Walter Bingham

Walter Bingham (; born Wolfgang Billig; 5 January 1924) is a German-born British-Israeli journalist, actor, and businessman, as well as a Holocaust survivor and decorated World War II veteran. At age 99 in 2023, Bingham was Israel's oldest working journalist.

Early life Bingham was born in Karlsruhe, Germany on 5 January 1924, to an observant Jewish family. His parents had moved from Poland to Germany as children. and personally experienced antisemitic bullying. As Bingham and his parents held Polish citizenship and were not German nationals, they were affected by the Polenaktion – the arrest and expulsion of Polish Jews living in Germany. Bingham's father was arrested but he himself was not caught up in the sweep as he had been away from the family home at the time – his parents had sent him to a Jewish school in Mannheim. Shortly afterwards, Bingham witnessed the events of Kristallnacht. He survived the Holocaust because of a Kindertransport to Great Britain in 1939, where he lived for the most part in a Zionist kibbutz-type community. During one mission, his ambulance was knocked out by German fire, wounding his orderly and killing an officer. He then braved withering fire to rescue wounded soldiers. For his actions, he was awarded the Military Medal for 'Bravery in the Field' by King George VI. He would later be awarded France's highest honour, the Légion d'honneur, for his participation in the Normandy landings. Due to being a native German speaker, Bingham was transferred to Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force to work as a documents specialist, analyzing captured German documents. While stationed in occupied Germany, he also worked in counter-intelligence and helped identify Nazi officers attempting to conceal their former roles. He interrogated former Nazi foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, who denied all knowledge of the Holocaust. |Walter Bingham, Jerusalem Post, 2011. as well as numerous roles in various TV documentaries calling for older men with a white beard. He was also an advertising model and Santa Claus in London's premier department stores Harrods and Selfridges.

Bingham emigrated to Israel in 2004. At age 80, he attempted to get a job at Kol Israel but was turned down due to his age. He subsequently found work as a journalist with Israel National News. and since 2016 "The Walter Bingham File" on Israel News Talk Radio. He is also a regular contributor to The Jerusalem Post and The Jerusalem Report.

In 2018 Bingham became Israel's oldest skydiver when he participated in a parachute jump in northern Israel.

In 2023 Bingham travelled to Germany, the Netherlands and the UK to participate in a reenactment and commemoration of the Kindertransport which was filmed for a documentary and covered extensively in the media.

Bingham turned 100 on 5 January 2024.