Acclaimed Israeli Author and Poet Yehuda Atlas Dies at 89

Acclaimed Israeli author and poet Yehuda Atlas passed away on Thursday evening at the age of 89. The announcement was made by the Ichilov Medical Center. Atlas was known for his extensive work in children's literature, often writing from a child's perspective. His family described him as an "eternal child" who was driven by a desire to help others throughout his life. He served as an editor, children's author, and translator, and in his later years, focused on writing about at-risk children with a sense of mission.

Atlas's career included editing the youth magazine "Bamahaneh Gadna" and serving as deputy editor for the "7 Yamim" supplement of the newspaper Yediot Ahronot. For eight years, he wrote the "Yeled Gadol" (Big Child) column in "7 Yamim," which focused on children's books and their authors.

His breakout work, "Ve'hayeled Hazeh Hu Ani" (And This Child Is Me), published in 1977, features short children's poems presenting the world through a child's eyes. This book earned him the Zeev Prize for Children and Youth Literature. In 2020, Atlas received a lifetime achievement award for children's literature from the Israeli Center for Educational Innovation.