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Hayim BaltsanIsraeli lexicographer, journalist, statesman.
Date of Birth: 05.05.1910
Country:  Israel |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Journalistic Career
- Public Service and Academia
- Lexicographical Contributions
- Personal Life
Early Life and Education
Haim Baltzan was born into a literary family in Kishinev, Moldova, in 1914. His family was renowned for its contributions to literature, including his cousin, the renowned Moldovan poet Iosif Baltzan; his uncles, Hebrew novelist and scholar Bentson Baltzan, and lexicographer Leib Baltzan; and his nephew, journalist and publisher Lev (Leonid) Baltzan.
After studying at Bucharest University, Baltzan immigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1935. He pursued law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Journalistic Career
Baltzan founded and became the editor-in-chief of the "HaBoker" (The Morning) newspaper's news department (1935-1942). He also worked as a correspondent for "HaAretz" (The Land) newspaper in Turkey, Eastern, and Central Europe.
Public Service and Academia
During World War II, Baltzan served in the British forces and in the security of the American (1942-1943) and British (1943-1944) embassies in Istanbul. After the war, he served as the director of the Jewish immigrant aid organization HIAS in Turkey (1944-1945) and Czechoslovakia (1945-1948).
After Israel's independence, Baltzan headed the public relations department of the Ministry of Defense (from 1949). In 1970, he founded and headed the Faculty of Journalism at Tel Aviv University (until 1973). He also served as the executive director and honorary editor-in-chief of the Israel News Agency and vice president of the Tel Aviv Journalists' Association (1987-1989).
Lexicographical Contributions
In 1974, Baltzan co-founded the "Movement for Uniform Hebrew Orthography" and developed his "Proposal for Hebrew Spelling Reform." He compiled a series of highly popular transliterated Hebrew-English, English-Hebrew (from 1989), Russian-Hebrew, and Hebrew-Russian dictionaries that underwent numerous reprints in both Israel and the United States.
Personal Life
Haim Baltzan's daughter, Astrid Baltzan (b. 1956), is a renowned Israeli pianist.
