Mordechai Zaken

Dr. Mordechai (Moti) Zaken

Mordechai Zaken also Moti Zaken (Hebrew: מוטי/מרדכי זקן‎‎; Arabic: مردخاي زاكين ‎‎), born 1958 in Jerusalem, is an expert on the Kurds and Middle Eastern minorities, both by academic training - he is historian of the Jews, the Kurds and the Assyrian Christians in Kurdistan, and by professional practice. He served as the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu advisor on Israeli Arabs and minorities during his first term (1997–1999), and has been serving as advisor in the Ministry of Public Security from 2001.

Education and Expertise

He earned his BA (Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies), (MA, Cum Laude), and PhD (2003), in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He was also given grants and studied in the United States in both Binghamton University and New York University (1987-1990). Among his influential teachers were Moshe Sharon,[1] under whom he studied Islamic history; Benjamin Z. Kedar, historian of medieval history, under whom he studied comparative history, and the late semitic linguist Gideon Goldenberg, with whom he published the Book of Ruth in Neo-Aramaic.[2] He published another Neo-Aramaic text in a book honoring Goldenberg's jubilee.[3][4]

New oral history sources on the Jews and the tribal Kurdish society

Because of the severe dearth of written and archival sources on Kurdistan, he initiated oral history fieldwork research, focusing on the Jews and the tribal Kurdish society. He conducted altogether hundreds of one-on-one oral history interviews with more than sixty Kurdish Jewish informants, thus saving their memories from being lost forever.[5] This study forms a new set of historical records[6][7] and was commended[8][9][10][11] His book on the Jews and the tribal Kurdish society has received wide attention in both academic and public circles and has been translated into several languages, notably in the Middle East, including Arabic, in Beiruth,[12] and Kurdish, in Kurdistan, in both Sorani and Kurmanji[13] as well as Persian and French.[14][15]

Prime Minister Advisor on Minority Affairs

Cooperating with minority leaders and confronting hate crimes

As the advisor on Israeli Arabs and minorities affairs to both the Israeli Prime Minister and the Ministry of Public Security, Mordechai Zaken maintained close contact with representatives of religious and ethnic minorities.[16][17][18][19][20] He has been the standing up against hate crimes[21] directed against minorities in Israel.[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]

The dispute over the Mosque in Nazareth

He was the coordinator of the third Ministerial Committee that resolved the dispute between Muslims and Christians in Nazareth, near the Basilica of the Annunciation. The public activity and daily presence of Muslim activists around the outdoor mosque, known as "Shihab al-Din," became an obstacle for the plan to built an open plaza for the expected visit of the Pope John Paul II in the year 2000.[36][37][38][39] He constructed the final draft for the cabinet resolution,[40] which was used by the State Attorney in the Supreme Court to repel the appeal against the government, in the years 2001-2003.[41][42]

Public Security Ministry

The Israeli "Government-Christians Forum"

Dr. Zaken initiated two official forums enchancing cooperation with representatives of the minorities, the Government - Christians Forum and the Government - Arab Society Forum.[43] in 2013 and 2015 respectively, within the Ministry of Public security. The Government-Christians Forum addresses the timely concerns of Christian leaders vis-à-vis the authorities.[44][45][46][47] The Israeli "Government-Christians Forum" was initiated in Jerusalem in 2013, by Dr. Mordechai Zaken, in his role as head of the Minorities Affairs Desk, at the Ministry of Public Security, to address and promote concerns of Christians leaders and representatives in Israel. The decision to establish this forum followed many years of informal and private discussions with activists and leaders in an attempt to address their concerns vis-à-vis government agencies and ministries. Two of the prominent leaders in the side of the Christians helping in establishing this forum have been Rev. Charles (Chuck) Kopp, the prominent leader of the Baptist Church in Jerusalem and Rev. David Pillegi, Rector of the Christ Church.[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][48][31][32] On 27 September 2016, the Forum was held at the 7th time since its inauguration. The aim was not only to improve the relations with the Airport Authorities but also to promote a new idea to appoint “trusted liaisons” to the airport, in order to help reduce any potential negative experiences for Christian visitors. The meeting was attended by representatives of government ministries and more than 40 representatives of Christian groups and of NGOs. Dr. Moti Zaken the head of the Minority Affairs at the Public Security ministry concluded: "the idea promoted by us to appoint "airport trustees" by Christian groups has been received by the Airport Authority, in order to facilitate entry and exit of Christian tourists to Israel, and this is the first time that something like this is possible. This kind of initiative should not be taken lightly, it is a historic step."[49]Report of the Christ Church in JerusalemReport of the Public Security Ministry in Jerusalem about the recent meeting of the Forum in 27 September 2016

