Liel Leibovitz

Liel Leibovitz (born 1976, Tel Aviv) is an Israeli-American journalist, author, media critic and video game scholar. Leibovitz was born in Tel Aviv, immigrated to the United States in 1999, and earned a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 2007. As of 2014 he is Visiting Assistant Professor of Media, Culture and Communication at New York University.

Leibovitz was born in Israel to Iris and Rony Leibovitz. His father, born into a wealthy family, became known in Israel as the "Motorcycle Bandit" who robbed 21 banks and served 8 years in prison during his son's childhood. Leibovitz visited his father weekly while he was in prison, and his family suffered financially after his father's incarceration. When he was about 9 he became very interested in the United States, particularly after visiting relatives there. He received his B.A. from Tel Aviv University and after moving to New York City, he received an M.S. in journalism and a Ph.D. in communications from Columbia University.

Leibovitz was a Non-Commissioned Officer in the Spokesperson’s Unit of the Israel Defense Forces. He attended the film school at the University of Tel Aviv before moving to New York. He worked at a hardware store and then at the Israeli Consulate as a senior press officer, producing "Israel Line," a daily summary of significant news taken directly from Israeli media. He served as culture editor of Jewish Week, and has written for The Nation, as well as for The New Republic.

At the online American Jewish Tablet Magazine, Leibovitz serves as senior writer and executive producer of video and interactive media.

• A broken hallelujah: rock and roll, redemption, and the life of Leonard Cohen, (2014) Norton
• Fortunate sons : the 120 Chinese boys who came to America, went to school, and revolutionized an ancient civilization (2011) Norton
• Lili Marlene : the soldiers' song of World War II, (2009) Norton
• Thinking inside the box: towards and ontology of video games (2007
• Aliya : three generations of American-Jewish immigration to Israel, (2006) St. Martin's Press

Leibovitz is married to American author Lisa Ann Sandell, who has published three young adult novels.

• Liel Leibovitz dot com