Dror Etkes () is an Israeli left-wing activist who monitors

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), downward movement of a structure's foundation *Settlement (finance), where securities are delivered against payment of money *Settlement (litigatio ...

policies and activities. He worked at

Peace Now Peace Now ( ''Shalom Achshav'', ) is an Israeli liberal advocacy organization with the aim of promoting a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Early activism In an official document from 1982 Peace Now advocated for an und ...

and

Yesh Din Yesh Din (; transcribed into ), full name Yesh Din: Volunteers for Human Rights, is an Israeli organization working in Israel and in the West Bank. The organization was founded in 2005 by a group of women who previously worked with the organizat ...

, and founded

Kerem Navot Kerem Navot (, "Naboth's Vineyard") is a small Israeli NGO that monitors settlement construction in the West Bank. It was established in 2012 by Dror Etkes, who previously did similar work at Peace Now. The group's primary activity is to publish re ...

in 2012.

Life and career

Etkes was born into a religious household in Jerusalem. He grew up in the

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the portion of Jerusalem that was Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, held by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Captured and occupied in 1967, th ...

neighborhood of

Givat HaMivtar Givat HaMivtar () is an Israeli settlement and a neighborhood in East Jerusalem established in 1970 between Ramat Eshkol and French Hill. It is located on a hill where an important battle took place in the Six Day War. Archaeological excavatio ...

, where his parents moved shortly after the

Six Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states, primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June 1967. Military hostilities broke ...

: “I grew up in East Jerusalem, 1,000 feet from Palestinian homes. My childhood is a perfect example of the inability to look reality in the eye. One thousand feet from what we called ‘Arab homes.’ There was nothing in my childhood, including my parents or education, that pushed me to ask who or what existed there before.”Friedman, Matti
"Houses, fences and fruit trees: A decade of watching settlements grow."
''

The Times of Israel ''The Times of Israel'' (ToI) is an Israeli multi-language online newspaper that was launched in 2012 and has since become the largest English-language Jewish and Israeli news source by audience size. It was co-founded by Israeli journalist Dav ...

''. 20 May 2013.Konrad, Edo
"The man on the heels of Israel’s settlement enterprise"
''

+972 Magazine ''+972 Magazine'' is an Israeli left wing news and opinion online magazine, established in August 2010 by a collective of four Israeli writers in Tel Aviv. Noam Sheizaf, a co-founder and the ''+972'' chief executive officer, said they wanted to ...

''. June 1, 2017. He describes his parents as liberals. His father, Immanuel Etkes, is a history professor at

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. It is the second-ol ...

. He attended a conservative religious school and was a member of the

Bnei Akiva Bnei Akiva (, , "Children of Akiva") is the largest religious Zionist youth movement in the world, with over 125,000 members in 42 countries. It was first established in Mandatory Palestine in 1929, advocating the values of Torah and labor. Bne ...

youth movement until the age of 15.Riordon, Michael. "Our Way to Fight: Israeli and Palestinian Activists for Peace." Chicago Review Press. 2011. Pages 69-70 Etkes served in the Israeli army during the

First Intifada The First Intifada (), also known as the First Palestinian Intifada, was a sustained series of Nonviolent resistance, non-violent protests, acts of civil disobedience, Riot, riots, and Terrorism, terrorist attacks carried out by Palestinians ...

, completing his service in 1989.Yasur, Ori
"Outside the fold"
''

Ynet Ynet (stylized in all lowercase) is an Israeli news and general-content website, and the online outlet for the '' Yedioth Ahronoth'' newspaper. History Ynet launched on June 6, 2000, in Hebrew, following other Hebrew outlet's website launches ...

''. March 27, 2007. After leaving the IDF he moved away from religious life and spent several years traveling in Europe, Central America, and the United States. His travels in Central America led him to see American foreign policy from a critical perspective. He returned to Israel in 1996 and began traveling through the West Bank, an easy and safe activity in the days before the

Second Intifada The Second Intifada (; ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was a major uprising by Palestinians against Israel and its Israeli-occupied territories, occupation from 2000. Starting as a civilian uprising in Jerusalem and October 2000 prot ...

. Etkes became involved with

, which asked him to lead its Settlement Watch project in 2002. In 2007 he moved on to

, where he led the Settlement Policy Judicial Advocacy Project. Gorenberg, Gershom
"A New Legal Challenge to Israeli Settlements"
''

The American Prospect ''The American Prospect'' is a daily online and bimonthly print American political and public policy magazine dedicated to American modern liberalism and Progressivism in the United States, progressivism. Based in Washington, D.C., ''The America ...

''. June 19, 2008. In 2010 he left Yesh Din to found

, which also tracks settlement activities.

Personal life

Etkes lives on a

moshav A moshav (, plural ', "settlement, village") is a type of Israeli village or town or Jewish settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 and 1 ...

with his partner and two daughters.

References

{{reflist Year of birth missing (living people) Peace Now people Activists from Jerusalem Living people