Pilar Rahola
Encyclopedia
Pilar Rahola i Martínez (piˈɫa rəˈɔɫə) (Barcelona
, October 21, 1958) is a Catalan
journalist
, writer
, and former politician
and MP
.
Rahola studied Spanish and Catalan Philology
at the Universitat de Barcelona. She has published several books in Spanish
and Catalan
, and she is a columnist at La Vanguardia
in Spain
; La Nación
in Argentina
; and Diario de América
in the United States
. She appears frequently on television and has taken part in several university lectures.
She comes from a republican
and anti-fascist
family, and several of her relatives have been politicians or writers: Pere Rahola, minister of the navy of the republic; Frederic Rahola, first Síndic de Greuges (public defender) in the Generalitat de Catalunya
; and Carles Rahola, a writer executed by Francoists. Rahola is married and has three children, two of them adopted: one from Barcelona, the other from Siberia
.
From 1987 to 1990, Rahola was director of the Catalan publishing house Pòrtic, and as a journalist, she was involved in covering the Eritrean-Ethiopian War
, the Balkan Wars
, the Gulf War
, and the fall of the Berlin Wall
.
As a politician, she was the only member of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya
in Spanish Congress of Deputies representing Barcelona Province
in the 5th and 6th Spanish legislatures from 1993 to 2000, as well as serving as vice-mayor of Barcelona
city. She also participated in several committees of investigation, especially those related to political corruption such as the comisión Roldán.
In 1996, Rahola left Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya to join Àngel Colom and Joan Laporta
in a new political group, the "Partit per la Independència
," but after this failed she decided to concentrate on journalism and writing. Her areas of interest include women's rights, international human rights, and animal rights. In recent years she has spoken out about what she considers to be the hypocrisy of left wing politicians with regards to Israel
and Zionism
.
Morris Abram Human Rights Award, given by UN Watch for her defense of Human Rights . Geneva, 2011.
Conference Chamberlain versus Sendler: from darkness to light. http://www.pilarrahola.com/3_0/CONFERENCIAS/default.cfm?ID=1914
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, October 21, 1958) is a Catalan
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, and former politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
.
Rahola studied Spanish and Catalan Philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
at the Universitat de Barcelona. She has published several books in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
, and she is a columnist at La Vanguardia
La Vanguardia
La Vanguardia is Catalonia's leading daily newspaper as well as the fourth best-selling in Spain. It has its headquarters in Barcelona, Catalonia's largest city....
in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
; La Nación
La Nación
La Nación is an Argentine daily newspaper. The country's leading conservative paper, the centrist Clarín is its main competitor. It is the only newspaper in Argentina still published in broadsheet format.-Overview:...
in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
; and Diario de América
Diario de América
Diario de América is a Spanish-language opinion journal about politics, economics, culture and social issues. Published in the United States, the publication's name means America's Daily which is also its alternate name....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. She appears frequently on television and has taken part in several university lectures.
She comes from a republican
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
and anti-fascist
Anti-fascism
Anti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals, such as that of the resistance movements during World War II. The related term antifa derives from Antifaschismus, which is German for anti-fascism; it refers to individuals and groups on the left of the political...
family, and several of her relatives have been politicians or writers: Pere Rahola, minister of the navy of the republic; Frederic Rahola, first Síndic de Greuges (public defender) in the Generalitat de Catalunya
Generalitat de Catalunya
The Generalitat of Catalonia is the institution under which the autonomous community of Catalonia is politically organised. It consists of the Parliament, the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Government of Catalonia....
; and Carles Rahola, a writer executed by Francoists. Rahola is married and has three children, two of them adopted: one from Barcelona, the other from Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
.
From 1987 to 1990, Rahola was director of the Catalan publishing house Pòrtic, and as a journalist, she was involved in covering the Eritrean-Ethiopian War
Eritrean-Ethiopian War
The Eritrean–Ethiopian War took place from May 1998 to June 2000 between Ethiopia and Eritrea, forming one of the conflicts in the Horn of Africa...
