Ilan Halevi ar, إيلان هاليفي; he, אִילָן הַלֵּוִי; born Georges Alain Albert in France; 12 October 1943 – 10 July 2013) was a French-Israeli

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

pro-Palestinian Palestinian nationalism is the national movement of the Palestinian people that espouses self-determination and sovereignty over the region of Palestine.de Waart, 1994p. 223 Referencing Article 9 of ''The Palestinian National Charter of 1 ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, and one of the very few high-ranking Jewish members of the

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establishing Arab unity and st ...

(PLO). He was a member of the Palestinian delegation in the 1991–93 negotiations in Madrid and Washington, and was Assistant Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Palestinian Government."Ilan Halevi"
at Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung. Writing in both French and English, he was also a

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while othe ...

and the author of non-fiction books, his publications including ''The Crossing'' (1964), ''Face à la guerre'' (2003), and ''Allers-retours'' (2005).

Biography

300px, George Papandreou, Nabeel Shaath, Halevi and Moustafa Ajouz">Nabeel_Shaath.html" ;"title="George Papandreou, Nabeel Shaath">George Papandreou, Nabeel Shaath, Halevi and Moustafa Ajouz

Background

He was born to a Jewish family in Lyon, France, in 1943, "under a false name ... in a post-office that was a French Resistance, Resistance hide-out", as his older brother Marc Albert has confirmed.Margaret Busby
"Ilan Halevi: Jewish author, journalist and politician who rose to prominence in the PLO" (obituary)
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'', 25 July 2013. After the death of their father Henri Levin (who had been born in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

to Russian-Jewish parents), his mother Blanche married Emile Albert and he adopted her four children. (Some sources mistakenly state that his father was a

Yemeni Jew Yemenite Jews or Yemeni Jews or Teimanim (from ''Yehudei Teman''; ar, اليهود اليمنيون) are those Jews who live, or once lived, in Yemen, and their descendants maintaining their customs. Between June 1949 and September 1950, the ...

whose family had settled in

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

at the beginning of the 20th century;Anne Brunswic
''Welcome To Palestine: Chronicles of a Season In Ramallah''
Translated by Kenneth Casler, 2008, p. 159.

Actes Sud Actes Sud is a French publishing house based in Arles. It was founded in 1978 by author Hubert Nyssen. By 2013, the company, then headed by Nyssen's daughter, Françoise Nyssen, had an annual turnover of 60 million euros and 60 staff members. ...

, 2004. according to Halevi's brother Marc, when Halevi went to

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 ...

"he obtained a passport with the testimony of a Yemenite residing there – the reason that this origin is sometimes given as his.")

Literary beginnings

In the early 1960s he had work published in the literary journals ''

Les Temps modernes ''Les Temps Modernes'' (''Modern Times'') is a French journal, founded by Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. It first issue was published in October 1945. It was named after the 1936 film by Charlie Chaplin. ''Le ...

'' and ''

Présence Africaine ''Présence Africaine'' is a pan-African quarterly cultural, political, and literary magazine, published in Paris, France, and founded by Alioune Diop in 1947. In 1949, ''Présence Africaine'' expanded to include a publishing house and a bookstore ...

''. His first novel, ''The Crossing'', published in 1964 was favourably reviewed, described by Lillian Smith in '' The Saturday Review'' as "a brilliant, mind-smacking account of a young man's journey from nowhere to hell....a fresh way of looking at the multileveled agony of the walled-in young."

Political life

Following visits to Africa, including to

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...

and

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

, in 1965, at the age of 22, Halevi moved to

. He is quoted as having said: "I came to Israel because in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

I discovered the importance of the Palestinian problem. I sat there in coffee houses, I heard people, I spoke with intellectuals and I understood that the Palestinian question preoccupies the people of the

Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

. It is really in the center of their obsessions. I decided I want to study this reality up close and from the inside…I wanted to study the Israeli reality." Halevi joined the Palestinian resistance movement and

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

in particular after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, and subsequently became a prominent member of the PLO. He was the PLO's representative in Europe and to the

Socialist International The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism Democratic socialism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing political philosophy that su ...

since 1983, former PLO vice-minister of

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...

