Editing Thomas L. Friedman (section)

==Early life and education==
[[File:Thomas Friedman World Economic Forum 2013.jpg|thumb|Friedman during the [[World Economic Forum|WEF]] 2013]]
Friedman was born on July 20, 1953, in [[Minneapolis, Minnesota]], the son of Margaret and Harold Friedman.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-08-11 |title=Thomas L. Friedman Official Biography - Thomas L. Friedman |url=https://www.thomaslfriedman.com/official-bio/ |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=www.thomaslfriedman.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Harold, who was vice president of a [[ball bearing]] company, United Bearing, died of a [[heart attack]] in 1973 when Tom was nineteen years old. Margaret, who served in the [[United States Navy]] during [[World War II]] and studied [[Home Economics]] at the [[University of Wisconsin]], was a [[Homemaking|homemaker]] and a [[Part-time job|part-time]] [[bookkeeper]]. Margaret was also a Silver Life Master [[duplicate bridge]] player, who died in 2008. Friedman has two older sisters, Shelley and Jane. From an early age, Friedman, whose father often took him to the [[golf]] course for a round after work, wanted to be a professional golfer. He played a lot of sports, and became serious about [[tennis]] and golf. He [[Golf caddy|caddied]] at a local country club and in 1970 caddied for professional golfer [[Chi Chi Rodriguez]] when the [[US Open (golf)|US Open]] [[1970 U.S. Open (golf)|came to town]].<ref name="wired flat">{{cite news | url=https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.05/friedman.html | title=Why the World Is Flat | website=Wired.com | date=May 2005 | access-date=February 6, 2012 | archive-date=February 12, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140212203153/http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.05/friedman.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

Friedman is [[Jewish]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/14/opinion/friedman-newt-mitt-bibi-and-vladimir.html?_r=3&hp |title=Newt, Mitt, Bibi and Vladimir |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 14, 2011 |access-date=March 26, 2012 |first=Thomas L. |last=Friedman |archive-date=May 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200508010430/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/14/opinion/friedman-newt-mitt-bibi-and-vladimir.html?_r=3&hp |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-02-21 |title="I Am Jewish" {{!}} Facing History & Ourselves |url=https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/i-am-jewish |access-date=2023-11-11 |website=www.facinghistory.org |language=en}}</ref> He attended [[Hebrew]] school five days a week until his [[Bar Mitzvah]],<ref>''From Beirut to Jerusalem''. 1990, page 4</ref> then [[St. Louis Park High School]], where he wrote articles for his [[Student publication|school's newspaper]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.slpschools.org/sh/Echo/First%20One/Frame%20Set/Front%20Page1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050428164819/http://www.slpschools.org/sh/Echo/First%20One/Frame%20Set/Front%20Page1.html|url-status=dead|title=''The Echo''|archive-date=April 28, 2005}}</ref> He became enamored with [[Israel]] after a visit there in December 1968, and he spent all three of his high school summers living on [[Kibbutz]] [[HaHotrim]], near [[Haifa]].<ref name=bei>''From Beirut to Jerusalem''. 1990, page 5</ref> He has characterized his high school years as "one big celebration of Israel's victory in the [[Six-Day War]]."<ref name=bei />

Friedman studied at the [[University of Minnesota]] for two years, but later [[College transfer|transferred]] to [[Brandeis University]] and graduated ''[[summa cum laude]]'' in 1975 with a degree in Mediterranean studies. Friedman also pursued Arabic studies at [[The American University in Cairo]], where he graduated in 1974 from its Arabic language unit (ALU).<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.aucegypt.edu/academics/casa/notable-alumni|title=Notable Alumni &#124; The American University in Cairo|website=www.aucegypt.edu|access-date=April 20, 2020|archive-date=April 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200429044931/https://www.aucegypt.edu/academics/casa/notable-alumni|url-status=live}}</ref> After graduating from Brandeis, he attended [[St Antony's College, Oxford|St Antony's College]] at the [[University of Oxford]] as a [[Marshall Scholarship|Marshall Scholar]], earning an [[Master of Philosophy|M.Phil.]] in [[Middle Eastern studies]].