BERMANT, CHAIM ICYK

BERMANT, CHAIM ICYK (1929–1998), Lithuanian-born Scottish humorist and journalist noted for his gently satirical sketches of British Jewry. His short novels, which reflect a traditional upbringing, include Jericho Sleep Alone (1964), Diary of an Old Man (1966), and Swinging in the Rain (1967). He also published a guidebook, Israel (1967), and Troubled Eden: An Anatomy of British Jewry (1969). Possibly Bermant's most valuable work was his biographical history of England's "grandee" Jewish families like the Rothschilds and Montefiores, The Cousinhood (1961). Bermant also published a biography of England's Chief Rabbi, Lord Jakobovits (1990). Bermant wrote a weekly column in the Jewish Chronicle (of which he was Features Editor in 1964–66), which was widely noted and often controversial. Two volumes of Bermant's best weekly columns appeared, Murmurings of a Licensed Heretic (1990) and On the Other Hand (2000), which was published posthumously. Bermant also wrote a volume of autobiography, Genesis: A Latvian Childhood (1998). (William D. Rubinstein (2nd ed.)