, and participated in that capacity in the

Madrid Conference of 1991 The Madrid Conference of 1991 was a peace conference, held from 30 October to 1 November 1991 in Madrid, hosted by Spain and co-sponsored by the United States and the Soviet Union. It was an attempt by the international community to revive the ...

. He was also a member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council, elected in 2009, and served as an adviser to

Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...

. According to

Hanan Ashrawi Hanan Daoud Mikhael Ashrawi ( ar, حنان داوود مخايل عشراوي ; born 8 October 1946) is a Palestinian politician, legislator, activist, and scholar who served as a member of the Leadership Committee and as an official spokesperson ...

(in ''This Side of Peace''), in the early 1970s, Halevi was a member of Ma'avak (Struggle), a "small, radical

anti-Zionist Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the modern State of Israel, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the region of Palest ...

group". In the wake of the 1973

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Eg ...

, and subsequent shift of Palestinian activism into the

Occupied Territories Military occupation, also known as belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is the effective military control by a ruling power over a territory that is outside of that power's sovereign territory.Eyāl Benveniśtî. The international law ...

, he switched his activity to groups which included Israelis and Palestinians working together against the occupation, and helped secure permission for Bashir Barghouti, a Palestinian activist and member of the

Jordanian Communist Party The Jordanian Communist Party (JCP; ar, الحزب الشیوعی الاردنی, ''al-Hizb al-Shuyu'i al-Urduni'') is a communist party in Jordan, founded in 1948. Its current general secretary is Dr. Munir Hamarana. It publishes ''al-Jamahir' ...

's governing council, to return to the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. Halevi was a critic of

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a Nationalism, nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is ...

, and wrote several books on the subject. He was a founding member of the ''Revue des Études palestiniennes'' (''Palestinian Studies Review'') in 1981. Halevi lived in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

and the West Bank, and described himself as "100% Jewish and 100% Arab." In a 2011 interview he said: "My father fought against the Nazi occupation of France as a Communist. I follow in the tradition of my parents in the fight for freedom and justice, even for oppressed Jews. Given a second chance, I would live my life exactly the same way. In my 45 years as a member of the PLO, I have always been accepted as a Jew." He was awarded the Medal of Distinction for his role in support of the Palestinian struggle by President Mahmoud Abbas.

Death and legacy

Halevi died in Clichy on 10 July 2013 at the age of 69. His funeral took place in Paris at the crematorium of

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figures ...

. In April 2019 it was announced that through an initiative of President Abbas a new street in the city of

Al-Bireh Al-Bireh, al-Birah, or el-Bira ( ar, البيرة; also known historically as Castrum Mahomeria, Magna Mahomeria, Mahomeria Major, Birra, or Beirothah) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank, north of Jerusalem. It is the capital of the ...

would be named in honour of Ilan Halevi, a decision described by Hanan Ashrawi as "a tribute to a person of courage and principle".

Bibliography

* Alain Albert, ''The Crossing'' (novel), New York:

George Braziller, Inc. George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

, 1964; London:

Heinemann Heinemann may refer to: * Heinemann (surname) * Heinemann (publisher), a publishing company * Heinemann Park, a.k.a. Pelican Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States See also * Heineman Heineman is a surname. Notable people with the surnam ...

, 1965. French translation by Georges Levin as ''La traversée'', Paris:

Éditions du Seuil Éditions du Seuil (), also known as ''Le Seuil'', is a French publishing house established in 1935 by Catholic intellectual Jean Plaquevent (1901–1965), and currently owned by La Martinière Groupe. It owes its name to this goal "The ''seuil'' ...

, 1965. * ''Sous Israël, la Palestine'', Paris: Le Sycomore, 1978; Minerve, 1987. * ''Israël, de la terreur au massacre d'Etat'', Paris: Papyrus, 1984. * ''Question juive: la tribu, la loi, l'espace'', Paris:

Editions de Minuit Edition may refer to: * Edition (book), a bibliographical term for a substantially similar set of copies * Edition (printmaking), a publishing term for a set print run * Edition (textual criticism), a particular version of a text * Edition Records ...

