Last updated on: 9/21/2015 | Author: ProCon.org

Michael Melchior Biography

Title:
Israeli Knesset Member
Position:
Pro to the question "Is a Two-State Solution (Israel and Palestine) an Acceptable Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?"
Reasoning:

“Between the Jordan and Mediterranean there are today 11 million people, of which 50 percent are Palestinian Arabs. The state will not exist for one day without being a democracy and therefore the choice is very clear: if there are not two states – there is no Jewish state.”

“Q&A with Meimad MK Rabbi Michael Melchior,” Haaretz.com (accessed on Sep. 7, 2007)
Theoretical Expertise Ranking:
    Experts
Individuals with PhDs or equivalent advanced degrees in fields relevant to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Also top-level government officials (such as foreign leaders, US presidents, Founding Fathers, Supreme Court Justices, members of legislative bodies, cabinet members, military leaders, etc.) with positions relevant to Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Involvement and Affiliations:
  • Chief Rabbi of Norway
  • Appointed Deputy Minister of Education, Culture and Sports, 2005
  • Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mar. 2001 – Oct. 2002
  • Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, responsible for Diaspora and social affairs, Aug. 1999 – Mar. 2001
  • International Director of the Elie Wiesel Foundation
  • Rabbi of a Jerusalem congregation, since 1986
  • Norwegian Nobel Institute’s Prize for Tolerance and Bridge-Building
  • Yeshivat Hakotel’s Award for Work in the Diaspora Rabbinate
Education:
  • Rabbinical Ordination, Yeshivat Hakotel, Jerusalem
Other:
  • None found