This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Omar.barghouti2 (talk | contribs) at 09:07, 27 August 2010. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 09:07, 27 August 2010 by Omar.barghouti2 (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources. Find sources: "Omar Barghouti" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Omar Barghouti (born 1964) is a founding committee member of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and of the Palestinian civil society Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign. He was born in Qatar to Palestinian refugee parents, grew up in Egypt, lived in New York for eleven years, where he obtained a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University and worked for a research company, and later returned to Palestine.
Education
Barghouti holds a Masters degree in electrical engineering from Columbia University. He has recently completed a masters degree in philosophy at Tel Aviv University. His academic publications include essays in "Controversies and Subjectivity" (John Benjamins, 2005) and "The New Intifada: Resisting Israel's Apartheid" (Verso Books, 2001).
Career
Omar Barghouti is an independent Palestinian political and cultural analyst whose opinion columns have appeared in several publications. He is also a human rights activist involved in civil struggle to end oppression and conflict in Palestine. Barghouti is a founding member of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, PACBI.
Barghouti has consistently spoken of Israel as an apartheid state, stating: "From now on, it will be acceptable to compare Israel's apartheid system to its South African predecessor. As a consequence, proposing practical measures to punish Israeli institutions for their role in the racist and colonial policies of their state will no longer be considered beyond the pale." Also: "Characterising Israel's legalised system of discrimination as apartheid – as was done by Tutu, Jimmy Carter and even a former Israeli attorney general – does not equate Israel with South Africa. No two oppressive regimes are identical. Rather, it asserts that Israel's bestowal of rights and privileges according to ethnic and religious criteria fits the UN-adopted definition of apartheid." Barghouti advocates what he holds to be an ethical vision for a unitary, secular democratic state in present-day Gaza, Israel, and the West Bank.
Publications
- Boycott, Désinvestissement, Sanctions, La Fabrique, 2010.
References
- Omar Barghouti (12 August 2010). "Besieging Israel's siege". The Guardian. London.
External links
- PACBI
- Boycott of Haifa University and Bar-Ilan Universities
- The PIWP database has a profile and a listing of most of Barghouti's articles.
- A Debate on Divestment with Omar Barghouti and Rabbi Arthur Waskow - video by Democracy Now!