In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “abstract painter born in 1929 in johannesburg”. Today it says “south african-israeli abstract painter and a key figure in the anti-apartheid movement in the country of his bi”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-02. In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “abstract painter born in 1929 in johannesburg”. Today it says “south african-israeli abstract painter and a key figure in the anti-apartheid movement in the country of his bi”.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
Arthur Goldreich was an abstract painter born in 1929 in Johannesburg , South Africa , and a key figure in the anti-apartheid movement. Goldreich settled in Israel. In time he became a leading figure at Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem. In 1966 he became the head of Industrial and Environmental Design Department., which he helped transform into an internationally recognized center for design. By the age of 33, Goldreich had moved to South Africa where he became one of the country's most successful artists. In 1955 , he won South Africa's Best Young Painter Award for his figures in black and white, but to the Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd's regime, he was a key suspect in the Claudestine operations of the anti-apartheid underground.1Arrested in July 1963, as a political prisoner, he escaped in August of the same year and made his way to either Swaziland or Tanzania . Shortly thereafter he settled in Israel .2
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16666650.
The opening as it stood in 2010 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Arthur Goldreich was an abstract painter born in 1929 in Johannesburg , South Africa , and a key figure in the anti-apartheid movement in the country of his birth. Goldreich settled in Israel , where he participated in the 1948 war as a member of the Palmach , the elite military wing of the Haganah . In time he became a leading figure at Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem . In 1966, he became the head of Industrial and Environmental Design Department, which he helped transform into an internationally recognized center for design . By the age of 33, Goldreich had moved to South Africa where he became one of the country's most successful artists. In 1955, he won South Africa's Best Young Painter Award for his figures in black and white, but to the Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd's regime, he was a key suspect in the clandestine operations of the anti-apartheid underground.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 369029790.
The opening as it stood in 2015 5 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Arthur Goldreich (1929 – 24 May 2011) was a South African-Israeli abstract painter and a key figure in the anti-apartheid movement in the country of his birth and a critic of the form of Zionism practiced in Israel.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 667882707.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Arthur Goldreich (25 December 1929 – 24 May 2011) was a South African-Israeli abstract painter and a key figure in the anti-apartheid movement in the country of his birth and a critic of the form of Zionism practiced in Israel.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 947185010.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Jewish-South African anti-apartheid and anti-zionist activist Arthur Goldreich (25 December 1929 – 24 May 2011) was a South African-Israeli abstract painter and a key figure in the anti-apartheid movement in the country of his birth and a critic of the form of Zionism practiced in Israel.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1172277381.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Jewish-South African anti-apartheid and zionist activist Arthur Goldreich (25 December 1929 – 24 May 2011) was a South African-Israeli abstract painter and a key figure in the anti-apartheid movement in the country of his birth and a critic of Israel.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1281165362. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “abstract painter born in 1929 in johannesburg”. Today it says “south african-israeli abstract painter and a key figure in the anti-apartheid movement in the country of his bi”. Read the current article and compare.
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Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined between 2005 and 2025.
Then
abstract painter born in 1929 in johannesburg
Now
south african-israeli abstract painter and a key figure in the anti-apartheid movement in the country of his bi
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.