MEIR MARGALITI believe in the concept of a "critical mass." Every person actively participating will at some point become part of a critical mass, which will then take hold. I can't claim that by saving any one house I've greatly contributed to advancing peace. I do believe that our work, if joined by scores of people and other organizations, can achieve a critical mass, and that will lead to favorable political change. (Mario Vargas Lloza and Meir Margalit)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.Place of Birth Buenos Aires, ArgentinaResidence JerusalemYear of Birth 1952Profession Clerk and administratorOrganization Israeli Committee Against House DemolitionsIdentity A person who is IsraeliLanguages Spanish, Hebrew, EnglishWeb site Israeli Committee Against House DemolitionsDate of Interview June 3, 2005© JustVision 2006