
Michel Warschawski (Mikado) (; born 25 July 1949) is an Israeli
anti-Zionist
Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the Palestine (region) ...
activist. He led the Marxist
Revolutionary Communist League (previously
Matzpen-Jerusalem) until its demise in the 1990s, and founded the
Alternative Information Center, a joint Palestinian-Israeli
non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
, in 1984.
Biography

Michel Warschawski was born 1949 in
Strasbourg
Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
, France, where his father was the Rabbi. At the age of 16 Warschawski moved to Jerusalem, in order to study the Talmud. He is a graduate of
Mercaz HaRav. He later studied philosophy at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, 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. ...
. Despite having long since stopped being religious, fellow activists on occasion turned to him to elucidate subtle points of Judaism.
In 1982, Warschawski was one of the co-founders of
Yesh Gvul, a term that plays on three meanings: (1) "there is a border": "there is a limit": and "enough's enough". In 1984, Warschawski established the Alternative Information Center (AIC), an organization uniting Israeli and Palestinian anti-Zionist activists.
In 1987, Warschawski was arrested for "providing services for illegal (Palestinian) organizations" and sentenced in 1989 to twenty months in prison, with a 10-month suspended sentence, for typesetting a booklet that the judges ruled had come from members of the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP; ) is a secular Palestinian Marxist–Leninist organization founded in 1967 by George Habash. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation ...
, which described torture and interrogation techniques allegedly employed by Israel's security apparatus, with advice on how to withstand them. The court determined that Warschawski was unaware of the booklet's origins, but guilty of closing his eyes to the evidence.
Warschawski is a writer and journalist, whose articles appear regularly in ''
International Viewpoint'', ''
Le Monde diplomatique'',
ZNet
ZNetwork, formerly known as Z Communications, is a left-wing activist-oriented media group founded in 1986 by Michael Albert and Lydia Sargent.Max Elbaum''Revolution in the Air: Sixties Radicals Turn to Lenin, Mao and Che'' London, England, UK; ...
, ''
Monthly Review
The ''Monthly Review'' is an independent socialist magazine published monthly in New York City. Established in 1949, the publication is the longest continuously published socialist magazine in the United States.
History Establishment
Following ...
'', ''Siné Hebdo'' and other publications. He has also been interviewed for
the Real News Network
The Real News Network (TRNN) is a news organization based in Baltimore, Maryland, that covers both national and international news. It includes both for-profit arm and non-profit organizations.
History
TRNN was founded by documentary producer ...
. In the
2006 elections to the
Knesset
The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel.
The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...
, he was a candidate on the list of an Arab Israeli party ballot (the
National Democratic Assembly). He was a candidate for the
Joint List
The Joint List (, ''al-Qa'imah al-Mushtarakah'', , ''HaReshima HaMeshutefet'') was a political alliance of four of the Arab-Israeli, Arab-majority political parties in Israel: Hadash, Balad (political party), Balad, the United Arab List and Ta' ...
in the
2015 election.
Warschawski is married to
human rights
Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
attorney
Lea Tsemel, and is the father of two sons and a daughter. His 1987 trial for supporting a terrorist organization is included in the documentary film
''Advocate'' (2019), about the legal career of his wife, Lea.
External links
1995 Michel Warschawski interview on YouTube
References
Bibliography
* ''Toward an Open Tomb: The Crisis of Israeli Society'' (New York, 2004)
* ''On the Border'' (London, 2005)
* ''The 33 Day War: Israel's War on Hezbollah in Lebanon and Its Consequences'' (with
Gilbert Achcar) (London, 2007)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warschawski, Michel
1949 births
Living people
Jewish Israeli anti-Zionists
Jewish Israeli activists for Palestinian solidarity
French emigrants to Israel
20th-century French Jews
Israeli activists
Israeli communists
Israeli journalists
Israeli non-fiction writers
Marxist journalists
Marxist writers
Writers from Strasbourg
Writers on Zionism
Writers on the Middle East
Balad (political party) politicians