The Institute of Students and Faculty on Israel (ISFI) in New York

National Director of ISFI

Moti Zaken served as the last National Director of ISFI, or "The Institute of Students and Faculty on Israel," in New York, an organization under the auspices of the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the Israeli Consulate in New York City (1989 -1991). is a flyer distributed by ISFI in universities during the late 1980s and early 1990s ISFI provided political and cultural resources, ideas and tools, for Jewish and pro-Israel student activists throughout the US and Canada, through which Israeli oriented activities and the message of Israel could be promoted in US campuses."ISRAEL ACTIVIST CALENDAR" was originated by ISFI leaders and activists to promote Israeli oriented activities in campuses and in communities in the US

Public Activity

Founding the Israeli-Kurdistan Friendship League

In 1993, he founded the Israeli-Kurdistan Friendship League, possibly the first and only friendship association between Jews and Muslim community in an Arab country, together with Moshe Zaken and Meir Baruch. With Michael Niebur and Mathew B. Hand he edited the newsletter Yedidut (i.e., friendship).[50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57]This is the newsletter called "YEDIDUT" (Hebrew, "Friendship") initiated by the main activists of the Israeli-Kurdistan Friendship League and sent to Kurdish activists and organizatins worldwide.In 1994 he visited the Kurdish centers in London and met with exiled leaders and representatives of the Kurdish community and published it in north Hebrew and English.http://books.google.co.il/books?id=WwANI7eOBJoC&pg=PA174&dq=israeli+kurdish+friendship+league&hl=iw&sa=X&ei=XZz4U462I87n7Abbp4HgCg&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=israeli%20kurdish%20friendship%20league&f=false[58]

Journalism, Media and Public Speaking

In 1982, as Chief-Editor of the students' newspaper at the Hebrew University "Pi-Ha'aton" (Heb., "The donkey's mouth," taken from the Book of Numbers, 22:28), one of his main journalistic achievements was the unearthing of an old photograph from 1948, taken by Arabs and showing mutilated faces and bodies of Jewish soldiers that were part of an army unit that later became known as "Nabi Daniel caravan." He published the photograph and the story behind its discovery in a special Independense Day Edition, on 26 April 1982. As a scholar, Dr. Zaken has been a frequent guest in radio and TV programs, speaking mostly on the Kurds and the minorities in the Middle East, and has been interviewed by newspapers as an expert on these subjects. He also speaks in public on these topics.radio interview radio interviewradio interviewradio interviewradio interview radio interview [59][60][60][61][62] [63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82]

Publications

Thesis (Ph.D.), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2003

Books (including translations)

