Michel Warschawski par Claude Truong-Ngoc juillet 2014

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