Avraham Oz (born May 23, 1944) is an Israeli Professor Emeritus of Theatre and Hebrew and Comparative literature at the University of Haifa, a translator of plays, operas, and poetry into Hebrew, and a peace activist. He specializes in English theatre and drama, Shakespeare, political theatre, and Theatre theory. Personal history Avraham Oz was born 23 May 1944 in Tel Aviv, Israel, and is married to Israeli theatre designer and translator Tal Itzhaki, director of the Academy of Performing Arts, Tel Aviv. Educational background He earned a B.A. in English literature and theatre arts (1967) and a M.A. in English literature (1970) from Tel Aviv University and a Ph.D. in English literature (1980) from the University of Bristol. Career He has taught at the University of Haifa, Tel Aviv University, and the Beit Zvi School of Dramatic Art; Hakibbutzim Seminar College and Sapir Academic College, and as a visiting lecturer at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and The University of Delaware. He also served for many years as an associate artistic director at The Cameri Theatre, and dramaturg at the Haifa Municipal Theatre. In 2010 he was a founding member of the Academy of Performing Arts, Tel Aviv, which combines professional training with studies towards a BA degree in cooperation with the Israeli Open University. He serves there as a Professor of Theatre and a Stage director. From 1982 to 1986, he served as the Head of the Department of Theatre Arts, Tel Aviv University. In 1984 he founded and edited Assaph: Theatre Studies published by Tel Aviv University; in 1994 he founded the Department of Theatre at the University of Haifa and served as its first chairman, and in 1995 he founded and edited JTD: Journal of Theatre and Drama, published by the University of Haifa. From 2000 until its closure in 2004, he served as the director of the Haifa University Theatre. In 2007 he founded Mofa, an electronic journal for theatre and the performing arts, and he serves as its editor. Oz is also the general editor of the Hebrew edition (single volume series) of the works of Shakespeare, of which 20 volumes are already published; and served as the president of the Israeli Association for Theatre Research (IATR). Oz directed several stage plays, among them Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and Henry V, Harold Pinter's Ashes to Ashes, Mountain Language, and Landscape; C. P. Taylor's Good,