Dr. Ben Zion Katz

KATZ (Benshalom), BENZION (1907-1968), Hebrew translator, literary critic, and educator. He was the brother of Juliusz Katz-Suchy Born in Sanok, Galicia, he studied at the University of Cracow, taught Hebrew language there (1929-39), and lectured at the Warsaw Institute of Jewish Studies (1937-39). In 1940 he immigrated to Palestine, and from 1941 to 1963 was director of the Jewish Agency's Youth and He-Halutz Department. He also lectured on classical literature at the Tel Aviv University, where he was appointed rector in 1964. Katz's books include Mishkalav shel H.N. Bialik ("Metrics in Bialik's Poetry," 1942); Ha-Sifrut ha-Ivrit Bein Shetei Milhamot Olam (1943; Hebrew Literature between the Two World Wars y 1953); Shekibt Yerushalayim ("Jerusalem Sunsets," poems, 1965); and Orhot Yezirah ("Creative Paths," literary essays, 1966). He translated into Hebrew selections from the Persian epic Shahnama by Firdausi and the Rubdiydt of Omar Khayyam, as well as several classical Greek works.