David Itzkhak Khaimis Dze (Isaac Davitashvili)
David Itzhak Khaimis Dze (Isaac Davitashvili) (b. 1946, Tbilisi) is a Jewish scholar, poet and public figure. Foreign member of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences (1996).
He graduated from the Faculty of Oriental Studies at Tbilisi State University (1969). He worked as a scientific researcher at both Tbilisi State University and the Institute of History and Ethnology named after Ivane Javakhishvili.
In 1972, he emigrated to Israel. He is the founder and chairman of the B. Gaponov Scientific Center for Caucasology in Israel. In 1975–76, he organized a scientific-research expedition at the Monastery of the Cross in Jerusalem.
He served for 11 years as a special advisor to the Israeli government in the fields of culture and science. He founded the political organization "National Movement of Israel." He is also an active member of the Union of Jewish Writers from Georgia, which was established in Israel.
Davitashvili’s main research topics include Georgian-Jewish and Georgian-Palestinian relations, and the history of Jews from Asia Minor and the Caucasus. His work “The History of Caucasian Jews in Palestine” was published in Hebrew in 1982.
Another of his notable studies is “Georgian Palestiniana,” and his fundamental monograph is titled “History of the Jews of the Caucasus” (Volumes 1–2, Tel Aviv, 1989, in Russian).
He translated from Hebrew into Georgian and added commentary to Yehuda Halevi Chorny's work “Journey to Georgia,” a valuable source for studying the life of Georgian Jews in the second half of the 19th century.
He has also authored works on linguistics, ancient Hebrew philosophy, and Spanish-Arabic and Spanish-Hebrew poetry. He studied the records and accounts of European travelers to Georgia such as A. Contarini, J. Barbaro, N. Witsen, and O. Dapper.
An Honorary Citizen of Georgia (1999).
Davitashvili writes poetry in Georgian, Russian, English, Spanish, Arabic, and Hebrew.
He currently resides in the United States.
Literary works: იონიზმის მაუწყებელნი საქართველოში, თელ-ავივი, 1976; ნაწერები, ტ. 1–2, თელ-ავივი – იერუსალიმი, 1978–80; ლანდები, თელ-ავივი, 1985; ზამთრის ყვავილები, თელ-ავივი, 1988; ლამაზი ქრისტიანი გოგო უფლის საფლავთან (პოემა), თელ-ავივი, 1993.
Literature: შ ა რ ა ძ ე გ., იცხაკ დავიდი, წგ.: უცხოეთის ცის ქვეშ, წგ. 1, თბ., 1991.
A. Tsitsiashvili
