Yoav Keren

Yoav Keren (born July 6, 1972) is an Israeli journalist, literary editor, and author.

Biography
Keren was born in Haifa. He studied at the Reali School and the military boarding school for command in Haifa. In 1990, he enlisted in the IDF, volunteered for the paratroopers, and was assigned to Battalion 890. He underwent combat training and an infantry commanders' course and participated in operational activities in South Lebanon. Later, he completed an officers' course and served as an officer in staff and training roles. During his reserve duty, he was promoted to the rank of Major. Keren holds a bachelor's degree in humanities from Bar-Ilan University.

Journalistic career
In 2000, he started working as an editor at Yedioth Ahronoth's local news network. In 2002, he began working at Maariv newspaper as a news desk editor and deputy editor of the political supplement. Concurrently, he wrote opinion articles for the newspaper and published reports. In 2006, marking 50 years to Operation Kadesh, Keren joined a special parachute jump organized by the IDF as a journalist for Maariv, with the participation of the paratroopers who jumped at Mitla Pass. In 2008, he moved to work at Yedioth Ahronoth as a news desk editor, the front page editor of the newspaper, and editor of the Sabbath supplement. He also edited holiday supplements and special projects. As part of his work at Yedioth Ahronoth, he published opinion articles and magazine reports, mainly in the military field and color pieces on destinations around the world. He published notable stories including a roots trip to the Philippines with Shaked, an Israeli soldier whose mother is Filipino and father is Thai, as well as a visit to the Jewish community and Shaar Hashamayim synagogue in airo, a two-week journey between IDF positions from the Lebanon border to the Egypt border with photographer Gadi Kabalo, a visit to the Falashmura transit camp in Gondar, Ethiopia, with Danny Adino Ababa, and a visit to the Jewish town of Qırmızı Qəsəbə in Azerbaijan. An opinion piece by Yoav Keren received over 1.7 million views and thousands of comments on Yedioth Ahronoth's Facebook page.

In 2022, Yoav Keren covered the war in Ukraine along with press photographer Amit Shaabi. During their stay in Odesa and the nearby city of Mykolaiv close to the frontline, the two published a series of reports in "Yedioth Ahronoth" and on Ynet.

In September 2023, ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, a special supplement about the stories behind the letters from the war was published in "Yedioth Ahronoth," edited by journalist Lior Ben-Ami. Yoav Keren played a central role in the project, interviewing over 20 soldiers and bereaved family members, and he signed off on about ten extensive articles, some of which were also published on Ynet.

During the Israel-Hamas War, Keren published a series of field reports in Yedioth Ahronoth and on Ynet about IDF units in the sector, communities in the surrounding area, and about Israeli casualties during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. Keren, along with photographer Gil Yohanan, embedded with Israeli forces in Shuja'iyya, Gaza, and documented them during a battle with Palestinian militants.

Literary career
Writing In 2010, his first book "The Gatekeeper's Daughter" was published by Yedioth Books. In recent years, short stories penned by him have been published on various platforms, and he has participated in reading evenings.


