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“David was an old-school news reporter, always looking to get to the scene and talk to people first-hand rather than rely on secondary sources,” said Jeff Barak, a former Post editor-in-chief.
By DAVID BRINN JANUARY 26, 2025 14:57
DAVID RUDGE in Haifa.
(photo credit: Rudge family)
David Rudge, the Jerusalem Post’s correspondent in North and Southern Lebanon for over 20 years from 1982-2005, died suddenly on Friday at his home in Haifa.
Rudge, 73, leaves behind his wife Leah, three children, Gil, Sigal, and Ruth, and six grandchildren.
Born and raised in Halesowen, West Midlands, UK, Rudge visited Israel in the 1970s as part of the Habonim youth movement. After meeting Leah, they moved to the UK, where their three children were born.
After the family returned to Israel in 1982, Rudge began working at the Post, commuting from an absorption center in Netanya to the Post’s office in Haifa during a three-month trial period.
Due to his obvious talents and dedication to journalism, he was hired, and his byline became a fixture at the Post for the next two-plus decades.
As the Post’s only beat reporter north of Tel Aviv, Rudge covered an amazing array, both topically and geographically, of stories during his career.
He often good-naturedly referred to himself as “chief bottle washer and floor sweeper” to describe the scope of his assignments and responsibilities.
He was the Post’s main point person covering the aftermath of the First Lebanon War (Operation Peace for Galilee), which resulted in Israel’s 18-year- occupation of southern Lebanon. During that period, Rudge frequently accompanied IDF troops stationed there.
“He never told me he was going in and only called me from Metulla after he left Lebanon,” recalled Leah, adding that he hadn’t wanted to needlessly worry her.
Rudge also extensively reported on the Four Mothers’ protest movement, which ultimately swayed public opinion about withdrawing from Lebanon.
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Traversing the North and putting hundreds of thousands of kilometers on his car mileage, Rudge became a familiar and trusted figure for the hundreds of subjects of his stories and his journalistic colleagues in the Hebrew media.
“David was an old-school news reporter, always looking to get to the scene and talk to people first-hand rather than rely on secondary sources,” said Jeff Barak, the Post’s editor-in-chief from 1996-2002.
“He knew virtually every senior IDF officer, police officer, mayor, and council head in the North, and they would all talk to him because they knew they could trust him. He was charming and intelligent, and, importantly, he genuinely cared about the people he wrote about. He was a wonderful colleague, always a team player, never putting himself first.”
Back to the days of objective journalism
A consummate professional, Rudge harkened back to the days of objective journalism, when a reporter would parachute in, become the eyes and ears for the reader, and provide a comprehensive look at an issue or event without attempting to interject his own views or opinions.
Humble, wickedly funny, and always up for a ‘pint,’ Rudge took pride in the Post and felt a great responsibility to its readers.
Long retired and happily enjoying his grandchildren amid occasional projects teaching English and writing for publications of the Technion, Rudge never lost his love and passion for journalism.
When I approached him last year to inquire whether he would be interested in driving up to one of his familiar haunts, Majdal Shams in the Golan, and writing about the town’s recovery from the devastating July Hezbollah rocket attack that killed 12 children, he was intrigued.
Ultimately, he turned down the assignment, but he said it was tempting (Leah said, “I told him there was no way he was going up there").
Even after all those years, when you want someone to write about such a nuanced, sensitive subject with knowledge and empathy, you only go to the best. That was David Rudge until the end.
English (US) ·