Uriel "Uri" Davis ( he, אוריאל "אורי" דייוויס , born 8 June 1943 in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

) is an academic and civil rights activist. Davis has served as Vice-Chairman of the Israeli League for Human and Civil Rights and as lecturer in

Peace Studies Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

at the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a Public university, public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be creat ...

. Davis describes himself as "a

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

national of

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish origin, anti-Zionist, registered as

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

and a citizen of an

apartheid state The crime of apartheid is defined by the 2002 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as inhumane acts of a character similar to other crimes against humanity "committed in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppre ...

- the State of Israel." A member of Fatah since 1984, he was elected to the Revolutionary Council for the

party in 2009.

Background and education

Uri Davis was born in

and grew up in and was educated in

Kfar Shmaryahu Kfar Shmaryahu ( he, כְּפַר שְׁמַרְיָהוּ, ar, كفار شمرياهو) is a local council in Israel, within the Tel Aviv District. History Kfar Shmaryahu was founded in May 1937, during the Fifth Aliyah. The founding members ...

. His parents were Jewish immigrants who had come to

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

during the

Fifth Aliyah The Fifth Aliyah ( he, העלייה החמישית, ''HaAliyah HaHamishit'') refers to the fifth wave of the Jewish immigration to Palestine from Europe and Asia between the years 1929 and 1939, with the arrival of 225,000 to 300,000 Jews. The F ...

. His mother Blanka was from

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and his father Joseph was from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Davis describes himself as a Palestinian Hebrew. During the 1961-1963 period he worked on

Kibbutz Erez Erez ( he, אֶרֶז, ) is a kibbutz in southwestern Israel. Located just north of the Gaza Strip, it is the namesake of the nearby Erez Crossing. The kibbutz was founded in 1949 and moved to its current location in 1950, where it was built ...

as an alternative form of national service to military conscription. 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 The New School for Social Research (NSSR) is a graduate-level educational institution that is one of the divisions of The New School in New York City, United States. The university was founded in 1919 as a home for progressive era thinkers. NSS ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

an MA in Anthropology (1973) and a PhD in Anthropology (1976).

Career

Davis was appointed to a position in the

's Department of Peace Studies by Professor

Adam Curle Charles Thomas William Curle (4 July 1916 – 28 September 2006), better known as Adam Curle, was a British academic, known for his work in social psychology, pedagogy, development studies and peace studies. After holding posts at the University ...

soon after the Department's founding in 1973. He is an honorary research fellow at the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...

's Institute for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (IMEIS) and at the

University of Exeter , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

's Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies (IAIS). He currently divides his residence between the predominantly Arab city of

Sakhnin Sakhnin ( ar, سخنين; he, סַחְ'נִין or ''Sikhnin'') is an Arab city in Israel's Northern District. It is located in the Lower Galilee, about east of Acre. Sakhnin was declared a city in 1995. In its population was , mostly Musl ...

in northern Israel and the mixed city of

Ramle Ramla or Ramle ( he, רַמְלָה, ''Ramlā''; ar, الرملة, ''ar-Ramleh'') is a city in the Central District of Israel. Today, Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with both a significant Jewish and Arab populations. The city was f ...

in central Israel.ZMag Bio: Uri Davis
, accessed June 12, 2006 In 2009, Uri Davis was appointed to teach a course at the Palestinian Al-Quds university on critical Israeli studies.

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),Uri Davis bio on OneDemocraticState.org
/ref> and ''Apartheid Israel: Possibilities for the Struggle Within'' (2003). In an interview to

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

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."

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, 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.''.Uri Davis Collection

Archives Hub The Archives Hub is a Jisc service, and is freely available to all. It provides a cross-search of descriptions of archives held across the United Kingdom, in over 320 institutions, including universities, colleges, specialist repositories, chari ...

, accessed June 12, 2006 A member of Academia for Equality, an organization working to promote democratization, equality and access to higher education for all communities living in Israel.

Revolutionary Council election

Until 2009 Davis was Observer Member of the

Palestine National Council The Palestinian National Council (PNC) ( ar, المجلس الوطني الفلسطيني, "'Almajlis Alwataniu Alfilastiniu"') is the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and elects the PLO Executive Committee, which ...

