Harold Fisch, known as Aharon Harel-Fisch, was a British-Israeli author, literary critic, translator, and diplomat.
15 Facts About Harold Fisch
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Harold Fisch was a Professor of English and Comparative literature at Bar-Ilan University, of which he served as Rector from 1968 to 1971.
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Harold Fisch was awarded the Israel Prize for Literature in 2000.
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Harold Fisch was born in Birmingham to Rebecca and Rabbi Dr Solomon Fisch.
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Harold Fisch's mother was the sister of Rabbi Morris Swift, who was a dayan of the London Beth Din for nearly two decades.
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Harold Fisch began his undergraduate degree in English literature at the University of Sheffield in 1940, at the age of 17.
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Harold Fisch's studies were interrupted by his service in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve from 1942 to 1945, as an officer on HMS Meynell and HMS Kildary.
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In 1957, Harold Fisch immigrated to Israel with his wife and four children, and accepted an associate professorship in English literature at the newly founded Bar-Ilan University.
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Harold Fisch was appointed full professor in 1964, and held the position of Rector from 1968 to 1971.
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Harold Fisch founded the Kotler Institute for Judaism and Contemporary Thought in 1971, and the Lechter Institute for Literary Research in 1981, of which he served as chairman until his retirement from Bar-Ilan in 1987.
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Harold Fisch was responsible for the English translation of the Tanakh for the Koren Jerusalem Bible, based on Michael Friedlander's Jewish Family Bible, which is still in publication and on its third edition.
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Harold Fisch participated in the establishment of the Neo-Zionist Movement for Greater Israel after the Six-Day War.
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Harold Fisch declined an offer from the Prime Minister to occupy the position of Ambassador of Israel to the Netherlands.
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Harold Fisch was awarded the Israel Prize for Literature in 2000.
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Harold Fisch died on 8 November 2001 of a tumor discovered two weeks earlier.