Ari Shav­it is a lead­ing Israeli colum­nist and writer. Born in Rehovot, Israel, Shav­it served as a para­troop­er in the IDF and stud­ied phi­los­o­phy at the Hebrew Uni­ver­si­ty in Jer­sualem. In the 1980s he wrote for the pro­gres­sive week­ly Koteret Rashit; in the ear­ly 1990s he was chair­per­son of the Asso­ci­a­tion for Civ­il Rights in Israel; and in 1995 he joined Haaretz, where he cur­rent­ly serves on the edi­to­r­i­al board. Shav­it is also a lead­ing com­men­ta­tor on Israeli pub­lic tele­vi­sion. He is mar­ried, has a daugh­ter and two sons, and lives in Kfar Shmariahu.