Honoring the Memory of Dov Yudkovsky
Tuesday | May 27 | 19:00 | Cinematheque 3
A special gathering of journalists in memory and recognition of Dov Yudkovsky, the legendary editor of Yedioth Ahronoth and laureate of the Israel Prize for Journalism. The event will mark the naming of Docaviv’s Best Israeli Film Award after Yudkovsky in celebration of his legacy.
Opening remarks: Nahum Barnea
Participants: Raviv Drucker, Ron Yaron and Sima Kadmon
Artistic program: A performance by the band Avtipus
Moderator: Uri Misgav
Dov Yudkovsky, the man who taught generations of journalists to be accurate in their reporting, respect their readers, and conduct themselves firmly and fairly, always believed that the press should influence the public agenda in a democratic society and worked to create this reality in Israel throughout his career.
These principles and values align with the vision of Docaviv Festival and are embodied in our film lineup.
The nominees for the Dov Yudkovsky award comprise the films participating in the Israeli competition, Israel’s biggest documentary cinema competition.
Dov Yudkovsky was 16 years old when World War II broke out. He fled the Nazis but was arrested and transported by train to Auschwitz. He survived the death marches and the horrors of the Holocaust. When he came to Israel at the age of 22, he could not imagine he would become the nascent country’s most important and influential media figure.
To say that Dov Yudkovsky’s life story is the stuff of Hollywood legends would be an understatement. A Holocaust survivor who made it out of Auschwitz concocted the magic formula that transformed Yedioth Ahronoth into the country’s number-one newspaper.
Not only did he break circulation, influence, and financial success records, but he also trained generations of outstanding journalists. He taught them to use clear language and concise sentences, avoid superlatives and sensationalism, expose injustice and corruption, and always remember that “a thief has children, too.”
Yudkovsky believed in superb investigative journalism, as well as responsibility and integrity, agenda-setting and intellectual pluralism, complexity, but also simplicity, credibility alongside balance, and curiosity together with humanity. He cracked the code of Israeli culture and created the idea of the press as “the campfire of the Israeli tribe.” Under his leadership, Yedioth Ahronoth succeeded in targeting both decision-makers and ordinary readers—the Chief of General Staff as well as his driver.
He dug deep to find a common denominator, and he did so not by lowering the bar but rather by raising it:
– In 1990, he founded the Koteret School of Journalism and bequeathed his legacy to the next generation of Israeli journalists.
– In 2000, he won the Sokolov Award.
– In 2002, he won the Israel Prize for Journalism.
– In 2010, he passed away.
– In 2016, his life story unfolded on yesDocu in the documentary film The Editor, directed by Gilad Tokatly.
