David Landau, Z”L. Farewell to a gentleman and an adversary

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Jerusalem journalist David Landau, who died this week at the age of 67, was a reporter of the old school. When he was criticised, he remained a gentleman.

David Landau speaks in Sydney                                              Photo Henry Benjamin/J-Wire

This was my experience with Landau for the better part of twenty years, having issued reports which critiqued his work in the different positions that Landau held, as managing editor of the Jerusalem Post, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz.

One of those critical reports is posted on our site:

http://israelbehindthenews.com/the-jta-slant-that-needs-balance-reflecting-on-the-writings-of-jta-bureau-chief-david-landau/3531/

Despite the biting criticism that our agency leveled at Landau, he never once issued a personal attack against me or the agency that I run, and always extended a greeting in a genuinely respectful manner whenever I would see him at the Beit Agron Press Center, and numerous media events, and those encounters were often.

Unlike today’s mode of writers who lambast critics, David Landau maintained his cool, and treated critics with the dignity of an English gentleman, because that is what he was.

David Bedein is a Jerusalem-based  contributor to J-Wire