Selected lectures or conference participation

Selected articles

References

  1. ↑ "Professor Moshe Sharon".
  2. ↑ "The Book of Ruth in Neo-Aramaic," [By] G. Goldenberg and M. Zaken, in W. Heinrichs (Ed.), Studies in Neo-Aramaic, Cambridge: Harvard Semitic Studies Series(1990): 151-157.
  3. ↑ "Inventors’ Fate" A Folk-Tale in the Neo-Aramaic of Zakho," in M. Bar-Asher (ed.), Massorot: Studies in Language Traditions and Jewish Languages, vols. 9, 10, 11 (1997): 383-395 [Heb.]
  4. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=CRESBLDde88C&pg=PA36
  5. ↑ Jewish Subjects and their Tribal Chieftains in Kurdistan: A Study in Survival, in Jewish Identities in a Changing World, vol. 9 (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2007.
  6. ↑ ...the study is very detailed and provides much hitherto unknown information on Kurdish Jews and their relations with their Muslim neighbors... according to Rachel Simon of Princeton University, at the Association of Jewish Libraries Newsletter, May/June 2008, Volume XXVII, No. 4 (PDF)
  7. ↑ "Rev., 2nd. New eBOOK Ed.: Jews of Kurdistan & their Chieftains, By Mordechai (Moti) Zaken, 2015".
  8. ↑ "Jewish subjects and their tribal chieftains in Kurdistan : a study in survival".
  9. ↑ "Rev., 2nd. New eBOOK Ed.: Jews of Kurdistan & their Chieftains, By Mordechai (Moti) Zaken, 2015: Review of M. Zaken's PhD Thesis by Prof. Moshe Sharon, Director of the Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae, the Hebrew University".
  10. ↑ "Amazon.com: Jewish Subjects and Their Tribal Chieftains in Kurdistan (Jewish Identities in a Changing World) (9789004161900): Mordechai Zaken: Books".
  11. ↑ The PhD committee was composed by Prof. Moshe Sharon of the Hebrew University, Prof. Joyce Blau previously of INALCO, Paris, and Prof. Yona Sabar of UCLA
  12. ↑ Yahud Kurdistan wa-ru'as'uhum al-qabaliyun: Dirasa fi fan al-baqa'. Transl., Su'ad M. Khader; Reviewers: Abd al-Fatah Ali Yihya and Farast Mir'i; Published by the Center for Academic Research, Beiruth, 2013; يهود كردستان ورؤساؤهم القبليون : (دراسة في فن البقاء) / تأليف مردخاي زاكن ؛ ترجمة عن الانكليزية سعاد محمد خضر ؛ مراجعة عبد الفتاح علي يحيى، فرست مرعي. زاكن، مردخاي، ١٩٥٨م-;خضر، سعاد محمد; بيروت, 2013  : المركز الأكاديمي للأبحاث
  13. ↑ D. MORDIXZI ZAKIN, CULEKEKANY KURDISTAN, ERBIL, 2015; French into Kurmanji translation of an article by Moti Zaken, "Jews, Kurds and Arabs, between 1941 and 1952", by Dr. Amr Taher Ahmed Metîn n° 148, October 2006, p. 98-123.
  14. ↑ Juifs, Kurdes et Arabes, entre 1941 et 1952, Errance et Terre promise: Juifs, Kurdes, Assyro-Chaldéens, études kurdes, revue semestrielle de recherches, 2005: 7-43, translated by Sandrine Alexie.
  15. ↑ http://israelkurdistannetwork.blogspot.co.il/2008/01/jews-kurds-and-tribes.html
  16. ↑ Raphael Israeli, Green Crescent Over Nazareth: The Displacement of Christians by Muslims in the Holy Land, London: Frank Cass & Co., 2014; first edition 2002: pp. 89, 100, 183,194.
  17. ↑ "Israeli Arabs Protest Demolition".
  18. ↑ "Israeli Arabs Protest Demolition of Homes". latimes.
  19. ↑ Michael R. Fischbach, Jewish property claims against Arab countries, Columbia University Press, 2013, P.205
  20. ↑ "Report on the Government Activities in the Non-Jewish Sector in 1997". Mfa.gov.il. Retrieved 2014-06-20.sikkuy report November 1997, following a summary of govrernment activities amongst the non-Jewish sector: is Bibi good for Arabs?
