Prof. Avner Holtzman — Association of Jews of Vilna and vicinity in Israel

Avner Holtzman (born on 11 September 1956) is an Israeli literary scholar, Professor of Hebrew Literature at Tel Aviv University, a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and a member of the Academy of the Hebrew Language.

In 1978, he began his studies in Hebrew Literature and Art History at Tel Aviv University, where he earned all three of his academic degrees (B.A. in 1981, M.A. in 1985, and Ph.D. in 1989). His doctoral dissertation, supervised by Professor Nurit Govrin, was titled "From Religious Enlightenment Thinker to Literary Revolutionary: Micha Yosef Berdyczewski – The Formative Years (1887–1902)."

In 1981, Holtzman began teaching in the Department of Hebrew Literature at Tel Aviv University, where he rose through the academic ranks and was appointed Full Professor in 2001. Over the years, he also taught and supervised students at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Open University of Israel. From 2000 to 2004, he served as Head of the Katz Research Institute for Hebrew Literature at Tel Aviv University. Between 1987 and 2019, he was the curator of the Gnazei Micha Yosef—the Micha Yosef Berdyczewski Archive in Holon.

Holtzman has authored eighteen books, edited around forty additional volumes, and published hundreds of articles, essays, and critical reviews focused on modern Hebrew literature. He is also one of the editors of Gil’ad, a journal on the history and culture of Polish Jewry, published by the Diaspora Research Center at Tel Aviv University.

In 2002, he compiled and published the writings of Yaakov Shalom Katzenelson from the periodicals in which they originally appeared, in the book In the Streets of London: Selected Stories and Essays (Tel Aviv: Am Oved/Bitan, 2002), which includes an afterword written by Holtzman.

In recognition of his scholarly work, he has received several prestigious awards: the Landau Prize for Science and Research from Mifal HaPais (2005), the Asraf Prize from the Academy of the Hebrew Language (2012), the S. Yizhar Prize for Literary Research and Teaching from Levinsky College of Education (2013), and the Prime Minister’s Prize for Hebrew Literary Works in memory of Levi Eshkol (2019).

In 2013, Holtzman was elected an associate member of the Academy of the Hebrew Language and became a full member in 2021. In 2015, he was elected to the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities and was appointed to the Jacob and Shoshana Schreiber Chair for Contemporary Jewish Culture at Tel Aviv University.

From: Wikipedia

Holtzman is the son of Lila Holtzman (Svirsky)