The Difference

Born Ferenc Hoffmann to an assimilated Jewish family in Budapest, Ephraim Kishon began writing as a teenager, although his studies and early literary efforts were cut short by the Holocaust. Upon immigrating to Israel, Kishon became the new nation’s chief satirist, casting his sharp eye on the actions of the Labor Zionist state as well as the condescension with which established Israelis of Ashkenazi descent treated incoming Mizrahi immigrants. In the 1980s, Kishon moved to Switzerland, where he continued to write humorous commentary.