Steven Eli Friedman (born 31 March 1953) is a South African academic, newspaper columnist, intellectual, activist, former trade unionist and journalist. He holds a doctorate in Literature from Rhodes University (2007) and directs the Centre for the Study of Democracy, a joint project by
Rhodes University
Rhodes University is a public university, public research university located in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, Makhanda (Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, ...
and the
University of Johannesburg
The University of Johannesburg (UJ) is a public university located in Johannesburg, South Africa. The University of Johannesburg came into existence on 1 January 2005 as the result of a merger between the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), the Te ...
. His book ''Building Tomorrow Today: African Workers in Trade Unions 1970-1984'' has been described as a classic South African text. He has written opinion pieces for ''
Thought Leader
A thought leader has been described as an individual or firm recognized as an authority in a specific field and also as business jargon.
Meanings Go-to expert
From the perspective of a thought leader as the 'go-to expert', being a thought leader ...
'' and ''
The New Age
''The New Age'' was a British weekly magazine (1894–1938), inspired by Fabian socialism, and credited as a major influence on literature and the arts during its heyday from 1907 to 1922, when it was edited by Alfred Richard Orage. It published ...
'' and currently writes a weekly column for ''
Business Day
A business day means any day except any Saturday, any Sunday, or any day which is a legal holiday or any day on which banking institutions are authorized or required by law or other governmental action to close.
The definition of a business day ...
''.
He is also a strong supporter of rights for
Palestinians
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
and a proponent of a
one state solution
The one-state solution, sometimes also called a bi-national state, is a proposed approach to resolving the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, according to which one state must be established between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean. Proponen ...
in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
. He was appointed the National Head of the
Independent Electoral Commission
An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
's Information Analysis Department during preparations for South Africa's
1994 election.
He is the father of Daniel Friedman, a musical comedian known on stage as
Deep Fried Man.
Books
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*
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*
References
External links
Staff profile at the University of JohannesburgSteven Friedman SA History OnlineWho's Who SA: Steven Friedman
Academic staff of the University of Johannesburg
South African activists
South African trade unionists
South African Jews
Living people
Academic staff of Rhodes University
1953 births
South African journalists
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