Kessel died from cancer at the age of 66.[1] He was survived by his wife, Lorraine, their son, Ariel, and four grandchildren.[4] His funeral was held at Givat HaShlosha in central Israel.[4]
Media career
Kessel was a newseditor for the Jerusalem Post,[4] reported on the Middle East for CNN from its Jerusalem bureau from 1990 to 2003. He was known for his iconic white beard.[1] He had been called "one of Israel’s leading English-language journalists."[4] He initially worked for Israel Radio, the Jerusalem correspondent for the London Jewish Chronicle, and the Jerusalem Post before joining CNN as an on-air correspondent in 1990.[1]
He also authored a book of soccer and began writing a sports column for the daily newspaper, Haaretz, the last of which was published a week before his death in 2011.[1]