Elias Daoud Khoury ( ar, الياس داؤد خوري, he, אליאס ח'ורי) is an

Arab-Israeli The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...

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

-based lawyer. He specializes in

real property law Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land) and personal property. Property refers to legally protected claims to resources, such as land and personal property, including intellectual prop ...

. Elias made appeals several times to the

Supreme Court of Israel ar, المحكمة العليا , image = Emblem of Israel dark blue full.svg , imagesize = 100px , caption = Emblem of Israel , motto = , established = , location = Givat Ram, Jerusalem , coordina ...

, and has had

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 ...

politicians among his clients in Israeli courts. Elias gained fame in the 1970s when he led a legal battle against the Israeli settlers of Sebastia and

Elon Moreh Elon Moreh ( he, אֵלוֹן מוֹרֶה) is an Orthodox Jewish Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located northeast of the Palestinian city of Nablus, on the slopes of the Mount Kabir ridge, it falls under the jurisdiction of Shomron Regi ...

Early life and career

Elias Khoury was born in the

Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Gali ...

. His father lost the family land to Israel in the 1948 war, took citizenship in Israel, and believed he could work patiently through Israeli law to get his land back. Elias studied law at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

and lived in the

Beit Hanina Beit Hanina ( ar, بيت حنينا , he, בית חנינא) is an Arab Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem. It is on the road to Ramallah, eight kilometers north of central Jerusalem, at an elevation of 780 meters above sea level. Bei ...

and Shuafat neighborhoods of Jerusalem. Khoury has a practice in Jerusalem, formerly in its Eastern part and now in the West, specializing in real property law. He has represented clients at all Israeli court levels, including the Supreme Court of Israel, as well as in planning commissions.

Terror victims in the family and activism

Both Khoury's father and son were killed in

Palestinian terror Palestinian political violence refers to acts of violence perpetrated for political ends in relation to the State of Palestine or in connection with Palestinian nationalism. Common political objectives include self-determination in and sovereig ...

attacks. Khoury's father, Daoud Khoury, was killed when a booby-trapped refrigerator exploded in

Zion Square Zion Square ( he, כיכר ציון, ''Kikar Tziyon'') is a public square in Jerusalem, located at the intersection of Jaffa Road, Ben Yehuda Street, Herbert Samuel Street, and Yoel Moshe Salomon Street. The square is one of the vertices of ...

. Elias' son, George Khoury, was killed by gunfire on 19 March 2004, while jogging in the neighborhood of

French Hill French Hill ( he, הגבעה הצרפתית, ''HaGiv'a HaTzarfatit'', ar, التلة الفرنسية, ''at-tel al-faransiya''), also Giv'at Shapira ( he, גִּבְעַת שַׁפִּירָא) is an Israeli settlement in northern East Jerusa ...

in Jerusalem. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the military branch of the

Fatah Fatah ( ar, فتح '), formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist social democratic political party and the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and s ...

movement, claimed responsibility. After it became clear that the victim was an

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

it apologized, and offered to declare him a martyr for the Palestinian cause. "This is a barbaric act that will not change my world view, which includes deep faith in Palestinian rights," said Khoury. In the framework of his public activities, he has expressed concerns about the impacts of the lack of Arab participation in the urban politics of Jerusalem, while expressing an understanding of the rationale. In 2008, he expressed concerns with a planned real estate deal between his own

Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, el, Πατριαρχεῖον Ἱεροσολύμων, ''Patriarcheîon Hierosolýmōn;'' he, הפטריארכיה היוונית-אורתודוקסית של ירושלים; ar, كنيسة الرو� ...

and the State of Israel. On 6 March 2010, ''The New York Times'' reported that Khoury had paid to have

Amos Oz Amos Oz ( he, עמוס עוז; born Amos Klausner; 4 May 1939 – 28 December 2018) was an Israeli writer, novelist, journalist, and intellectual. He was also a professor of Hebrew literature at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. From 1967 onw ...

's ''

A Tale of Love and Darkness ''A Tale of Love and Darkness'' ( he, סיפור על אהבה וחושך ''Sipur al ahava ve choshech'') is a memoir by the Israeli author Amos Oz, first published in Hebrew in 2002. The book has been translated into 28 languages and over a m ...

'' translated into Arabic and distributed in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

and other Arab capitals. Of his decision to pay for the translation and publication of the book, Khoury said: "This book tells the history of the rebirth of the Jewish people. We can learn from it how a people like the Jewish people emerged from the tragedy of the Holocaust and were able to reorganize themselves and build their country and become an independent people. If we can't learn from that, we will not be able to do anything for our independence."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khoury, Elias Advocates Arab citizens of Israel Israeli Arab Christians Israeli lawyers Living people Real property lawyers Year of birth missing (living people) Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Law alumni People from Northern District (Israel)