, 1981. Translated into English by A. M. Berrett as ''A History of the Jews: Ancient and Modern'', London:

Zed Books Zed Books is an independent non-fiction publishing company based in London, UK. It was founded in 1977 under the name Zed Press by Roger van Zwanenberg. Zed publishes books for an international audience of both general and academic readers, co ...

, 1987, . Published in German as ''Auf der Suche nach dem gelobten Land: Die Geschichte der Juden und der Palastma-Konflikt'', Hamburg: Junius, 1986. Reissued as ''Jewish Question: Tribe, Law and Space'', Syllepse Editions, 2016. * ''Face à la guerre. Lettre de Ramallah'', Paris: Sindbad/Actes Sud, 2003, . * ''Allers-retours'', Paris: Flammarion, 2005, . A semi-autobiographical novel critical of Israel and its policies toward the Palestinians. * ''Du souvenir, du mensonge et de l'oubli: Chroniques palestiniennes''. Paris: Actes Sud, 2016. .''Du souvenir, du mensonge et de l'oubli: Chroniques palestiniennes'' page
at Actes Sud.

References

External links

* Ilan Halevi
''Le droit du peuple palestinien à lutter contre l’occupation''
* Ilan Halevi
"Encore une fois à propos du sionisme et de l'antisémitisme"
2003. * Jean-Pierre Perrin
"Ilan Halevi, l'âme en paix"
''Libération'', 10 July 2013. * Ofer Aderet
"Ilan Halevi, Jewish member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, dies in Paris"
''Haaretz'', 10 July 2013. * AFPS
"Avec Ilan Halévi, nous venons de perdre un ami de toujours"
Association France Palestine Solidarité, 10 July 2013. * Pierre Haski
"Mort d’Ilan Halevi, intellectuel engagé, '100% juif et 100% arabe'"
Rue 89, 11 July 2013. *

Michel Warschawski Michel Warschawski (Mikado) ( he, מיכאל ורשבסקי (מיקאדו); born 25 July 1949) is an Israeli anti-Zionist activist. He led the Marxist Revolutionary Communist League (previously Matzpen-Jerusalem) until its demise in the 1990s, an ...

"Ilan Halevi (1943-2013)"
Alternative Information Center (AIC), 11 July 2013. * Ben Lynfield (Jerusalem)
"Fatah pays tribute to Ilan Halevi - an Israeli Jew who ‘defected’ to the PLO"
''The Independent'', 11 July 2013. * Margaret Busby

''The Independent'', 25 July 2013. * ttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10238250/Ilan-Halevy.html "Ilan Halevy" (obituary) '' The Telegraph'', 12 August 2013. * Nicole Lapierre
"Ilan Halévi, métèque générique"
Vagabondages Sociologiques (blog), ''

Mediapart ''Mediapart'' is an independent French investigative online newspaper created in 2008 by Edwy Plenel, former editor-in-chief of ''Le Monde''. ''Mediapart'' is published in French, English and Spanish. ''Mediapart's'' income is solely derive ...

'', 13 July 2013. * Farouk Mardam-Bey
"Ilan Halevi: Palestinian Jew and Citizen of the World, 1943–2013"
''Journal of Palestine Studies'', Vol. 43, No. 4 (Summer 2014), pp. 67–70. * Ella Habiba Shohat
"A Voyage to Toledo: Twenty-Five Years After the 'Jews of the Orient and Palestinians' Meeting"
''

Jadaliyya ''Jadaliyya'' ("dialectic") is an independent ezine founded in 2010 by the Arab Studies Institute (ASI) to cover the Arab World and the broader Middle East. It publishes articles in Arabic, French, English and Turkish, and is run primarily on a ...

'', 30 September 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Halevi, Ilan 1943 births 2013 deaths 20th-century French Jews French emigrants to Israel French political writers French socialists Jewish activists Jewish socialists Jews in the State of Palestine French male novelists Palestine Liberation Organization members 20th-century French novelists 20th-century French male writers Fatah members Jewish anti-Zionism in Israel Anti-Zionism in France Jewish Palestine Liberation Organization members 21st-century French novelists