Interviewed in 2005
Israeli Jewish Born in 1952 Lives in Jerusalem Profession: Clerk and administrator Works at Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions Interviewed by: Leora Gal and Nahanni Rous
The focus of Meir Margalit's work is fighting the Israeli government policy and practice of demolishing Palestinian-owned homes. His goal is to increase prospects for peace by working cooperatively with Israelis and Palestinians for social justice and an end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. Meir immigrated to Israel with a right-wing Zionist youth group, and founded a Jewish settlement in Gaza during his army service in the 1970s. He fought and was wounded in the Yom Kippur War of 1973. He remembers his recovery period as a turning point, during which he began to feel that his ideology valued land over people's lives. He subsequently became active in Israeli left-wing politics. Meir served as council member in the Jerusalem Municipality for twenty years before devoting himself to non-profit, peace-oriented organizations.