Meron Benvenisti facts for kids
Meron Benvenisti (born April 21, 1934 – died September 20, 2020) was an important Israeli thinker and political expert. He served as the deputy mayor of Jerusalem from 1971 to 1978 under Teddy Kollek. During this time, he helped manage East Jerusalem and was the city's main planning officer. He believed in the idea of one state where both Israelis and Palestinians could live together equally.
Early Life and Education
Meron Benvenisti was born in Jerusalem in 1934. His father, David Benvenisti, was a Greek Jew from Thessaloniki and won the important Israel Prize. His mother, Leah, was from a Lithuanian Jewish family. He was the brother of Refael (Rafi) Benvenisti and the father of Eyal Benvenisti.
He went to the Leyada and then served in the military in a Nahal unit near the Israeli–Lebanese border. After his military service, he lived in Kibbutz Rosh Hanikra and worked as a youth leader.
In 1955, he returned to Jerusalem and studied economics and medieval history at the Hebrew University. He later wrote books and made maps about the Crusaders in the Holy Land. While he was a student, he led the Hebrew University student union. He later earned a special degree called a doctorate from Harvard University's Kennedy School. His studies focused on how to manage conflicts in places like Jerusalem and Belfast.
His Work and Career
In 1984, Meron Benvenisti started the West Bank Database Project. This project collected information about social, economic, and political changes in the West Bank.
From 1992 onwards, he spent his time teaching and writing. He was a visiting teacher at Ben-Gurion University and Johns Hopkins SAIS in Washington D.C. He did research and wrote about Jerusalem, the conflict in Northern Ireland, and the relationship between Israelis and Palestinians. He also wrote about the idea of two groups living together in one state.
He received grants for his research from important groups like the Rockefeller Foundation and the Ford Foundation. Between 1991 and 2009, he wrote a regular column for Haaretz, a well-known newspaper in Israel.
His Political Ideas
Meron Benvenisti often criticized Israel's actions towards Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He strongly supported the idea of a single state where both Israelis and Palestinians would live together as equals.
In 2004, he warned that plans to build a separation wall were actually creating "separate areas" for Palestinians. He believed this would trap millions of Palestinians and make the conflict worse, not better. He said that people who believed in "separation" would eventually realize it was a way to control and dominate others.
In 2012, he discussed the idea that Israel was an "apartheid state" (a state with strict separation and unequal rights). He thought this description was too simple, but he also said the situation inside Israel was very serious. He argued that Israel had become a "Herrenvolk democracy" (a democracy where one group has more power). He meant that Israel acted like a democracy for one group, but another group (the Arabs) did not have the same democratic rights. This created a situation of "extreme inequality." He also stated that the separation fence was indeed a form of separation that led to unequal treatment.
According to Benvenisti, the only way to solve these problems was to include Palestinians fully in the state, giving them equal rights.
Death
Meron Benvenisti passed away on September 20, 2020, at the age of 86. He died from kidney failure.
See also
In Spanish: Meron Benvenisti para niños
