Veteran Israeli Foreign Correspondent Gideon Kutz Dies at 78

Gideon Kutz, a veteran Israeli foreign correspondent known for his extensive coverage of Europe and global affairs, passed away in Paris at the age of 78. Kutz served for decades as the Paris correspondent for Kol Yisrael (the former state broadcaster) and was considered one of the most recognizable voices reporting from France and Europe for Israeli media.

Born in Poland in 1948, Kutz immigrated to Israel with his family in 1957. He began his broadcasting career at Kol Yisrael in 1986 and later became the European correspondent for Channel 1. He continued in this role with the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation after its establishment. Kutz had resided in Paris since 1978 with his wife, journalist and photographer Yafa Eiron-Kutz, while they pursued doctoral studies. They raised their two children in the French capital.

Throughout his career, Kutz also worked for publications including Yediot Ahronot, Channel 2, Globes, and Maariv. He reported from regions considered inaccessible to Israeli journalists, such as Beirut in 2002, where he covered the Francophone Summit. He was expelled from Lebanon after reporting on the event, having arrived as part of French President Jacques Chirac's entourage.

Kutz covered numerous pivotal historical events, including the fall of the Berlin Wall, the revolutions in Eastern Europe, the Yugoslav and Chechen wars, the Middle East peace process, the Arab Spring, terrorist attacks in Europe, the Ukraine crisis, and Iran nuclear talks. In 2008, he was the sole Israeli journalist to accompany French President Nicolas Sarkozy on his visit to Damascus, obtaining photos from the Syrian capital and close to President Bashar al-Assad. Earlier, in 2001, Kutz famously asked Assad if he would meet with then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon during Assad's visit to Paris, receiving an affirmative response regarding peace talks.

Kutz also reported from Iran, visiting Tehran twice. In 2009, as a special envoy for the Israel Broadcasting Authority, he covered the presidential elections and subsequent protests, noting the challenges of reporting amidst police and militia actions against journalists. Beyond his reporting, Kutz was an academic and historian specializing in Hebrew and Jewish journalism in Europe. He held a professorship in communication and culture at Paris 8 University and edited the journal 'Koteret' for the study of Jewish and Israeli press history. He is survived by his wife and their two children.