Avigdor Feldman ( he, אביגדור פלדמן, born 7 July 1948), is a

civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...

and

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solici ...

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 ...

Early life and education

Feldman was born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

in 1948 to parents who were

Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Axis powers, its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no unive ...

. His brother,

Hanan Peled Hanan may refer to: * Hanan (given name) * Hanan (surname) * Hanan International Airport, Niue * a 2004 film directed by Makarand Deshpande See also * Hamam (disambiguation) * Haman (disambiguation) * Baal-hanan * Hannan (disambiguation) Ha ...

, is a screenwriter and playwright. In his youth, he studied at a religious school, but eventually turned his back on religion. He did not complete high school, but later completed an external matriculation certificate. He then studied law at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

, and after completing his studies, worked for the lawyer

Amnon Zichroni Amnon ( he, אַמְנוֹן ''’Amnōn'', "faithful") was, in the Hebrew Bible, the oldest son of King David and his second wife, Ahinoam of Jezreel. He was born in Hebron during his father's reign in Judah. He was the heir apparent to the thr ...

. He was certified as a lawyer in 1974. He then studied at American University and received a master's degree in civil rights in 1985. Feldman is the founder of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) as well as a founding member of

B'Tselem B'Tselem ( he, בצלם, , " in the image of od) is a Jerusalem-based non-profit organization whose stated goals are to document human rights violations in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, combat any denial of the existence of su ...

Career

He has appeared before the bench in many of the significant

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offic ...

s presented to the Israeli High Court of Justice (Bagatz) regarding the settlements. He has also represented

Mordechai Vanunu Mordechai Vanunu ( he, מרדכי ואנונו; born 14 October 1952), also known as John Crossman, is an Israeli former nuclear technician and peace activist who, citing his opposition to weapons of mass destruction, revealed details of Isra ...

and the family of Tom Hurndall. In another notable case he acted as the advocate in a joint petition to the Israeli High Court of Justice by Director Mohammed Bakri and Indymedia Israel over the censorship of Bakri's film "

Jenin, Jenin ''Jenin, Jenin'' is a film directed by Mohammed Bakri, a prominent Palestinian actor and Israeli citizen, in order to portray what Bakri calls "the Palestinian truth" about the " Battle of Jenin", a clash between the Israeli army and Palestini ...

Cases

is a former Israeli nuclear technical assistant who revealed details of Israel's nuclear weapons program to the

British press Twelve daily newspapers and eleven Sunday-only weekly newspapers are distributed nationally in the United Kingdom. Others circulate in Scotland only and still others serve smaller areas. National daily newspapers publish every day except Sunday ...

in 1986. He was charged with

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

and

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tang ...

. Feldman represented him at the trial where he was convicted and sentenced to 18 years in prison. Feldman subsequently represented him in several related cases, including his appeal of his conviction to the Israeli Supreme court (denied); an appeal to be released from solitary confinement (denied); a parole request after serving 2/3 of his term (denied); a request to relinquish his Israeli citizenship (denied); and numerous arrests and charges brought against him for violating the terms of his release from prison. In the Tom Hurndall case, a 23-year-old British volunteer for the

International Solidarity Movement The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) is a Palestinian-led movement focused on assisting the Palestinian cause in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. ISM is dedicated to the use of nonviolent protests and methods only. The organization ...

who was shot and killed by an Israel Defense Forces sniper, Feldman represented Hurndall's brother in an appeal to allow him to enter Israel.

Award

In 1991 Feldman received the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award.Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award. Avigdor Feldman.
An annual award given to an individual whose courageous activism is at the heart of the human rights movement and in the spirit of Robert F. Kennedy's vision and legacy.

Quotes

*"The fighting in Gaza was too reminiscent of

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. People there were tried for shooting at civilians, schools and UN facilities after that, so the concerns are justified."Experts: Concerns over Gaza op prosecutions justified
/ref> *"Every Israeli involved in the Gaza campaign is subject to prosecution anywhere in the world. There is no

immunity Immunity may refer to: Medicine * Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease * ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press Biology * Immune system Engineering * Radiofrequence immunity desc ...

in cases of war crimes."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feldman, Avigdor Israeli lawyers Israeli human rights activists Israeli Jews Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award laureates