 * The story "The Dream Cores" was published in the "Moznaim" journal, October 2021 issue.
 * The story "The Tender" was published in the "Motiv" journal, August 2021 issue. The story "Who Remembers the Name of Bar Kokhba's Deputy?" was published in the "Motiv" journal, June 2021 issue.
 * The story "With Us in the Studio" won second place in the "Harvest Challenge" by Afik Literature Israeli project, Reading Creates website, and the Page: a Stage for Independent Creation.
 * The story "Letter from the Free State of Florentin" won first place in the "Dark Room Challenge" by the Page website.
 * The story "From Moshe Dayan to Moshe Selekter" was published in the collection "When We Were Children" by Saar Publishing.
 * The story "Butterfly" was published in the collection of short stories "A Story All Good" by Sipur Chozer Network and "Orion" Publishing.
 * Keren read his stories "Pursued" and "Who Remembers the Name of Bar Kokhba's Deputy?" on the stage of Bar Giora in Tel Aviv as part of the literary project "Shorts".
 * Keren read his stories "The Big Gamble of Yoel Pomrenze" and "Transparent" at "Stories from Life" events at Cafe Yudfat on behalf of Eshkol Nevo and Orit Gidali's home workshops.
 * Keren read his story "The End" on Shani Hader's radio program "Land of Golan".
 * Keren read his story "From the Straits" at an event of the Hebrew Writers Association dedicated to the theme of freedom, edited and hosted by the poet Shuki Gutman.
 * The story "The Organization" was published in the literary magazine "Slont" in November 2021. Keren read his stories "The Big Gamble of Yoel Pomrenze", "Transparent", and "The Container" at "Stories from Life" events at Cafe Yudfat on behalf of Eshkol Nevo and Orit Gidali's home workshops.
 * The story "Pursued" was published in issue 18 of the literary journal "Between Purple and Sky Blue" in December 2021.
 * The story "Class Reunion" was published in the anthology for International Inspiration Day 2022, edited by Orit Merlin-Rosenzweig. The poem "Room" was published in an issue of the "Deferred Salon" journal edited by the poet Yehi Levi. The poem "Spring in Mykolaiv", which he wrote following his journalistic mission to the war in Ukraine, was published in an issue of the "Deferred Salon" journal edited by the poet Shani Arnehaim.
 * The story "Transparent" was published in issue 20 of the literary journal "Between Purple and Sky Blue" in September 2022.
 * The stories "Smooth Wall", "A.A.A. Cleaning Services and Special Tasks", and "Where Has Lawyer Pinchas Smokler Disappeared To?" were published in the anthology "Old Age Home" by Motiv Publishing, February 2023.
 * The story "Letter from the Free State of Florentin" was published in the "Tikkun Gathering" issue edited by Ilan Sheinfeld and was also translated into English as part of a special issue distributed in the United States ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit in September 2023. He is currently working on his second book.

Book Editing
Keren has edited many books, including biographies, military books, and illuminated manuscripts, most of them published by Yedioth Books. Many of the books he edited became bestsellers, including "For Your Eyes Only" by journalist Shimon Shiffer, "From Zero to One Hundred: The Story of a Team in Unit 669" by Guy M., "A Psychiatrist on the Couch" by Dr. Ilan Rabinovich, and "The Journey is Not Over" by Danny Adino Ababa.

Written

 * "The Gatekeeper's Daughter", published by "Yedioth Books", 2010

Books Edited

 * Yehuda Weinstein, "The Advisor", "Yedioth Books", 2022
 * Eliezer Shkedi, "Why Who is Michael", "Yedioth Books", 2021
 * Shimon Shiffer, "For Your Eyes Only – Secrets, Leaks, and Exposures", "Yedioth Books", 2021
 * Avner Shor and Aviram Levi, "Sayeret Matkal – The Unit's Major Operations", "Yedioth Books", 2020
 * Shimon Sheves, "Friend", "Yedioth Books", 2020
 * Shimon Shiffer, "The Warner – Conversations with General Amos Gilad", "Yedioth Books", 2019
 * Guy M., "From Zero to One Hundred – The Story of a Team in Unit 669", "Yedioth Books", 2019
 * Danny Adino Ababa, "The Journey is Not Over", "Yedioth Books", 2019 Arieh Meliniak, "Winning is a Profession", Tafar Publishing, 2018 (with Rami Rotholz)
 * Moshe (Bogie) Ya'alon, "A Long Short Road", "Yedioth Books", 2018 (with Anat Shinkman)
 * Ilan Rabinovich, "A Psychiatrist on the Couch", "Yedioth Books", 2017
 * Yair Lapid, "Journey to the Future – A Look at the Future of Israeli Society", "Yedioth Books", 2017
 * Yoaz Hendel, "In an Unplowed Land – An Israeli Journey", "Yedioth Books", 2015
 * Amir Rapaport, "Fire on Our Forces – How We Failed Ourselves in the Second Lebanon War", Maariv Library, 2007
 * Omri Ginzburg, "That One Out There", Self-Published, 2021

Personal life
Keren is married to Tali and is the father of two daughters. He resides in Holon with his family.