Ahmed Abukhater

Ahmed Abukhater is the first athlete to represent Palestine at the World Association of Bench pressers and Dead lifters (WABDL) World Powerlifting Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2006. [• Encyclopedia Britannica. (2006). Palestine to Be Represented in World Weightlifting Championships. Available at: www.britannica.com/eb/topic-473404/article-9399948.] [• IMEU. (2007). “Ahmed Abukhater: Record-setting Athlete.” Institute for Middle East Understanding - August 10. Available at: http://imeu.net/news/article006168.shtml] [• Nieman, Hilary. (2006). “Waging Peace: Palestine to Be Represented in the World Wieghtlifitng Championships.” Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (WRMEA) – November 2006, Washington D.C., U.S.A. Available at: http://www.wrmea.com/archives/November_2006/0611069.html] • Robbins, Kevin. (2007). “Lifting himself - and his people: University of Texas doctoral student is first Palestinian at world weightlifting championships.” Austin American-Statesman - January 16, Austin, TX, USA.]

In November, 2007, Abukhater represented Palestine again in the WABDL World Championship, in Anaheim, California, where he won his division and set a new Palestinian record.IMEU. (2007). “Ahmed Abukhater: Record-setting Athlete.” Institute for Middle East Understanding - August 10. Available at: http://imeu.net/news/article006168.shtml]

He set a new record for the state of Illinois in 2004, and currently holds many Palestinian national records in powerlifting. [ [http://www.wabdl.org/europe-asia-pacific_region.htm#Palestine European Region ] ] [ [http://www.ironhistory.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=9746 Palestinian Weightlifting Record - IronHistory ] ] [• Nieman, Hilary. (2007). “Ahmed Abukhater Representing Palestine and Winning in the World Weightlifting Championships.” Arab-American Affairs – August, Glendale, CA, USA. http://www.arab-american-affairs.net/index.htm]

The 10-year-old WABDL, one of a handful of international lifting organizations, recognized his lift as a national record for Palestine. "I think it was a groundbreaking experience," said Gus Rethwisch, the founder and president of the 4,200-member group. "He's not an activist. He's not political. He's just passionate," Rethwisch said.

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Academically, Ahmed Abukhater is a well respected expert in the field of Urban and Regional Planning and Water Resources Management and Conflict Resolution.• Johnson, Allan. (2007). “World-class weightlifter chases PhD at Texas - Student takes long journey from Gaza Strip to UT-Austin.” The Daily Texan – February 15, Austin, TX, USA. Available online at: http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2007/02/15/Sports/WorldClass.Weightlifter.Chases.Phd.At.Texas-2721755.shtml] More precisely, his field of interest pertains to the geopolitical and hydropolitical aspects of water resources in the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the transboundary management of water resources, and multinational environmental policies in the Middle East.• McKetta, Elisabeth. (2008). “Everyday Excellence.” GradNews – March 2008. Available at: http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/gradlife/excellence/abukhater.html]

Mr. Abukhater is a Doctoral Candidate in Community and Regional Planning at the University of Texas at Austin with a focus on water resources management and conflict resolution and mediation and holds a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Bachelor’s degree in Architectural Engineering. Through education and professional experience, he developed specialization in a number of fields ranging from Planning Analysis and Geographic Information System (ESRI), Geospatial analysis and multi-criteria evaluation (MCE), groundwater modeling, Environmental Science and Sustainable Development, to Conflict Resolution and Mediation. [ [http://soa.utexas.edu/news/archive/032708/ [UTSOA enews 3.27.2008 ] ]

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