. 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. He was re-elected in 2016, taking the 29th place.

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.

Selected bibliography

* ''Dissent & Ideology in Israel: Resistance to the Draft 1948-1973'' (as co-editor, with Martin Blatt and Paul Kleinbaum) (1975) * ''Documents from Israel, 1967-73: Readings for a Critique of Zionism'' (as co-editor, with Norton Mezvinsky) (1975) * ''Israel & the Palestinians'' (as co-editor, with Andrew Mack and Nira Yuval-Davis) (1975) * ''Israel: Utopia Incorporated - A Study of Class, State and Corporate Kin Control'' (1977) *

Deir al-Asad Deir al-Asad ( ar, دير الأسد; he, דֵיר אֶל-אַסַד) is an Arab town in the Galilee region of Israel, near Karmiel.

: The Destiny of an Arab Village in Galilee, in ''Palestinian Arabs in Israel: Two Case Studies'', Ithaca Press, London 1977, (as co-editor, with Hasan Amun, and Nasr Dakhlallah San´Allah) * ''Towards a Socialist Republic of Palestine'' (as co-editor, with Fouzi el-Asmar and Naïm Khader) (1978) * ''Debate on Palestine'' (as co-editor, with Fouzi el-Asmar and Naïm Khader) (1981) * ''Israel: An Apartheid State'' (1987) * ''The Jewish National Fund'' (with Walter Lehn) (1988) * ''The State of Palestine (Jerusalem Study Series)'' (1991) * ''Crossing the Border: an autobiography of an Anti-Zionist Palestinian Jew'' (1995) * ''Citizenship and the State: A Comparative Study of Citizenship Legislation in Israel, Jordan, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon'' (London, 1997) * ''Citizenship and the State in the Middle East: Approaches and Applications'' (as co-editor) (Syracuse, New York, 2000) * ''Apartheid Israel: Possibilities for the Struggle Within'' (2004)

References

External links

Uri Davis' website

Movement Against Israeli Apartheid in Palestine official website
;Articles, selected
An Exchange on Israel and the Palestinians
10 February 1972,

New York Review of Books New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

, * March 1990, Return
Citizenship legislation in the Syrian Arab Republic
in

Arab Studies Quarterly ''Arab Studies Quarterly'' (''ASQ'') is an English-language academic journal devoted to Arabist studies. It was established in 1979 by the late Professors Edward Said and Ibrahim Abu-Lughod. They envisioned the journal to be a platform for academic ...

(ASQ), Winter, 1996
Just an ordinary Sakhnin day
October 2001 (about

)
Jews! Stand Up and Be Counted!
, 11 April 2002,

issue 2446 March–June 2002, Peace News, * issue 93, 4 June 2002 Information Brief,

issue 655 11 September 2003, Al-Ahram Weekly,
Apartheid Israel: A Critical Reading of the Draft Permanent Agreement, known as the 'Geneva Accords'
6 December 2003

June 2004 (about

Ajjur Ajjur ( ar, عجّور) was a Palestinian Arab village of over 3,700 inhabitants in 1945, located northwest of Hebron. It became depopulated in 1948 after several military assaults by Israeli military forces. Agur, Tzafririm, Givat Yeshayahu, ...

) * ttp://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/articles/article0013567.txt Regarding the Gush Shalom statement on the Jewish National Fund, 28 January 2005
Rejoinder to David Newman and Benjamin Pogrund
30 May 2005 ;Interview *, by Uri Davis and Jon Elmer; FromOccupiedPalestine.org; September 19, 2004 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Uri 1943 births Academics of the University of Bradford Academics of the University of Exeter Converts to Islam from Judaism Fatah members Israeli people of Czech-Jewish descent Israeli people of British-Jewish descent Israeli Muslims Jewish anti-Zionism in the United Kingdom Living people Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Palestinian people of European descent Palestinian people of Jewish descent Palestinian Muslims Peace and conflict scholars People from Jerusalem The New School alumni Anti-Zionism in Israel