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Daniel (Danny) Seidemann, Jerusalem Expert

Daniel Seidemann.jpg(Updated - current as of July 2012)

Daniel "Danny" Seidemann
is the founder and director of Terrestrial Jerusalem (TJ), an Israeli non-governmental organization, launched in January 2010, that promotes an Israeli-Palestinian permanent status peace agreement by working to ensure that an agreement is possible on the issue of Jerusalem.

By providing decision-makers and opinion-shapers with relevant data, analyses and maps, TJ strives to engage them in preventing developments that are detrimental to (a) the two-state solution, (b) the stability of Jerusalem, and (c) the humanitarian situation. 

Mr. Seidemann has been a practicing attorney in Jerusalem and a partner in a firm specializing in commercial law since 1987.  Since 1991, he has also specialized in legal and public issues in East Jerusalem, in particular, with regard to government and municipal policies and practices, representing Israeli and Palestinian residents of Jerusalem before the statutory Planning Boards regarding development issues. Key cases have included the takeover of properties in Silwan, the legality of the Har Homa expropriation and town plan, the Ras el Amud town plan, and administrative demolition orders, and challenging the inadequate provision of educational facilities in East Jerusalem.

From 1994 to 2000, Mr. Seidemann served as lead counsel of Ir Shalem, an NGO dedicated to the development of Jerusalem for the benefit of all of its residents, Israeli and Palestinian. In this capacity, he acquired expertise in the functional exercise of authority in Jerusalem, particularly in the fields of planning, residency rights, allocation of resources, property rights, and the subjective perceptions of the various populations of the city in this regard, particularly as these impact on the functioning and viability of Jerusalem.  In 2000, Mr. Seidemann founded Ir Amim, an NGO dedicated to an equitable, stable and sustainable Jerusalem, with which he remained associated until 2010, when he launched Terrestrial Jerusalem.

Since 1994, Mr. Seidemann has participated in Track II talks on Jerusalem between Israelis and Palestinians. In 2000-2001, Seidemann served in an informal advisory capacity to the final status negotiations; serving as a member of a committee of experts commissioned by the Prime Minister Barak's office to generate sustainable arrangements geared to implement the emerging political understandings with the Palestinians.  Seidemann worked closely with the drafters of the Geneva Initiative on Jerusalem-related elements of the agreement, and was a key participant in the University of Windsor's Jerusalem Old City Initiative.

Mr. Seidemann has participated in various Jerusalem-related projects, colloquia and back channel work, sponsored by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the French Institute of Foreign Relations (IFRI), UNESCO, The Davis Institute of the Hebrew University, the British Foreign Office, the Olaf Palme Institute, the Organization of Architects and Planners in Israel, the European Parliament, New York University, the United Nations, and others.
   
Mr. Seidemann is a native of Syracuse, NY, and a graduate of Cornell University.  He immigrated to Israel in 1973, where he has lived since. From 1973-77 he was involved with educational work with youth leaders in Israel. He is a retired Reserve Major in the Israeli Defense Forces, who engaged in leadership training of senior officers. Mr. Seidemann is a member of the Israeli Bar Association, receiving his degree in Law from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is married and has three daughters.