Peretz Kidron

Biography

Born in Vienna, son of Sara and Herman Kirchenbaum[Kay] who were devoted Zionists and supporters of the Jewish state. His family escaped to Great Britain in 1938 following the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany. After completing his secondary education in Britain he emigrated to Israel, where he lived on and off in Kibbutz Zikim for about 15 years. In Kibbutz Zikim both his children were born. During this period he was also sent by the Kibbutz to the U.K as a youth leader for the zionist-leftist youth movement H'ashomer H'atzair, to prepare and bring Jewish youth to immigrate to Israel. From the late 1960s he became active in the Israeli peace movement. In 1975 he was a founder member of the Israeli Council for Israeli-Palestinian Peace and served on the steering committee of the human rights group B'Tselem. In the early 1970s he graduated Tel-Aviv University in English & Translation. In 1976 he co-authored the memoirs of the Palestinian activist Raymonda Tawil, My Home, My Prison. His translations from Hebrew to English include the memoirs of Yitzak Rabin and Ezer Weizman, and a biography of David Ben-Gurion. Rabin's autobiography was censored by Israel's military censor. While translating it Kidron came across the censored paragraphs and made them public. Kidron was a longtime Israel correspondent for the London-based Middle East International. From The 1980s Kidron handled international contacts for the peace group Yesh Gvul. He compiled and edited a collection of writings of those who refuse to serve in the Israeli army, Refusenik! Israel's Soldiers of Conscience.

Death

Peretz Kidron died in Jerusalem, Israel, on 6 November 2011 and was buried at Kibbutz Kiryat Anavim.