Chaim Icyk Bermant (26 February 1929 – 20 January 1998) was a British-based journalist, and author. Born in Braslaw, Poland, he spent much of his childhood in Barovke, Latvia, and Scotland. He was educated at Queen's Park Secondary School in Glasgow, Glasgow University, where he graduated in economics, and the London School of Economics.
Chaim Icyk Bermant | |
|---|---|
| Born | 26 February 1929 Braslaw, then in Poland, now in Belarus |
| Died | 20 January 1998 (aged 68) Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, England |
| Alma mater |
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He contributed regularly to The Jewish Chronicle and occasionally to the national press, particularly The Observer. An Orthodox Jew and supporter of Israel, he was freely critical of both. He wrote several novels and non-fiction works, mostly on the quirks of British Jewish society.
Biography
editChaim Icyk Bermant was born on 26 February 1929 in Braslaw, then in Poland but now in Belarus.[1] His father was a Rabbi.[2]
Bermant studied at the University of Glasgow and the London School of Economics.[3]
Bermant married Judith Rose Weil on 16 December 1962 at Adath Israel Synagogue in Stoke Newington, London.[1] They had four children: Aliza, Evie, Azriel and Daniel Bermant.
Bermant died on 20 January 1998 in Hampstead Garden Suburb, London from a myocardial infarction.[1]
Works
editFiction
edit- Jericho Sleep Alone (1964)
- Ben Preserve Us (1965)
- Berl Make Tea (1965)
- Diary Of An Old Man (1966)
- Swinging In The Rain (1967)
- Here Endeth The Lesson (1969)
- Now Dowager (1971)
- Roses are Blooming in Picardy (1972)
- The Last Supper (1973)
- The Walled Garden (1975)
- The Second Mrs Whitberg (1976)
- The Squire Of Bor Shachor (1977)
- Now Newman Was Old (1978)
- Belshazzar (1979)
- The Patriarch (1981)
- House Of Women (1983)
- Dancing Bear (1984)
- The Companion (1987)
- Titch (1987)
Non-fiction
edit- Israel (1967) "New Nations and Peoples Library" series
- Troubled Eden: An Anatomy of British Jewry (1969)
- The Cousinhood: The Anglo-Jewish Gentry (1971)
- Point of Arrival: A Study of London's East End (1975)
- The Jews (1977)
- Ebla: An Archaeological Enigma (1979) co-authored with Michael Weitzman
- On The Other Hand (1982)
- What's the Joke: A Study of Jewish Humour through the Ages (1986)
- Lord Jakobovits: An Authorized Biography of the Chief Rabbi (1990)
- Murmurings of A Licensed Heretic (1990)
Autobiography
edit- Coming Home (1976)
- Genesis: A Latvian Childhood (1998)
References
edit- ^ a b c "Bermant, Chaim Icyk". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.69301. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Teller, Neville (23 April 2020). "The wit and wisdom of Chaim Bermant, the Jewish Chronicle's crown jewel". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ^ Jacobs, Gerald (22 October 2011). "Obituary: Chaim Bermant". The Independent. ISSN 0951-9467. Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2021.