Ze'ev (caricaturist)
Encyclopedia
Yaakov Farkash better known by the pen name
Ze'ev (Hebrew: זאב), was an Israel
i caricaturist and illustrator
.
, Hungary
, in 1923. At an early age Farkash became interested in painting and at the age of 12 drew caricatures which he published in a newspaper he distributed in his neighborhood. At first he did not foresee himself drawing professionally, in part because he was color blind. In addition, his high school art teacher was not particularly impressed with his ability, calling him "the worst painter in class." Nevertheless, Farkash continued to draw, and in his last year in school drew caricatures of his classmates.
When he finished high school, Farkash wanted to study journalism, but as Jews in Hungary were at that time banned from joining the university, he turned to carpentry
instead. In retrospect, the carpentry skills he acquired later on saved Farkash from serving in the Russian front during the World War II
, and instead he was assigned to work as a carpenter in a military camp. Later on Farkash was sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp and from there to the Dachau
concentration camp. After the war Farkash tried to immigrate to Palestine illegally, but was caught by the British forces in Palestine and sent to prison in Cyprus
. Throughout this period Farkash continued drawing caricatures in his private diary. He finally managed to immigrate to Israel in 1947 and was recruited to the 7th Armored Brigade, participating in the Battles of Latrun
during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
, who was also born in Hungary, which at the time worked for the Israeli Hebrew-language daily tabloid Ma'ariv. Farkash was hired as a caricaturist by Ma'ariv in 1952, where he used to draw a daily caricature, a new thing in the Israeli press at the time. The newspapers' editors eventually decided that the experiment was not successful, and after a few months Farkash was transferred to work as an illustrator. During this period Farkash began signing his drawings under the pen name "Ze'ev", which derieves from his family name ("Farkash" in Hungarian means "Wolf", "Ze'ev" in Hebrew). This followed advice givenm to him by Ephraim Kishon, who encouraged him to choose a short and sweet name, though it was also a natural pick: as a student in Hungary was called "Lupus", the Latin word for wolf, by his teachers. Years later, when he tried to emigrate, he registered under the name "Jonah Wolf" and so called while detained in Cyprus .
During the late fifties and early sixties Farkash worked as a caricaturist for the Israeli magazine Davar HaShavua where he used to draw daily caricatures.
hired him to draw daily caricatures. A year later, he was given his own a permanent section in the Friday edition of the newspaper. This section used to feature one big caricature which extended across the whole page, and which included several different current events which were connected under one motif. These caricatures were always accompanied by his own little self-portrait in which he was holding a brush with dripping ink. Farkash continued to work for Haaretz another forty years, until a few months before his death.
Later on Farkash's caricatures were also published in foreign newspapers, including the New York Times and Le Monde
, the American magazines Time
and Newsweek
, and the German magazine Der Spiegel
.
Beyond his work as a caricaturist, Farkash also worked as an illustrator, and illustrated through his career dozens of books published in Israel.
Farkash had a great impact on Israeli caricaturists and is widely considered to be one of the greatest political cartoonists in Israel. Through the years Farkash supported and encouraged many young Israeli artists who attempted to enter this field, particularly children and teenagers. Among those whom he encouraged is the successful Israeli cartoonist and caricaturist Michael Kishka.
Farkash died on 15 October 2002.
In 2005, he was voted the 114th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
Ze'ev (Hebrew: זאב), was an Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i caricaturist and illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
.
Early life and World War II
Farkash was born in BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, in 1923. At an early age Farkash became interested in painting and at the age of 12 drew caricatures which he published in a newspaper he distributed in his neighborhood. At first he did not foresee himself drawing professionally, in part because he was color blind. In addition, his high school art teacher was not particularly impressed with his ability, calling him "the worst painter in class." Nevertheless, Farkash continued to draw, and in his last year in school drew caricatures of his classmates.
