Shlomi Eldar

Shlomi Eldar (born February 11, 1957 ) (Hebrew: שלומי אלדר), is an Israeli television journalist and film maker.

He is a correspondent at Israeli Channel 13 news.

He served as a reporter and editor for Channel 1 between 1990 and 2003 and a reporter for News 10 on Gaza Strip affairs from 2003 to November 2012.

Eldar began his career as a radio broadcaster on "Reshet Gimel."

In 1990, Eldar began working as a journalist for Channel 1 as a reporter for educational affairs.

Shortly afterward, he was transferred to the position of South correspondent, focusing on events happening in Southern Israel.

Fluent in Arabic, Eldar began his involvement in Palestinian affairs when he was sent to cover the Oslo Accords.

He was later transferred to work as a political reporter and correspondent for special affairs.

As a correspondent, Eldar interviewed important figures in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict such as Israeli Prime Ministers Shimon Peres and Yitshak Rabin, and was the first Israeli journalist to interview PLO president Yasser Arafat.

In 1999, Eldar covered the earthquake in Izmit.

Eldar sat for over three days watching the Home Front Command attempting to find survivors and broadcast live the rescue of Israeli 9-year-old Shiran Franco.

This broadcast became one of the most well-known broadcasts in Israel's history.

In 2003, Eldar moved to the newly founded Channel 10.

In his first days in the channel, he was sent to Iraq after the end of the Iraq War and the subsequent capture of Saddam Hussein to film his first documentary, "Passing by Baghdad".

In the film, Eldar found the house of his parents before their Aliyah to Israel in Operation Ezra and Nehemiah.

In 2004, Eldar survived a kidnapping attempt by Hamas.

In 2005, Yedioth Books published his book "Eyeless in Gaza".

The book is his journalistic and personal journey, spanning two decades in the Gaza Strip, between intifadas, the peace process, the collapse of the Oslo Accords, Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, and the rise of Hamas.

During his time as a reporter in Gaza, Eldar faced hosilities with the IDF, and criticized the army's actions in the Palestinian territories, among other things, when he reported on the demolition of houses in Operation Rainbow, Eldar attempted to prove that an IDF shell caused the death of seven members of the Raliya family on the Gaza coast.

In 2006, after Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian legislative election, Eldar interviewed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh for his first and as of 2023 only interview to an Israeli news organization.

In December 2008 Eldar entered the Gaza strip through a ship sailing from Cyprus, despite the ban on Israelis to enter the Gaza strip after the withdrawal.

Upon his reentry to Israel, he was detained for questioning and released with a warning.

In later interviews, Eldar claimed that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has told friends of Eldar that Israel delayed the 2008-2009 Gaza War in fear of Eldar's safety.

In Eldar's film "Precious life", Eldar stated that he is convinced that his colleague, a Palestinian cameraman, was shot by IDF soldiers that aimed at Eldar.

In 2009, during the Gaza War, Eldar sat on a panel when he received a call from his friend, Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish after Israeli shells fell on Dr Abuelaish's family home in Gaza, killing three of his young daughters and their cousin.

Eldar picked up the call and put him on speaker for viewers to hear Dr. Abuelaish's cries.

This widely circulated video has been cited as a major reason for a ceasefire and end to the war.

In 2010, Eldar released "Precious Life" a documentary describing the struggle of an Israeli paediatrician and a Palestinian mother as they try to get treatment for her baby who suffers from an incurable genetic disease, as the 2008-2009 war was waging.

The film won a commendation at the Jerusalem Film Festival and was screened later that year at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Telluride Film Festival, and the Leipzig Film Festival.

In September 2010, the film won the Ophir Award for the best documentary film and was short listed for the Oscars.

American columnist Tom Friedman wrote an op-ed praising the film.

HBO acquired the rights to screen Precious Life.

In 2012, Eldar released his book, Getting to Know Hamas, in which he revealed the channel of communication between Khaled Mashal, the leader of Hamas, and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, through the mediation of a foreign diplomat and Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin.

The book won the Yitzhak Sade Award for military literature.

In 2012, Eldar announced his resignation from Channel 10.

In 2013, Eldar relocated to the United States, and served as researcher for Wilson Center and a lecturer at New York University and the University of Maryland.

In 2015, Eldar participated in the Israeli reality TV show MasterChef VIP.

In 2022, Eldar returned to Israel.

In 2023, after the outbreak of 2023 Israel-Hamas war, Eldar returned to Channel 13 (previously named Channel 10) as a correspondent.

Precious Life