Reda Mansour
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Reda Mansour (Arabic: رضا منصور, Hebrew: רדא מנצור, Spanish: Reda Mansour) is an Israeli poet, historian and Diplomat. He has published three books of Hebrew poetry and received the Haifa University Miller Award as well as the State President Scholarship for young writers.
Mansour was born (1965) in the Druze village of Isfiya in northern Israel. He is a Ph.D candidate in Haifa University's Middle East History Department and a graduate of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
He studied Spanish in Salamanca University (dating back to 1218, is the oldest and also one of the most prestigious universities in Spain), and a general studies semester in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
His field of research is the Changes in the Perception of Identity and Social Environment as Evident in the Intellectual Discourse in Syria During the Third Decade of the "Corrective Movement" 1988-2003.
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[edit] Early life
Reda Mansour studied in Haifa Between 1977-1983; first in the LEO BAECK, middle school and later in BASMAT High school of the Technion (Israel’s institute of science and technology). During that time he was involved in many youth organizations which develop cross-cultural understanding around the world, by encouraging respect for cultural difference. A among these organizations: CISV and BBYO - B'nai B'rith Youth Organization (chairman of local branch). In 1988-1989 he was also active in HABONIM DROR (in British Columbia, Canada and Maryland, USA).
During the first years of his university studies in Haifa Mansour was involved in a Variety of social projects among them: Perach: Coordination of student assistance to young primary school students in two villages in the Galilee, and Bridging the Gap: Promotion of Higher education in Minority communities
[edit] Literary career
Mr. Mansour is the first non-Jewish poet in Israel to write exclusively in Hebrew. His short story "Jumblat in the Negev" has won the "Recommended Story" category of the "Ha'aretz" Annual Short Story Award in 1997. In addition, a collection of his poems is currently translated to Spanish and Portuguese. He is at work on a book of short stories.
Reda Mansour has participated in poetry readings and Poetry festivals in Isfiya, Haifa, Tel Aviv, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Miami, Huston, New Mexico, San Salvador, Quito and Lisbon.
Mansour participated in the Charleston's historic Piccolo Spoleto festival in June 2008. He held a reading of some of his acclaimed poetic works at Charleston's City Gallery at historic Waterfront Park.
[edit] Tender Leafs of Conscience
This collection of Hebrew poems was written in varies places around the world starting from 1998 during the author's studies in the KSG and ending in Portugal four years later. The poems are dedicated to nature and its effect on history and people. They blend together Arab and Jewish traditions and the multiethnic history of the Iberian Peninsula with some images of the modern American literature. They explore the relationships between people and places. The title of the book is the title of one of the poems that was written during a Cambridge spring mixing with the news of the massacres in the Balkans. Published by Sa'ar Publishing 2004, Cover design by Israeli renowned photographer Alex Levac.
[edit] Other books by the author
- The Man of Dreams (1987)
- From the Battlefields to the Land of Freedom (1991)
- UN Peacekeeping Forces (Ed) (1991)
- UN Security Council Resolution on the Middle East (Ed)(1993)
[edit] Diplomacy
Appointed at 35 years old, Mr. Mansour was the youngest Ambassador in Israel’s History. During his career in the Foreign Service, Mr. Mansour served as Ambassador of Israel to Ecuador. Prior to that, he served as DCM in the Israeli Embassy in Portugal and as Consul in the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco. Mr. Mansour speaks five languages.
Currently he serves as the Consul General in the Israeli Consulate in Atlanta. In January, 2007, the Georgia Senate passed a resolution honoring Mansour and others for efforts to promote peace and grow business, cultural and educational ties between the U.S. and Israel.
[edit] Civic activities
Mr. Mansour has devoted his public activities in Israel for the promotion of dialogue between Arabs and Jews. In this realm, he has served on the board of several NGO's and taken part in many projects aimed at promoting of co-existence and cultural dialogue.
Reda Mansour courted moderate Muslim leaders in Europe to counteract the sway of Islamists hostile to the state of Israel (2005-2006). Mansour aimed at finding the silent voice -- to give it a means of speaking out so that it will condemn terror, condemn anti-Semitism, and connect with the local Jewish communities for the sake of joint civil actions.
[edit] Articles by the author
- Israel sets an example of freedom, tolerance
- The Lebanon-Israel tragedy and Hope
- Integration Is Israeli Arabs’ Only Path To Equality
- Israel wants peace, political moderation
- Gaza: A 40-Year Struggle to Maintain Hope
- Green: taking humanity to the next level
