncategorized/2014/06/mizrahi-nation/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015022452/https://mosaicmagazine.com/essay/uncategorized/2014/06/mizrahi-nation/ |archive-date=15 October 2019}}</ref>

==Career== ===AP journalist=== Between 2006 and the end of 2011, Friedman was a reporter and editor in the Jerusalem bureau of the [[Associated Press]] (AP) news agency.<ref name="Tablet 2014-08-26">{{cite news |last=Friedman |first=Matti |date=26 August 2014 |title=An Insider's Guide to the Most Important Story on Earth |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/israel-insider-guide?all=1 |newspaper=[[Tablet (magazine)|Tablet]]}}</ref> During his journalistic career, he also worked as a reporter in Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon, Moscow and Washington, D.C.<ref name="Haaretz rigged" /> Friedman first drew wide attention with a pair of essays about anti-Israel media bias that included sharp criticism of the AP.<ref name="NPR Meyer">{{cite news |last=Meyer |first=Lily |title='Spies Of No Country' Offers Nuanced Understanding Of Israel's Complexity |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/03/07/700969374/spies-of-no-country-offers-nuanced-understanding-of-israels-complexity?t=1553581693675 |access-date=26 March 2019 |publisher=NPR |date=7 March 2019}}</ref><ref name="Tablet 2014-08-26" /><ref name="WashPost Shapira" />

===''The Aleppo Codex''=== Friedman's book, ''The Aleppo Codex: A True Story of Obsession, Faith and the Pursuit of an Ancient Bible'', published in May 2012 by Algonquin Books, is an account of how the [[Aleppo Codex]], "the oldest, most complete, most accurate text of the Hebrew Bible," came to reside in Israel. It was believed that many pages had disappeared from the codex during the [[1947 Anti-Jewish riots in Aleppo]] when the [[Central Synagogue of Aleppo]], where the codex was housed, was set on fire and badly damaged. Friedman concludes instead that it arrived in Israel essentially intact, and that a particular Israeli scholar (whom he names) was most likely responsible for the loss. Moreover, contrary to the usual understanding that the codex was willingly given to the state of Israel, Friedman reports on the sealed transcripts of a court battle in which the Jews of Aleppo attempted to recover it from the state.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bergman |first=Ronen |authorlink=Ronen Bergman |date=25 July 2012 |title=A High Holy Whodunit |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/magazine/the-aleppo-codex-mystery.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Matti Friedman |title=The Continuing Mysteries of the Aleppo Codex |work=[[Tablet (magazine)|Tablet]] |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/books/176903/aleppo-codex?print=1 |year=2014}}</ref>

The book won the 2014 [[Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Steinberg |first=Jessica |date=22 January 2014 |title=Friedman accepts 'Aleppo Codex' prize |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/friedman-accepts-prize-for-aleppo-codex/ |newspaper=The Times of Israel}}</ref> was selected as one of [[Booklist]]'s top ten religion and spirituality books of 2012,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.booklistonline.com/Top-10-Religion-Spirituality-Books-Ilene-Cooper/pid=5791762 |title=Top 10 Religion & Spirituality Books |date=15 November 2012 |website=Booklist}}</ref> was awarded the [[American Library Association]]'s 2013 Sophie Brody Medal<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2013/01/aleppo-codex-wins-rusa%E2%80%99s-sophie-brody-medal-achievement-jewish-literature-3 |title='The Aleppo Codex' wins RUSA's Sophie Brody Medal for achievement in Jewish literature |date=27 January 2013 |publisher=American Library Association}}</ref> and the 2013 [[Canadian Jewish Book Awards|Canadian Jewish Book Award]] for history,<ref>{{cite news |author=TOI staff |date=2 May 2013 |title='Aleppo Codex' wins Canadian book award |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/aleppo-codex-wins-canadian-book-award/ |newspaper=The Times of Israel}}</ref> and received second place for the [[Religion Newswriters Association]]'s 2013 nonfiction religion book of the year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rna.org/?page=2013_contest_archive |title=2013 RNA Contest Winners |date= |publisher=Religion Newswriters Association}}</ref>

===''Pumpkinflowers'': South Lebanon conflict=== Friedman's 2016 book, ''[[Pumpkinflowers|Pumpkinflowers: A Soldier's Story of a Forgotten War]]'', is about his experiences as an [[Israel Defense Forces|IDF]] soldier during the [[South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000)|South Lebanon conflict]].<ref>Pumpkinflowers: A Soldier's Story of a Forgotten War </ref>

===''Spies of No Country'': pre-independence agents=== In 2019, Friedman published ''[[Spies of No Country]]: Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel'', the story of four Arabic-speaking Jews who operated an Israeli, pre-independence Zionist intelligence unit, the "Arab Section," in [[Beirut]], then in the territory of the French [[Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon]] towards the end of the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate for Palestine]].<ref name="NPR Meyer" /> The book won the 2018 Natan Book Award.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/natan-announces-2018-natan-book-award-winner-and-finalists/ |title=Natan Announces 2018 Natan Book Award Winner and Finalists |website=ejewishphilanthropy.com |access-date=14 July 2019}}</ref>

