Avital Inbar was born in Tel Aviv. His parents, Mordechai Burstein, a native of the Kiev region and Rachel Shilensky, born in Kaunas, Lithuania, were intellectuals and polyglots. They spent much of their lives in France and were imbued in its culture.
From the age of thirteen to twenty-six he lived in France, including two years in Marseille, where he learned French, and two years in what was at the time French Algeria, which was in the midst of a war of independence. These intense, unmediated impressions still affect his perspective of the Jewish-Palestinian conflict and internal Israeli divisions.
On his return to Israel in 1970, he served as a foreign correspondent for French media, among others, for the daily Combat, founded by Albert Camus.
Since 1976, Inbar has focused on literary translation and he had translated into Hebrew several major works of French literature, as well as some English titles. He traveled frequently to Paris to meet with publishers and writers and to choose titles for translation for Israeli publishers. He became friends with leading French figures, such as Marguerite Duras and Yves Montand. Altogether, he has translated some 120 titles.
In 1995, together with the French-Israeli businessman Jean Frydman, he founded the Yonatan Guides Ltd., which received a franchise from the French restaurant and hotel guide Gault Millau to produce a similar guide in Israel.
Since 1997, Inbar wrote nine experiential, hedonistic, travel books dedicated to France and its regions.[1][2]
He also wrote Parisian Pictures, devoted mainly to his encounters with writers and artists in France and the complex relations between France, Israel and the Jews.
Since 2018 he has been focusing on Japanese Cuisine and in 2019 published Gourmand in Tokyo, dedicated to Japanese gastronomy.
Avital Inbar's work has been an inspiration to the book "50 Michelin Stars" by Tzalak, published in Israel in 2017. The author interviewed Mr. Inbar and used insights and relative information given by him, based on his vast experience in the French culinary scene.
Benny Zipper, on "Les Croix de bois," Haaretz, September 6, 1985.
Yoram Bronowski, "The Wonder Child of the Enlightenment," Haaretz, November 23, 1980.
Kriel Gardosh (Dosh), "The Gauls Are Coming," Maariv, March 7, 1980.
Hedda Bushes, "Pictures of Despair," "Reading Glasses," Haaretz, May 6, 1986.
Mordechai Avishai, "Women, Finance, Politics," Maariv, December 21, 1984
Shlomo Papirblatt, "The Lover, My Body, My Head," Yedioth Ahronoth, 1986.
Michael Handelszalz, "Under the French Flag," Haaretz, July 28, 1987.
Haim Pesach, "My Beloved Indo-China," at Camp, June 11, 1986.
Yaron London, "The Price of Sin," December 7, 1982.
Giselle Spiro, "A Village in Mid-Paris," Haaretz, Books, 1987.
Tamar Golan, "The Pain of the Other - Tolerable," Haaretz Books, June 15, 2006.
Lena Shiloni, "How to Succeed in the Press," Haaretz, May 29, 2008.
Oded Sverdlik, "A Tragic Meeting of Two Worlds," 1986.
Boaz Applebaum, "a memory thing."
Meir Schnitzer, "Blooming with a Head."
Shlomo Papirblat, "Jewish Words in French," Yedioth Ahronoth.
Mordechai Avishai, "Jewish Heroes between Realia and Grotesque," Maariv, 1983.
Dina Pladot, "Everything is written in the dictionary," Maariv.
Amira Segev, "A tranlator with royalties," Hasashoth, June 8, 1988.
Hannah Kim, "The French Connection - Five Israeli Creators Received the Order of Arts and Literature This Week," Culture and Literature, Yedioth Ahronoth.
Dalia Karpel, "No to Marcel Proust," Hair, December 13, 1985.
Ehud Ben Ezer, "The translator is the t Sucker of the Hebrew Book Industry - Conversation with Avital Inbar," Globes, February 10, 1989.
