Ron Leshem
Acclaimed novelist and Israeli television producer Ron Leshem will speak on the subject, “Israel as
#1 Exporter of TV Shows to the U.S.”, Sunday, April 9, 1:30 p.m., at the Chao Auditorium, Ekstrom Library on the University of Louisville campus.
The talk is part of the 2017 Naamani Memorial Lecture Series.
Leshem will address how Israel has triumphantly emerged as a powerhouse in the world of TV production. His appearance will include a video presentation.
An author, screenwriter and winner of the Sapir Prize, Israel’s top literary award. Leshem powerful novel Beaufort chronicles the painful events leading up to Israel’s 2000 withdrawal from Southern Lebanon, was on Israel’s bestsellers list for two years and translated into 20 languages and adapted into a movie nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Leshem’s second book, The Underground Bazaar, is a richly imagined novel, set in modern-day Teheran. A tale of love, friendship, and repression, the novel moves between euphoria and paranoia, taking the reader to the black market of Teheran, where one can buy everything that is illicit, to the public squares where adulterous women are executed.
After three years as a reporter in the West Bank and Gaza, Leshem became head of the news division of Israel’s most widely read daily newspaper, Yediot Ahronot. He eventually became a military-affairs analyst for the publication.
By age 26, he was deputy chief editor for Ma’ariv, one of Israel’s three main newspapers, simultaneously writing for Le Monde in France and columns for various European newspapers.
Leshem served as head of content and programming for Keshet Broadcasting, Israel’s major commercial TV network. He was a producer of the successful Israeli TV show Chatufim, which later was adapted into the hit TV series Homeland. Leshem was also executive producer of NBC’s TV drama Allegiance. He is currently working on adaptation of the Israeli TV show The Gordin Cell for American TV network.
The discussion will be followed by a free reception. RSVP to Shari Gater: shari.gater@louisville.edu.
Established in 1979, the Naamani Memorial Lecture Series honors the memory of Professor Israel T. Naamani, key educational figure, scholar and teacher at the University of Louisville, and a beloved Jewish community member.