Uri Davis

Uriel "Uri" Davis (Hebrew: אוריאל "אורי" דייוויס‎‎ Arabic: أوري ديفيس‎‎, born 1943 in Jerusalem) is an academic and a civil rights activist in Israel, Occupied Palestinian Territories and the Middle East.[1] Davis has served as Vice-Chairman of the Israeli League for Human and Civil Rights and as lecturer in Peace Studies at the University of Bradford. Davis describes himself as "a Palestinian Hebrew national of Jewish origin, anti-Zionist, registered as Muslim and a citizen of an apartheid state - the State of Israel."[2] A member of Fatah since 1984, he was elected to the Revolutionary Council for the Palestinian party in 2009.[2][3][3][4]

Background and education

Born to Jewish parents in Jerusalem, Davis describes himself as a Palestinian Hebrew.[5] He was educated in Kfar Shmaryahu. During the 1961-1963 period he did alternative civilian service on Kibbutz Erez. Subsequently he received a BA in Philosophy and Arabic from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1968), a Masters in Philosophy from the same institution (1970) and from The New School for Social Research, New York City a MA in Anthropology (1973) and a PhD in Anthropology (1976).[6][7]

Career

Davis is an honorary research fellow at the University of Durham's Institute for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (IMEIS) and at the University of Exeter's Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies (IAIS). He currently divides his residence between the predominantly Arab city of Sakhnin in northern Israel and the mixed city of Ramle in central Israel.[1] In 2009, Uri Davis was appointed to teach a course at the Palestinian Al-Quds university on critical Israeli studies.[8]

Apartheid Comparisons

Davis wrote a series of books and articles that classify the State of Israel as an apartheid state, alleging that Israel's policies towards Palestinians, including Palestinian citizens of Israel, are comparable to South Africa's apartheid policies: Israel: An Apartheid State (1987), Apartheid Israel: A Critical Reading of the Draft Permanent Agreement, known as the "Geneva Accords" (2003),[9] and Apartheid Israel: Possibilities for the Struggle Within (2003).

In an interview to Irish Times in 2002 Davis said: "I am an anti-militarist and recognise the right to use force in certain instances, in armed resistance, which is legal in international law. It allows armed resistance, the targeting of the opposite party in uniform."[10]

Activism

He is a founding member of The Movement Against Israeli Apartheid in Palestine (MAIAP) and of Al-Beit The Association for the Defense of Human Rights in Israel,[9] and a former member of the Executive Committee of the Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding (CAABU) and of the Editorial Board of RETURN magazine.[11]

Revolutionary Council Election

Until 2009 Davis was Observer Member of the Palestine National Council.[9] In 2009, Davis was successful in his bid for a seat on Fatah's Revolutionary Council, a legislative body of the Movement, placing 31st from among more than 600 candidates running for position in the 128-member body. He is the first person of Jewish origin to be elected to such a high-ranking position.[12]

2008 marriage and conversion to Islam

Davis met Miyassar Abu Ali, a Palestinian, in Ramallah in 2006. They signed their Certificate of Marriage ('Aqd al-Zawaj) there in 2008, after Davis converted to Islam at their marriage.[13][14]

Selected bibliography

See also

References

  1. 1 2 ZMag Bio: Uri Davis, accessed June 12, 2006
  2. 1 2 BBC News (16 August 2009). "Israeli wins Fatah top body seat". BBC. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
  3. 1 2 Beaumont, Peter (2009-08-23). "Why Israeli Jew Uri Davis joined Fatah to save Palestine: The first Jewish member of the Revolutionary Council of Fatah talks about a unique political journey". London: Guardian (UK).
  4. ↑ Associated Press (August 15, 2009). "Fatah elects first Israeli Jew to governing body". Google News. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  5. ↑ Davis, Uri (March–May 2004). "Apartheid Israel: a critical reading of the Geneva Accords". Peace News (2454). Uri Davis, though registered as a 'Jew' on his Israeli ID card, is an atheist, and hence reluctant to define himself as a 'Jew' (except in the tribal sense of the term). He suggests he is referred to as 'an anti-Zionist Palestinian Hebrew, born in Jerusalem in 1943, and a dual citizen of the State of Israel and the UK'.
  6. ↑ Palestine: Information with Provenance (PIWP database). Uri Davis biography. Retrieved: 22 August 2009.
  7. ↑ Uri Davis Collection. Retrieved: 22 August 2009.
  8. ↑ Peter Beaumont. "Why Israeli Jew Uri Davis joined Fatah to save Palestine". the Guardian.
  9. 1 2 3 Uri Davis bio on OneDemocraticState.org
  10. ↑ Davis's interview to Irish Times on 2 December 2002. Retrieved: 22 August 2009.
  11. ↑ Uri Davis Collection, Archives Hub, accessed June 12, 2006
  12. ↑ "Jerusalem-born Jew Elected to Fatah Revolutionary Council". Haaretz.com.
  13. ↑ "Uri Davis - Against Israeli Apartheid - for Freedom and Justice in Palestine ...". uridavis-official-website.info.
  14. ↑ "חדשות - פוליטי/מדיני nrg - ...ישראלי שהתאסלם בין מארגני". nrg.co.il.
Articles, selected
Interview
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