DANKNER, AMNON

DANKNER, AMNON (1946– ), Israeli journalist and author. Born in Jerusalem, Dankner graduated in law from the Hebrew University. After a period as spokesman for the Ministry of Education, he entered journalism, becoming successively a columnist on Davar, Ḥadashot, and Haaretz, the last from which he was fired after writing a controversial column called "I have no Sister," which represented Sephardim in an unflattering light. He subsequently joined Maariv as a columnist, becoming editor in 2002. Formerly left-wing in outlook, Dankner moved towards the center and right, and once editor of Maariv he made corruption at the governmental and judicial levels a cause célèbre of the newspaper. He also wrote a number of novels, humorous works, screenplays, and non-fiction works. Most controversial was his biography of bohemian journalist and author dahn ben-amotz in 1992, alleging that Ben-Amotz had led a promiscuous life, including engaging in sex with minors, in which other well-known Israeli cultural figures had had a part. For the latter allegations he was sued for libel and apologized. He was also a permanent panel member of a popular television talkshow, "Po-Politika," in the latter 1990s. (Yoel Cohen (2nd ed.)