When he finished high school, Farkash wanted to study journalism, but as Jews in Hungary were at that time banned from joining the university, he turned to carpentry
Carpentry
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
instead. In retrospect, the carpentry skills he acquired later on saved Farkash from serving in the Russian front during the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and instead he was assigned to work as a carpenter in a military camp. Later on Farkash was sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp and from there to the Dachau
Dachau
Dachau is a town in Upper Bavaria, in the southern part of Germany. It is a major district town—a Große Kreisstadt—of the administrative region of Upper Bavaria, about 20 km north-west of Munich. It is now a popular residential area for people working in Munich with roughly 40,000 inhabitants...
concentration camp. After the war Farkash tried to immigrate to Palestine illegally, but was caught by the British forces in Palestine and sent to prison in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. Throughout this period Farkash continued drawing caricatures in his private diary. He finally managed to immigrate to Israel in 1947 and was recruited to the 7th Armored Brigade, participating in the Battles of Latrun
Battles of Latrun
The Battles of Latrun were a series of military engagements between the Israel Defense Forces and the Jordanian Arab Legion on the outskirts of Latrun between 25 May and 18 July 1948, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Latrun takes its name from the monastery close to the junction of two major...
during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
Early career in the Israeli press
During his first years in Israel Farkash worked as a construction worker, building buildings and roads. In addition, Farkash tried selling his drawings, and eventually managed to sell his first caricature to the Israeli newspaper Omer. Later on he turned to Ephraim KishonEphraim Kishon
' was an Israeli author, dramatist, screenwriter, and film director. He is one of the most widely-read contemporary satirists in the world.- Early life and World War II :...
, who was also born in Hungary, which at the time worked for the Israeli Hebrew-language daily tabloid Ma'ariv. Farkash was hired as a caricaturist by Ma'ariv in 1952, where he used to draw a daily caricature, a new thing in the Israeli press at the time. The newspapers' editors eventually decided that the experiment was not successful, and after a few months Farkash was transferred to work as an illustrator. During this period Farkash began signing his drawings under the pen name "Ze'ev", which derieves from his family name ("Farkash" in Hungarian means "Wolf", "Ze'ev" in Hebrew). This followed advice givenm to him by Ephraim Kishon, who encouraged him to choose a short and sweet name, though it was also a natural pick: as a student in Hungary was called "Lupus", the Latin word for wolf, by his teachers. Years later, when he tried to emigrate, he registered under the name "Jonah Wolf" and so called while detained in Cyprus .
During the late fifties and early sixties Farkash worked as a caricaturist for the Israeli magazine Davar HaShavua where he used to draw daily caricatures.
1960s until his death
In 1962 the Israeli daily newspaper HaaretzHaaretz
Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
hired him to draw daily caricatures. A year later, he was given his own a permanent section in the Friday edition of the newspaper. This section used to feature one big caricature which extended across the whole page, and which included several different current events which were connected under one motif. These caricatures were always accompanied by his own little self-portrait in which he was holding a brush with dripping ink. Farkash continued to work for Haaretz another forty years, until a few months before his death.
Later on Farkash's caricatures were also published in foreign newspapers, including the New York Times and Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
, the American magazines Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
and Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, and the German magazine Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
.
Beyond his work as a caricaturist, Farkash also worked as an illustrator, and illustrated through his career dozens of books published in Israel.
Farkash had a great impact on Israeli caricaturists and is widely considered to be one of the greatest political cartoonists in Israel. Through the years Farkash supported and encouraged many young Israeli artists who attempted to enter this field, particularly children and teenagers. Among those whom he encouraged is the successful Israeli cartoonist and caricaturist Michael Kishka.
Farkash died on 15 October 2002.
Awards
Farkash won numerous awards over the years, including the following awards:- In 1960, the Nordau Prize.
- In 1971, the Schwimmer Prize for Journalism.
- In 1973, the Hertzl Prize.
- In 1981, the Israeli Sokolov AwardSokolov AwardThe Sokolov Prize is an Israeli journalism award, awarded by the Tel Aviv municipality, in memory of Nahum Sokolow.The award has been granted since 1956, initially to outstanding print journalists and since 1981 to journalists from the electronic media...
in the field of Journalism. - In 1993, the Israel PrizeIsrael PrizeThe Israel Prize is an award handed out by the State of Israel and is largely regarded as the state's highest honor. It is presented annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state ceremony in Jerusalem, in the presence of the President, the Prime Minister, the Knesset chairperson, and the...
in the field of communications and journalism.
In 2005, he was voted the 114th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
Ynet
Ynet is the most popular Israeli news and general content website. It is owned by the same conglomerate that operates Yediot Ahronot, the country's secondleading daily newspaper...
to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.