Israeli Poet and Israel Prize Winner Israel Pincas Dies at 91

Israel (Anton) Pincas, an acclaimed Israeli poet and recipient of the Israel Prize for poetry, passed away at the age of 91. Born in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1935, Pincas immigrated to Israel in 1944 with his mother. He grew up in the Ben Shemen youth village and later lived in Tel Aviv. His father, Dr. Daniel Pincas, died in Bulgaria when Israel was six, and his older brother Yitzhak was killed in the 1948 battle for Ashdod during Israel's War of Independence.

Pincas served as a military correspondent during his army service and later worked as a night editor for the United Press news agency. He also translated and edited works for the Am Oved and Sifriat Poalim publishing houses and translated plays for various theaters. He began publishing poetry in the early 1950s, with his first book, "Fourteen Poems," released in 1961. Over the years, he published several other collections, including "Dinner in Ferrara and Other Poems," "To the Equator," "Inside the House," "Lecture on Time," and "Genealogy." His poems were featured in anthologies and translated into multiple languages.

In addition to poetry, Pincas managed two art galleries in Tel Aviv and wrote about art for local media. From the 1980s onward, he worked as an art consultant and expert on 20th-century art, having studied in London and Paris. In 2005, on Israel's Independence Day, he was awarded the Israel Prize for poetry. The prize committee praised his work for addressing existential themes and blending Mediterranean geography with classical artistic traditions, noting his references to Greek and Roman mythology, world literature, classical music, and visual arts.

Pincas is survived by two daughters, Daniela and Michal, four grandchildren, and a great-grandchild.