Denis Shifrin was born into a family rich in Jewish and English culture. In 1934, at the tender age of seven, he attended his first Habonim Zionist Youth Movement meeting at Zion House in Liverpool, England. His youth leader was Reverend Yehudah Goodman who officiated at Denis and Gussie’s wedding fourteen years later.
After an excellent education, War Agriculture Committee farms, Habonim’s kibbutzei hachshara (agricultural trainning farms), art school, three years as a Habonim Movement worker in London and marriage, Denis and Gussie finally came to live in Israel in 1949 and helped to establish Kibbutz Kfar Hanassi.
From 1951 to 1959 Denis was employed as art and print director by the famous Tel Aviv publisher “Lion the Printer”. He insists that this was the best “university” he ever attended. In this period he also illustrated many children’s books and encyclopedias. Apart from illustrations in D’var Leyeladim and political cartoons in the D’var and Omer newspapers, Denis, together with Michael Shir, in 1954, started Etzba’oni a weekly young children’s illustrated magazine.
Legendary mayor, Teddy Kollek asked Denis to be a judge at the first Jerusalem Book Fair. In 1960, together with Yoseph Na’aman, he set up his own advertising and publishing firm that rapidly became established as Israel’s leading agency in high-tech advertising, promotion and marketing.
Apart from his professional career, Denis was recruited to the Mossad, Israeli Intelligence. He was active in this organization for more than a decade, continuing later in an advisory capacity.
Denis undertook guest lecturing at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem universities in the subjects of advertising, visual perception and printing methods. Several years ago his two sons Dubbie and Ilan took over the agency. Orna, Denis’s daughter is active in the field of education.
The Shifrins have seven grandchildren and two great-grandsons. In his retirement Denis, in a volunteer capacity, has drawn illustrations for ESRA MAGAZINE for nearly ten years. His most important occupation is designing and sculpting wooden miniatures. He recently held his latest exhibition in Raanana under the title ”Myths and Legends - Kinetic Miniature Wooden Sculptures”.
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