Reblogged from Times of Israel
Tarek Abu-Hamed of East Jerusalem is appointed deputy chief scientist of the government tech bureau
March 22, 2015, 6:12 pm
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A scientist from East Jerusalem
was appointed to a senior position at Israel’s science and technology
bureau Sunday, becoming the highest-ranking Palestinian without Israeli
citizenship in an official government post.
Tarek
Abu-Hamed of Sur Baher, who specializes in the field of chemical
engineering, was named as deputy chief scientist of Israel’s Ministry of
Science, Technology and Space, the state body responsible for
setting national policy on issues such as international scientific
collaborations and research and development funding.
The deputy chief scientist is responsible for
overseeing national scientific infrastructure, statewide intellectual
property and the taxation of academic institutions, according to the
ministry’s website.
The chief scientist at the bureau, Nurit
Yerimiah, praised the decision and said that the appointment was made on
professional grounds, the Haaretz daily reported.
“Dr. Abu-Hamed brings a proven track record of
scientific endeavor together with field-research experience and
scientific publications,” Yerimiah said.
“His intimate knowledge of the ministry and
ever-evolving scientific fields and trends will allow him to perform his
job in the best way,” she said.
Like most residents of East Jerusalem,
Abu-Hamed does not hold Israeli citizenship, but he does have an Israeli
identification number and permanent residency status.
When Israel annexed the capital’s eastern
side in 1980, it offered all its residents full citizenship. However,
only a fraction took up the offer.
Abu-Hamed received his BSc in chemical
engineering from Ankara University in Turkey and studied for his
post-doctorate at Rehovot’s Weizmann Institute of Science in
collaboration with the University of Minnesota, focusing his
dissertation on oil substitutes for public transportation and renewable
energy sources.
After his studies, he held a series of posts in Israeli research projects before joining the Science Ministry in 2013.
In an interview with Israeli journalist
Eliezer Yaari in a yet-to-be-released novel detailing the Sur Baher
neighborhood, Abu-Hamed spoke of the “schizophrenia” and dual identity
that many East Jerusalemites experience on a daily basis.
“The Arabs of East Jerusalem have a number of advantages,” Abu-Hamed said.
“You travel the world with a Jordanian
passport, you can visit Arab states and leave the country with Israeli
travel documents,” he said.
“The dual passports hold a mirror to our schizophrenic situation: We don’t want Israel, but we really do want it.”