===''Who by Fire'': Leonard Cohen in the Sinai=== In 2022, Friedman released ''[[Who by Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai]]'', an account of Leonard Cohen's almost-forgotten visit to Israel and the occupied Sinai during the Yom Kippur war. Few photographs have survived of the visit and Cohen himself rarely discussed the visit in later years. Friedman tracks down soldiers who remember Cohen's impromptu appearances near the battlefront and speculates about the impact of the visit on Cohen's subsequent life and career. The book was selected as one of the year's best books by Vanity Fair, was optioned for the screen by 66 Media and Keshet International, and adapted as a successful stage show in Israel.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://mattifriedman.com/author/ |title=Matti Friedman |access-date=10 April 2026}}</ref>

===Other journalism=== Friedman has been an op-ed contributor for ''[[The New York Times]]''.<ref name="WashPost Shapira">{{cite news |last=Shapira |first=Ian |title=The Arab-born spies who served the young state of Israel |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=22 March 2019 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/the-arab-born-spies-who-served-the-young-state-of-israel/2019/03/22/181fc478-443e-11e9-90f0-0ccfeec87a61_story.html |access-date=26 March 2019}}</ref> He was a columnist at [[Tablet (magazine)|''Tablet'' magazine]], writing articles from 2013 to 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Matti Friedman |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/contributors/matti-friedman |access-date=9 May 2022 |website=[[Tablet (magazine)|Tablet]]}}</ref>

==Views and opinions== Following the [[2014 Israel–Gaza conflict]], Friedman wrote an essay criticizing what he views as the international media's bias against Israel and undue focus on the country, stating that news organizations treat it as "most important story on earth". He said when he was a correspondent at the AP, {{blockquote|the agency had more than 40 staffers covering Israel and the Palestinian territories. That was significantly more news staff than the AP had in China, Russia, or India, or in all of the 50 countries of sub-Saharan Africa combined. It was higher than the total number of news-gathering employees in all the countries where the uprisings of the "Arab Spring" eventually erupted. [...] I don't mean to pick on the AP—the agency is wholly average, which makes it useful as an example. The big players in the news business practice [[groupthink]], and these staffing arrangements were reflected across the herd.<ref name="Tablet 2014-08-26" />}} Israeli newspaper ''[[Haaretz]]'' reported that the piece went "[[Viral phenomenon|viral]]" on [[Facebook]].<ref name="Haaretz rigged" /> ''[[The Atlantic]]'' then invited Friedman to write a longer article.<ref name="Atlantic Friedman">{{cite news |last=Friedman |first=Matti |title=What the Media Gets Wrong About Israel |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/11/how-the-media-makes-the-israel-story/383262/3/ |access-date=10 December 2014 |work=The Atlantic |date=30 November 2014}}</ref> AP issued a statement, saying that Friedman's "... arguments have been filled with distortions, half-truths and inaccuracies, both about the recent Gaza war and more distant events. His suggestion of AP bias against Israel is false".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ap.org/content/press-release/2014/ap-statement-on-mideast-coverage |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141204110131/http://www.ap.org/content/press-release/2014/ap-statement-on-mideast-coverage |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 December 2014 |title=AP statement on Mideast coverage |publisher=[[Associated Press]] |date=1 December 2014}}</ref> Veteran journalist [[Mark Lavie]], who worked at the AP's Jerusalem bureau, agrees with Friedman's charges leveled against the AP.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lavie |first=Mark |authorlink=Mark Lavie |date=19 September 2014 |title=Matti Friedman hits back at AP, and so do I |website=Mark Lavie Mideast analysis |url=https://brokenspring.wordpress.com/2014/09/19/matti-friedman-hits-back-at-ap-and-so-do-i/|access-date=24 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Butnick |first=Stephanie |date=19 September 2014 |title=Former AP Reporter Confirms Matti Friedman Account |magazine=[[Tablet (magazine)|Tablet]] |language=en |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/former-ap-reporter-confirms-matti-friedman-account |access-date=24 January 2017}}</ref>

==Published works==

*''[[The Aleppo Codex]]: A True Story of Obsession, Faith and the Pursuit of an Ancient Bible'', 2012 *''[[Pumpkinflowers]]: A Soldier's Story'', 2016 *''[[Spies of No Country]]: Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel'', 2019 *''[[Who by Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai]]'', 2022<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=4 May 2022 |title=Leonard Cohen's Songs of the Yom Kippur War |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/leonard-cohen-songs-yom-kippur-war |access-date=9 May 2022 |magazine=[[Tablet (magazine)|Tablet]]}}</ref> *''Out of the Sky: Heroism and Rebirth in Nazi Europe'', 2026

==See also== *[[Media of Israel]]

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{official website|http://mattifriedman.com/}} * [http://fathomjournal.org/book-review-winning-the-war-of-words-essays-on-zionism-and-israel/ Book Review, ''Winning the War of Words: Essays on Zionism and Israel'' by Einat Wilf] – ''[[Fathom (journal)|Fathom]]'' *[https://fathomjournal.org/telling-israels-story-in-the-21st-century-will-have-a-lot-less-to-do-with-the-warsaw-ghetto-than-it-will-with-kurdistan-and-aleppo-an-interview-with-matti-friedman/ 'Telling Israel's story in the 21st century will have a lot less to do with the Warsaw Ghetto than it will with Kurdistan and Aleppo.' An interview with Matti Friedman] – ''[[Fathom (journal)|Fathom]]'' {{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedman, Matti}} [[Category:Jewish Canadian non-fiction writers]] [[Category:Canadian emigrants to Israel]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Associated Press reporters]] [[Category:Israeli journalists]] [[Category:Writers from Toronto]] [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:Israeli soldiers]]