“Do you see someone skilled in their work?  They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.”  (Proverbs 22:29)

A 42-year-old Palestinian scientist with a track record of hard work and a specialization in chemical engineering has been selected as the deputy chief scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Science, Technology and Space.

“Dr. Abu-Hamed brings a proven track record of scientific endeavor,” chief scientist Nurit Yeremiah said to Times of Israel.  “His intimate knowledge of the ministry and ever-evolving scientific fields and trends will allow him to perform his job in the best way.”

The high rank in the ministry puts Tarek Abu-Hamed at the center of Israel’s policy decisions relating to international scientific partnerships and development funding, as well as intellectual property and taxation of academic institutions throughout Israel.

East Jerusalem Palestinian Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed has been appointed deputy chief scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Science, Technology, and Space.  (YouTube capture)

The new chief scientist earned his chemical engineering degree in Ankara, Turkey, and completed his doctoral thesis on the biological breakdown of petroleum effluents before becoming a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Minnesota and the Rehovot-based Weizmann Institute.  (PNN)

Abu-Hamed also served as the Israel-based Arava Institute’s Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation before joining the Israeli ministry in 2013.

Abu-Hamed comes from Sur Bahir in eastern Jerusalem, a neighborhood set in an area of Israel’s capital that many internationals want to include in a future Palestinian State.

He explains his thoughts about Sur Bahir in his upcoming book called Beyond the Dark Mountains.

In the book, Abu-Hamed addresses the “schizophrenia” of being an Arab of eastern Jerusalem, where he is a permanent resident of Israel and has an Israeli identification number as well as a Jordanian passport.

“The Arabs of East Jerusalem have several advantages.  You can travel across the world with a Jordanian passport, with which you can enter Arab countries.  You leave here with an Israeli travel document.  These passports reflect the schizophrenic situation—we want and don’t want Israel at the same time,” he said.  (Palestine News Network)