Moshe Marlin Levin (1921-2016)

Moshe Marlin Levin was born in 1921 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He studied Journalism at Temple University in Philadelphia and served as a decrypter in World War II at General Eisenhower's HQ in Europe and later at Gen. Eichelberg's HQ in the 8th Corps of the US Army in Japan.

In 1947, one year before the State of Israel was born, he immigrated to this country with his wife, Betty Shofman and settled in Jerusalem. Shortly after his arrival, Levin was appointed Assistant Editor of "The Palestine Post", soon to be "The Jerusalem Post". He was a United Press correspondent during the War of Independence and in the 'Fifties and 'Sixties he was the correspondent of the American Broadcasting Co. In 1958, he established the new offices of TIME-LIFE in Jerusalem and served as the paper's correspondent in Boston during the period 1976-1980. He subsequently returned to Jerusalem, where he remained a correspondent for the magazine until his retirement in 1990. 

Levin was chairman of the Foreign Correspondents' Association in Israel in 1972-1973. He wrote the books "Balm in Gilead" and "It Takes a Dream" and was a contributor-writer of 27 books of the TIME-LIFE series.

Levin was also a photographer and for the first time in Israel he photographed historic color pictures reflecting various stages in the establishment of the State of Israel. Levin was considered a photographic artist and his works were displayed at a number of exhibitions.

Levin was a journalist who dates back to the classic era of TIME, the famed veteran weekly of American news magazines. His unique style has to a great extent been preserved to this day. Reference is to "thin", brief and informative -- yet colourful, rich and clever writing. It may be sparse but it contains a wealth of content. It is written from the American viewpoint although the writer has spent years in the location assigned to him. It is, in effect, the work of an exemplary journalist, who has been much imitated in the newer weeklies founded later.

The fact that Moshe Levin has lived in Jerusalem for so many years has infused his material with a Jewish accent, rendered in TIME's inimitable style.

His articles enable the present-day reader to familiarise himself with events that happened over a 50-year period – all this from the viewpoint of a man who lives our midst, yet observes matters from the outside. The dimensions of "here" and "there" invest the material with unique flavour and give rise toan exceptional interest.