Sam Bahour

Sam Bahour is a Palestinian-American businessman and entrepreneur who moved with his family to the Israeli-occupied West Bank in the 1990s following the signing of Oslo Accords to become involved in developing the economy of the future Palestinian state.

Bahour was born in Ohio in 1964 to a Palestinian father and Lebanese-American mother. He graduated from Youngstown State University in 1989 with a degree in computer technology, and subsequently worked for several American software firms, before moving to the West Bank in 1995.

Since relocating to the West Bank, Bahour has been involved in numerous business development initiatives. He was part of a group of businessmen who established the Palestine Telecommunications Company, the first private telecommunications company in the Middle East. He also founded several private businesses, and has been behind a plan to open the first Western-style shopping center in the Palestinian Territories. In addition, he earned an MBA in a joint program between Northwestern University in Illinois and Tel Aviv University in Israel.

Bahour is developing several new business ventures, including a community newspaper, publishing house and the Palestinian franchise for an electronic e-commerce platform to increase transparency during the government bidding process.

References

* [http://imeu.net/news/article002420.shtml Profile of Sam Bahour at the Institute for Middle East Understanding]
* [http://imeu.net/news/article003181.shtml "We can't go home again", Sam Bahour, "The New York Times", 7 October 2006]
* [http://www.counterpunch.org/bahour05172008.html "Refugees are the Key", Sam Bahour, "Counterpunch", 17/18 May 2008]