  21. ↑ "Christians, Israeli Jews Fight Persecution Together | Christian Coalition of America". Cc.org. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  22. 1 2 "'Christians in Israel Must Be Treated with Respect'". Voice of Israel. Retrieved 2015-09-09.
  23. 1 2 "Jews, Non-Jews and Other Intra-Israeli Conflicts". Retrieved 2015-09-09.
  24. 1 2 "Government Official Visits Vandalized Church". Mezila.mops.gov.il. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
  25. 1 2 "Israeli Christians Condemn Acts Of Vandalism". Armeniandiaspora.com. 2012-02-22. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  26. 1 2 "Arabs Clash at Temple Mount | Sid Roth - It's Supernatural". Sid Roth. 2012-02-27. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
  27. 1 2 "Iran Has Declared War Against Israel And The Jewish People!-News & Politics اخبار و سياست". Iranjoo. 2012-02-21. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
  28. 1 2 "Jerusalem News Network". Jnnnews.com. 2012-02-28. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
  29. 1 2 Sid Roth, a Christian Mesianic commentator, writes about Zaken the following, quoting from Psalms 16:3, "As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all My delight."
  30. 1 2 http://www.outusenglish/news/pages/greek-orthoarson_3.15.aspx
  31. 1 2 "Israeli gov. official in solidarity with vandalized church - Israel Today | Israel News". Israel Today. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  32. 1 2 "Anti-Christian graffitti discovered". 24hourcampfire. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
  33. ↑ "NL 2012-03-01_Email NL Pages Template" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-06-20.
  34. ↑ "IRANJOO: Iran Has Declared War Against Israel And The Jewish People!-News & Politics اخبار و سياست".
  35. ↑ http://lyricsmp3skull.info/download/3748834141/dr-moti-zaken-df72ab5d.html
  36. ↑ http://jnnnews.com/jol_feb_28_12.htm%5Bhttp://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Nazareth-mosque-plan-splits-Muslims-Christians-3087140.php
  37. ↑ http://147.237.72.72/NR/rdonlyres/D2306F1B-E132-4BFD-9E01-F498E082E8AA/0/TheDisputesoverTwoBasilicaesIntheHolyLand14_16.pdf
  38. ↑ Elaine Ruth Fletcher, SPECIAL TO THE EXAMINER (23 April 1999). "Nazareth mosque plan splits Muslims, Christians". SFGate.
  39. ↑ "Israel Sets Forth Compromise Plan on Nazareth Mosque Dispute". The New York Times. 20 April 1999.
  40. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/20/world/israel-sets-forth-compromise-plan-on-
  41. ↑ "Missing Page Redirect".
  42. ↑ http://istanbul.indymedia.org/tr/news/2011/02/271295.php
  43. ↑ al-Akhbar, 4 November 2015; al-akhbar, 11 November 2015.
  44. ↑ "Israel Steps Up Efforts to Protect Christian Community - Inside Israel - CBN News - Christian News 24-7 - CBN.com". mycbn.com. Retrieved 2015-09-09.
  45. ↑ "Israel Steps Up Efforts to Protect Christian Community". cbn.com. Retrieved 2015-09-09.
  46. ↑ A statement by Rev. Chuck Kopp of the Baptist Church in Jerusalem, to remain committed to his "growing involvement with government officials on improving relations with Christians and Government Relations Forum spearheaded by Dr. Mordechai Zaken, Head of Minority Affairs at the Ministry of Public Security; http://www.jerusalemcornerstone.org/news/february-2016
  47. ↑ http://www.opemam.org/node/7555
  48. ↑ "Christians, Israeli Jews Fight Persecution Together | Christian Coalition of America".
