Amnon Dankner
An Israeli editor and writer who steered a major newspaper through turbulent times with a sharp, liberal pen.
1946–2013 (age 67)·Israeli newspaper editor·Birthday: February 5·Baby Boomers
Biography
Amnon Dankner inhabited the nerve center of Israeli public discourse for decades, first as a sharp-witted columnist and later as the editor-in-chief of *Maariv*, one of the country's largest daily newspapers. Taking the helm in the early 2000s, he presided over the paper during a period of intense political and social upheaval, the Second Intifada, and fierce competition from rival publications. Dankner's tenure was marked by his literary sensibility and a commitment to a centrist, liberal voice, though it also faced the relentless economic pressures that plagued print media. Beyond the editor's desk, he was a novelist and biographer, bringing a storyteller's eye to both historical figures and contemporary Israeli life. His career traced the arc of a certain kind of Israeli intellectual—deeply engaged, sometimes controversial, and always wrestling with the nation's complex narrative.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Amnon was born in 1946, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Amnon Was Born
The biggest hits of 1946
#1 Movie
The Best Years of Our Lives
Best Picture
The Best Years of Our Lives
Amnon's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1946Born
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1951Started school
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1959Became a teenager
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1962Could drive
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1964Could vote
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1967Turned 21
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1976Turned 30
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1986Turned 40
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 50
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 60
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2013Died at 67
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
Key Achievements
- Served as the editor-in-chief of the mass-circulation Israeli newspaper *Maariv* for six years.
- Authored several novels and biographies, including a well-regarded biography of the poet Avraham Shlonsky.
- Was a prominent columnist and cultural commentator in the Israeli press for many years.
- Helmed *Maariv* during a significant period that included the Second Intifada and major media industry shifts.
Did You Know?
He was the son of the journalist and politician Herzl Rosenblum.
Dankner studied philosophy and literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
He was a recipient of the Sokolov Award, a prestigious Israeli journalism prize.
His novel *Killing Grandma* was adapted into a film.
“A newspaper's duty is to print the news and raise hell.”
