Arna Mer-Khamis

Arna Mer Khamis (* March 20, 1929 in Rosh Pina, † February 15, 1995 ( Hebrew: ארנה מר ח'מיס ) ) was an Israeli human rights activist and winner of the Right Livelihood Award.

Life

Mer was born in Rosh Pina, her father was a professor Gideon Mer, an Israeli researcher, who dealt primarily with the fight against malaria. As a 16 -year-old, she joined the paramilitary Palmach, and clothed with the Keffiyeh. After the Palestine War in 1948, she joined the Communist Party and married the "Red Boss" of Nazareth, the trade unionists Saliba Khamis.

The couple lived in a party mission in Prague, where Ssaliba cooperated in the journal Problems of Peace and Socialism. The three sons Juliano, Spartacus and Abir grew up there and in Moscow.

Since the occupation of the West Bank of the Gaza Strip after 1967 she was arrested several times for her political activities. During the First Intifada, the Israeli military closed all schools for a long time. Arna went into the Jenin refugee camp and opened a school there with unconventional methods. Among other things, she also founded a theater group and until 1993, when Arna was in Stockholm awarded the Right Livelihood Award, their institution, 15 employees and 25 volunteers grew to 1,500 children.

Later, she became ill with cancer and died in February 1995. Their son Juliano was at work in Jenin there and portrayed them in his film " Arna's Children " from 2004. Another portrait is to be found in the novel " civil defense " by Sami Michael, the also a member of the party was, and the pair Mer - Khamis knew well.