Red Skies: Ron Leshem (U.S./Israel) in Conversation with Noa Menhaim

 Ron Leshem is recognized as one of the most famous figures in contemporary Israeli literature. Awarded the prestigious Sapir Prize and the Yitzhak Sadeh Prize for Military Literature for his book “Beaufort,” his work has not only garnered critical acclaim but also inspired the script for the eponymous film. Depicting IDF soldiers stationed at the Beaufort outpost in the months leading up to the withdrawal from Lebanon, the film went on to represent Israel at the Oscars. In writing the 2023 TV series Red Skies, partaily based on Daniel Shinar's book, Leshem drew from his own experiences as a soldier in the intelligence corps’ elite Unit 8200 and later as a war correspondent covering the Second Intifada. Leshem also wrote the award-winning series “Euphoria,” picked up and aired by HBO in June 2019, starring Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, and Sydney Sweeney.

Noa Menhaim, leading literary editor, critic and essayist is head of the Hebrew literature department at Israel’s premier publishing house, Kinneret Zmora-Bitan Dvir. Her first editing project was Leshem’s “Beaufort,” and the two joined forces once again working on “Red Skies”. They will explore topics such as Israeli political fiction, the portrayal of IDF soldiers in television and literature, and the global standing of Israeli artists post October 7.

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