  49. ↑ "al-Akhbar", Arabic newspaper printed in Nazareth, writes extensively about the Forum, in its front page and page 5, on October 14, 2016
  50. ↑ "Israeli-Kurdish Friendship League".
  51. ↑ Turkey and the World: A Complete English Bibliography of Turkey and Turks, p. 174, at Google Books
  52. ↑ Eşref Günaydın , Yahudi Kürtler, Babil´in Kayıp Çocukları, 2003, p. 55.
  53. ↑ Israel Shahak (1997). Open Secrets: Israeli Foreign and Nuclear Policies. Pluto Press. p. 77.
  54. ↑ "عبدالله جاسم ريكاني".
  55. ↑ http://www.hakikat.com/dergi/83/sevr.html
  56. ↑ http://The%20Israeli-Kurdish%20Friendship%20League
  57. ↑ Ofra Bengio. "Surprising Ties between Israel and the Kurds". Middle East Forum.
  58. ↑ “The Wandering Kurd,” (Hebrew) Davar, 2 December 1994.
  59. ↑ "Defense - 05/14/2016 - Replay : review news and other shows : All videos - i24news - See beyond". i24news.
  60. 1 2 http://www.iba.org.il/aleph/player.aspx#!/style/popAudio/ar/1681155/audio/yes
  61. ↑ http://192.118.60.6/radio/2014/06/22/5737482.wmv
  62. ↑ http://192.118.60.6/radio/2014/06/22/5739915.wmv
  63. ↑ http://192.118.60.6/radio/2014/08/10/5830784.mp3
  64. ↑ http://192.118.60.6/radio/2014/07/01/5753975.mp3
  65. ↑ https://youtube/8xh9hY1q0kE?list=PL8P_aJLSD4dPEZIZllUEb12cJp4Nv0r3b
  66. ↑ http://www1.biu.ac.il/File/news/file_biu_14_12_31_10_26.pdf
  67. ↑ A conference on the Jews of Kurdistan, Ben-Zvi Institute for the study of Oriental Jewry, 15 October 2015
  68. ↑ מרכז דהאן - יהודי כורדיסטן: זהות ומורשת - ד"ר מוטי זקן - YouTube. 5 January 2015 – via YouTube.
  69. ↑ https://soundcloud.com/voiceofisrael/yazidi-aug17-2014
  70. ↑ "Tehran seeks to overcome Western influence by supplying weapons to Kurds". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2015-09-09.
  71. ↑ "Dr Mordechai Zaken, Kurds and Kurdish Jews Hebrew Interview". Retrieved 2015-09-09.
  72. ↑ "Analysis: Arab-Israeli MKs of Joint List opting for conflict instead of cooperation".
  73. ↑ "Iran deal could lead to improved covert Arab-Israel cooperation". The Jerusalem Post - JPost.com.
  74. ↑ "So are there Jews in Kurdistan?". The Jerusalem Post - JPost.com.
  75. ↑ http://www.amazonbug.com/so-are-there-jews-in-kurdistan/
  76. ↑ "The Jerusalem Post (JPost.com): "So are there Jews in Kurdistan?"". Newstral.
  77. ↑ "So are there Jews in Kurdistan?". One News Page.
  78. ↑ http://israel.cnninternasional.co/so-are-there-jews-in-kurdistan/
  79. ↑ http://waytojesus.org/so-are-there-jews-in-kurdistan/
  80. ↑ "So are there Jews in Kurdistan?".
  81. ↑ http://www.unitedjerusalem.org/index2.asp?id=1966509
  82. ↑ http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/content/dr-mordechai-zaken-kurds-and-kurdish-jews-hebrew-interview
  83. ↑ "Rev., 2nd. New eBOOK Ed.: Jews of Kurdistan & their Chieftains, By Mordechai (Moti) Zaken, 2015". Retrieved 2015-09-09.
  84. ↑ Zaken, Mordechai (2013-01-01). يهود كردستان ورؤساؤهم القبليون: (دراسة في فن البقاء) (in Arabic). ISBN 9789953887555.
  85. ↑ http://kurdishcongress.org/PreProgwkc13.pdf
  86. ↑ "Kurdinberlin kurd in Berlin کورد له‌ به‌رلین". Kurdbe.de. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
  87. ↑ "Kurdinberlin kurd in Berlin کورد له‌ به‌رلین".
  88. ↑ "PDS SSO".
  89. ↑ ספר היובל לגדעון גולדנברג at Google Books

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/24/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.