Rami Elhanan (; born c. 1950) is an Israeli graphic designer and peace activist.

Early life

Elhanan was born in

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

and described himself as being a "sixth-generation Jerusalemite"; his father was a

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

survivor who made

aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally descri ...

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 ...

in 1946. As a young man, he served in the

Israeli Defence Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branc ...

as a tank mechanic, and was a soldier during the

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 ...

in 1973.

Advocacy

On 4th September 1997, Elhanan's daughter Smadar was killed alongside four others following a suicide bomb attack on Ben Yehuda Street, Jerusalem; she had been shopping for schoolbooks at the time. In 1999, Elhanan met Yitzchak Frankenthal, whose own son had been kidnapped and murdered by

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...

militants in 1994; Frankenthal had subsequently established the Parents' Circle-Families Forum for family members of children from both sides killed in the

Israeli-Palestinian conflict Israelis ( he, יִשְׂרָאֵלִים‎, translit=Yīśrāʾēlīm; ar, الإسرائيليين, translit=al-ʾIsrāʾīliyyin) are the citizens and nationals of the State of Israel. The country's populace is composed primarily of Je ...

, who advocated for peace and nonviolence in the region. Following Smadar's death, Elhanan went on to become an active member of the organisation. Elhanan also became a member of

Combatants for Peace Combatants for Peace ( he, לוחמים לשלום; ar, مقاتلون من أجل آلسلام) is an Israeli-Palestinian NGO and an egalitarian, bi-national, grassroots movement committed to non-violent action against the “Israeli occupatio ...

, an organisation made up of former Israeli and Palestinian fighters now advocating for peace. Through his membership, he first met Bassam Aramin, a Palestinian man who had served seven years in prison for throwing a grenade at Israeli soldiers. Two years after meeting, in 2007, Aramin's daughter died after being shot with a plastic bullet by an Israeli soldier, and Aramin subsequently became a member of the Parents' Circle. Since Smadar's death, Elhanan has become a proponent for ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Elhanan and Aramin have travelled around the world advocating for a peaceful end to the Israel-Palestine conflict, including the need for concessions on both sides. Both went on to serve as co-directors of the Parents' Circle-Families Forum.

Personal life

Elhanan is married to philologist

Nurit Peled Nurit Peled-Elhanan ( he, נורית פלד-אלחנן; born 17 May 1949 in Jerusalem) is an Israeli philologist, professor of language and education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, translator, and activist. She is a 2001 co-laureate of th ...

, with whom he has three sons and one daughter, Smadar (1983-1997). Elhanan's father-in-law was soldier and politician

Matti Peled Mattityahu "Matti" Peled ( he, מתתיהו "מתי" פלד, born Mattityahu Ifland on 20 July 1923, died 10 March 1995) was a well-known Israeli public figure who was at various periods of his life a professional military man who reached the ran ...

, while his son Elik was a co-founder of Combatants for Peace.

Recognition

In 2012, a documentary about Elhanan and Aramin, entitled ''Within the Eye of the Storm'', was released. It was directed by Shelley Hermon. Elhanan and Aramin's friendship formed the basis of the novel ''

Apeirogon In geometry, an apeirogon () or infinite polygon is a generalized polygon with a countably infinite number of sides. Apeirogons are the two-dimensional case of infinite polytopes. In some literature, the term "apeirogon" may refer only to ...

'' (2020) by Irish writer

Colum McCann Colum McCann is an Irish writer of literary fiction. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, and now lives in New York. He is a Thomas Hunter Writer in Residence at Hunter College, New York. McCann's work has been published in over 40 languages, and h ...

. The book was longlisted for the

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...

and shortlisted for the

Prix Médicis The Prix Médicis is a French literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by and . It is awarded to an author whose "fame does not yet match his talent." The award goes to a work of fiction in the French language. In 19 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elhanan, Rami Israeli graphic designers Activists from Jerusalem Jewish Israeli anti-racism activists Israeli anti-war activists Israeli–Palestinian peace process 1950 births Living people