Ofer Bronchtein

Ofer Bronchtein
עופר ברונשטיין
Bronchtein in 2025
Born(1957-03-27)27 March 1957
Beersheba, Israel
Died18 May 2026(2026-05-18) (aged 69)
Paris, France
OccupationActivist

Ofer Bronchtein (Hebrew: עופר ברונשטיין; 27 March 1957 – 18 May 2026) was a French-Israeli peace activist.

Biography

Born in Beersheba on 27 March 1957, Bronchtein spent his childhood in Israel before moving to France with his parents at age nine.[1] He returned to Israel at the age of 17 and lived on a kibbutz before moving to Tel Aviv and advocating for reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians.[2] In 1987, he met with Mahmoud Abbas in Spain, a violation of Israeli law which prohibited citizens from interaction with members of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation; he was accordingly sentenced to 15 days in prison.[3] During the negotiation of the Oslo Accords, he served as an advisor to Yitzhak Rabin and was a member of the Israeli delegation present at the 13 September 1993 signing in Washington, D.C..[4] In 1994, he organized a meeting between minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Yasser Arafat.[5] In 2002, he co-founded with Anis al-Qaq the International Forum for Peace, with the objective of promoting dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians and to implement cultural, economic, and social development projects.[6] In 2011, Mahmoud Abbas presented him with a Palestinian passport in recognition of his efforts on behalf of peace.[7][8] Because of his closeness to Palestinian leaders, he was subject to threats of violence by groups such as the French section of the Jewish Defense League.[9] In July 2020, he was appointed a special envoy to a French taskforce for peace in the Levant by Emmanuel Macron.[10] Following the onset of the Gaza war, he served as Macron's special envoy to the Middle East.[11]

Bronchtein died of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Paris on 18 May 2026, at the age of 69.[12] In his last months, the disease had left him requiring use of a wheelchair.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Ofer Bronchtein: dialoguer pour la paix". Radio Télévision Suisse (in French). 11 February 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  2. ↑ "Ofer Bronstein". France Inter (in French). 7 August 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  3. ↑ Ploquin, Jean-Christophe (15 July 2011). "Ofer Bronchtein, un sioniste pro-palestinien. Ofer Bronchtein, un sioniste pro-palestinien". La Croix (in French). Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  4. ↑ de Saint Perier, Laurent (11 November 2014). "Dix ans après sa mort, les rameaux de Yasser Arafat sont fanés". Jeune Afrique (in French). Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  5. ↑ Bronchtein, Ofer (19 September 2023). "«30 ans après les accords d'Oslo, Israël et la Palestine connaissent la peur, le désespoir et la violence»". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  6. ↑ "Réception à la mairie de Paris en l'honneur de Mahmoud Abbas". The Times of Israel (in French). 21 September 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  7. ↑ ""Moi, israélien, juif militant pour la paix, mon passeport palestinien m'est très cher"". L'Obs (in French). 23 April 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  8. ↑ Hammo, Sarah (27 June 2013). "Face à l'Europe: la possible reprise du processus de paix au Moyen-Orient". RTBF (in French). Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  9. ↑ "Un militant israélien de la paix violemment expulsé d'un rassemblement parisien des "amis d'Israël"". France 24 (in French). 6 April 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  10. ↑ Epstain, Nadine (11 October 2020). "La France : un pont entre Palestiniens et Israéliens ?". Radio France (in French). Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  11. ↑ "Ofer Bronchtein : "Le Hamas ne veut pas d'État palestinien, il veut une Oumma musulmane"". i24NEWS (in French). 8 June 2025. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  12. ↑ "Ofer Bronchtein, militant pour la paix entre Israéliens et Palestiniens, est mort à l'âge de 69 ans". BFM TV (in French). 18 May 2026. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  13. ↑ Gatinois, Claire (18 May 2026). "La mort d'Ofer Bronchtein, le « rêveur israélien » qui avait un passeport palestinien, infatigable militant de la paix au Proche-Orient". Le Monde (in French). Archived from the original on 22 May 2026. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.