, the Balkan Wars
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
, the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, and the fall of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
.
As a politician, she was the only member of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya
Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya
The Republican Left of Catalonia is a left wing Catalan independentist political party in Spain. It is also the main sponsor of the independence movement from France and Spain in the territories known among Catalan nationalists as Països Catalans...
in Spanish Congress of Deputies representing Barcelona Province
Barcelona (Spanish Congress Electoral District)
Barcelona is one of the 52 electoral districts used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies - the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. When first contested in modern times in the 1977 General Election, Barcelona was the largest electoral district in Congress in terms of...
in the 5th and 6th Spanish legislatures from 1993 to 2000, as well as serving as vice-mayor of Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
city. She also participated in several committees of investigation, especially those related to political corruption such as the comisión Roldán.
In 1996, Rahola left Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya to join Àngel Colom and Joan Laporta
Joan Laporta
Joan Laporta i Estruch is a Spanish politician and former president of Futbol Club Barcelona between 2003 and 2010.Laporta is a lawyer with his own firm, Laporta & Arbós, which has important firms as clients. Laporta was married to Constanza Echevarría and has three sons, Pol, Guillem and Jan...
in a new political group, the "Partit per la Independència
Partit per la Independència
Partit per la Independència was a short lived political party in Catalonia of the 1990s that campaigned for independence for Catalonia from Spain. It was created by Àngel Colom and Pilar Rahola in 1996 as a schism from Republican Left of Catalonia, another independentist party...
," but after this failed she decided to concentrate on journalism and writing. Her areas of interest include women's rights, international human rights, and animal rights. In recent years she has spoken out about what she considers to be the hypocrisy of left wing politicians with regards to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Zionism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
.
Prizes
- Doctor honoris causa in Universidad de Artes y Ciencias de la Comunicación de Santiago de Chile, 2004, for her fight in favour of human rights
- Premio Javer Olam (2004), given by Jewish Chilean Community for her fight against antisemitism
- Cicla Price (2005), given for her fight against antisemitism
- Honour Member of University of Tel Aviv, 2006
- Golden Menora Price 2006, with Simone Weil, given by French Bnai Brith
- Scopus Award laureate 2007, given by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- APEI Prize for her articles, given by "Asociación Profesional Española de Informadores de Prensa, Radio y Televisión"
- Honoured guest at the AIPAC's Policy Conference, 2008
- Senador Angel Pulido, 2009, given by "Federación de Comunidades Judías de España"
- Mass Media Award, 2009, given by American Jewish Committee, for her fight bias to Human Rights
- Daniel Pearl Award, 2010, given by Anti-Defamation League, "for her dedicated commitment to an honest and accountable journalistic code of ethics and for speaking honestly to the public"
Morris Abram Human Rights Award, given by UN Watch for her defense of Human Rights . Geneva, 2011.
External links
- Pilar Rahola personal website
- Ficha de Pilar Rahola en el Congreso de los Diputados
- Photos of Pilar Rahola
- Ficha de autor de Pilar Rahola en Diario de América
- Recopilación de presentaciones en los medios argentinos.
- Look left in anger interview in "Haaretz", by Roi Bet Levi
- The anti-Israel hysteria. Article in Haaretz, 09-01-09 (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=1054155&contrassID=2&subContrassID=4&sbSubContrassID=0)
- Speech of "Mass Media Award" from Pilar Rahola. Title: "A Shout for the voiceless", http://www.ajcarchives.org/AJCAudio/2009AM/PilarRahola050809.mp3
- David Harris's Radio Speech, about Pilar Rahola http://www.ajc.org/atf/cf/%7B42d75369-d582-4380-8395-d25925b85eaf%7D/DAVID%20HARRIS%20051209.MP3
Conference Chamberlain versus Sendler: from darkness to light. http://www.pilarrahola.com/3_0/CONFERENCIAS/default.cfm?ID=1914