Herbert was born in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1927 to Danish Jewish parents, who had migrated to Denmark from Ukraine in order to escape threatening pogroms. He escaped to Sweden during the German occupation of Denmark in World War II, and in 1945 enlisted in the Danish Brigade in Sweden. From 1948–1949 he served in the Israeli Hagana.[4]
He admitted to spying for Israel for a decade during the 1960s.[5]
His son Ron Pundak was an Israeli historian, who played a vital role in establishing the diplomatic connections between the Israeli and the Palestinians which eventually led to the Oslo Accords. Ron died on 11 April 2014 after a lengthy battle with cancer.
His son Uri was killed during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
In the years from 1973 to 2019 Herbert Pundik's family was increasingly active in the peace movement. Already in 1967 Herbert Pundik warned about the consequences of the occupation of Palestine and over the years he became a strong voice for peace and reconciliation with the Palestinian people.
Herbert Pundik was also active in founding the Parents Circle, an organisation for Israeli and Palestinian families who lost their loved ones in the conflict. The organisation work for reconciliation and for the ending of the occupation of Palestine.
While executive editor, he continued to live with his family in Tel Aviv, where they had lived since 1954. Until his death, Pundik continued to live in Israel while working for Politiken as a senior foreign correspondent. In 2008, he was appointed as adjunct professor at Aalborg University.
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