APN mourns the death of David Steiner (pictured in Israel in November), a former leader of our Chicago chapter, a longtime activist in support of Israel’s peace movement and various social justice causes, a beacon of ethical thinking, and a fountain of creativity.

David was killed Monday in a bus accident in Uganda while filming a documentary about two Sudanese teens who his son had befriended in Israel. David’s son, Itamar, was lightly injured in the collision, when a reckless driver crashed his car into the bus.

David Steiner spent his late-teen years in Israel at Hakfar Hayarok agricultural boarding school, and served in the IDF during the 1982 Lebanon War. After studying film at UCLA, he moved back to Chicago, where he worked in real estate and in Jewish education, while intensifying his involvement in progressive causes. He owned a small mediation firm, and was a longtime rabbinical student.

David was active in Chicago-APN, the local chapter of Americans for Peace Now, and for years was Chicago-APN’s representative at the local Jewish Community Relations Council.

David Steiner was a good friend. He will be sorely missed.