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GAZETTEEric Silver(1953, PPE)... he was one of the foremost journalistic interpretersof the Israeli scene ...Eric Silver lived in the wonderfully namedStreet of the Prophets in Jerusalem, and theconsensus of his friends was that he lookedthe part. Tall and commanding, and with analways evident confidence in both speechand writing, he was one of the foremostjournalistic interpreters of the Israeli scene forBritish and other English speaking readers forover thirty years, and at the same time a veryEnglish presence within the Israeli press corps.If he was not literally prophetic, he wasnevertheless an extremely accurate and reliableguide to the complexities of Israeli politics.Eric’s interests in both Israel and in politicswere foreshadowed during his PPE studiesat St Catherine’s after a Leeds upbringing.He was a member and officer of the IsraelSociety, and had earlier belonged to theHabonim Zionist youth movement. He likedarguing in coffee shops, a trait still apparentyears later in Israel. A college friend recallshis rather Yorkshire attitude to Wittgenstein,whom he regarded as more amusing thanenlightening. After working on provincialpapers and on The Guardian as a sub-editor,labour reporter, and diarist, Eric became theJerusalem correspondent of The Guardian andThe Observer in 1972. He went on to Indiafor the two papers in 1983, enjoying his timein the sub-continent, but he hadleft his heart in Israel. Rather than returnto Britain when his time in Delhi came to anend, he chose to exchange the security of afull-time job for the exigencies of a freelanceexistence in Israel. It was a testimony to hisabilities that, in a highly competitive field, henever lacked employment.Colleagues who were more critical of Israelsometimes faulted him for bias. But, while hisloyalty to Israel was plain, so was his concernabout the movement away fromthe relative certainties of an earlier erato the more right wing and fragmentedcondition of Israeli politics today, and hisanxieties about the shrinking prospects ofpeace with the Palestinians.Eric and Bridget’s vaulted and thick-walledhome in the Street of the Prophets was ahaven for Israeli friends and for visitors fromoutside Israel alike. They set a fine table,and Eric was as generous with his knowledgeand his contacts book as was his wife withher superlative chocolate cake. The thickwalls came in useful when a suicide bomberblew himself up on the street outside, anincident which underlined a principle Ericoften advanced in argument, which wasthat life in the Middle East was too difficultand dangerous to be seen in black andwhite terms.Eric Silver was born on 8 July 1935 and diedon 15 July 2008. He leaves his wife Bridget,three daughters, and numerous grandchildren.Martin Woollacott66/ERIC SILVER