Judy Labensohn

A personal note from Judy

“I am a writer. Israel is my home, but clean, English sentences are the landscapes in which I feel most comfortable. I have been writing in Israel from the first day I arrived in 1966. Over the past forty years, I have quelled many censors. As an immigrant writer, I teeter over the rift between the State of Israel and my native tongue, challenged always by the desire to laugh.

I love to share my writing experience with emerging and established writers in classes, retreats, and one-on-one mentoring. I delight in engaging and challenging my students; their publishing successes bring me much joy.

I look forward to meeting you.”
Judy Labensohn, January 2007

P.S. Visit my website at http://www.writeinisrael.com for detailed information about my own writing, about the writing classes and retreats that I run, and about private writing coaching opportunities that I provide.

Biography

Originally from Shaker Heights, Ohio, Judy settled in Jerusalem after the Six Days’ War in 1967. As a child, she wrote poetry. In her twenties, she began to write personal essays, features, profiles, and short fiction.

After earning a Bachelor of Arts with High Honors in American Culture from the University of Michigan in 1967, she received a Bachelor of Social Work from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1972, and then a Certificate in Psychotherapy from the Israel Institute of Psychoanalysis in 1976. For some years she worked as a psychiatric social worker in Israel’s Ministry of Health.

Judy completed a Tour Guide Course at Neot Kedumim, the Biblical Landscape Reserve in Israel, in 1992 and worked there until 1999. She guided visitors from all over the world, making biblical landscapes come alive for them. As Director of Program Development, Judy created, organized and managed outdoor events for several hundred participants and family life-cycle celebrations for smaller groups.

Teaching English in Jerusalem’s business and academic communities through The British Council, The Open University, The Ringler Institute and SET Seminars from 1999 to 2002 re-rooted Judy in the rules of grammar. She has formalised her writing knowledge with an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in Creative Nonfiction from Goucher College in 2001, a Scriptwriting course at The Jerusalem Cinemateque in 2003, and an MA in English (fiction) from Bar Ilan University in 2006. In February 2007, Judy became Coordinator of the Shaindy Rudoff Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Bar Ilan University.

Since 1992, Judy has taught creative writing in informal settings in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other venues in Israel, in Hebrew and English. She facilitates supportive group processes, using the group’s strengths to help everyone overcome blocks to creativity. Writing, as discovery and artistic expression, is always the focus.