Liel was director general of the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Planning from 1994 to 1996. He then served as an adviser on foreign affairs to then-opposition leader Ehud Barak, and was director general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry in 2000 to 2001.

During his time as a diplomat, Liel also served as chargé d’affaires in Turkey, consul-general for the South Eastern United States and ambassador to South Africa.

The letter claims that Barghouti’s release could contribute to renewing “peace efforts” between Israel and the Palestinians. It further states that Barghouti is viewed by many as “the most prominent Palestinian leader of our generation” and that he possesses a unique ability to unite the Palestinian people.

Barghouti, one of the founders of the Fatah movement, was among the organizers of the 2000-05 Second Intifada. He led terrorist activity and was sentenced to five life terms plus 40 years for his role in the murder of four Israelis and a Greek abbot, attempted murder and membership and activity in a terrorist organization.

The letter asserts that “the release of Marwan Barghouti could influence Palestinians and Israelis in a manner similar to the impact of Nelson Mandela’s release some 35 years ago,” adding that, like Mandela, Barghouti has become in the eyes of his supporters “a symbol of his people’s hopes for freedom, dignity and reconciliation.”

The authors of the letter also addressed Trump directly, writing: “As an American president committed to advancing peace around the world, we call on you to demand the release of Marwan Barghouti as a necessary step toward renewing meaningful peace talks.” They argued that such a move could usher in “a new era of peace, security and prosperity for both peoples.”

Liel asked fellow academics to add their signatures to the letter, but student email addresses were mistakenly included in the send list.

Reichman University said in response that “the university’s principled position is that it is inappropriate for a lecturer to approach students with a proposal to sign any political petition. A review found that the lecturer, who teaches as an external faculty member, did not send the petition through a student mailing list of Reichman University. Beyond that, the university does not intervene in the personal views of lecturers expressed outside their academic activity at the university.”

At the beginning of last month, about 200 cultural and literary figures from around the world signed the same letter as part of an international initiative calling for the release of Barghouti.

Among the celebrities who signed the petition were American Marxist activist Angela Davis; Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei; Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood; and actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Cynthia Nixon, Mark Ruffalo and Ian McKellen.

This is an edited version of an article that first appeared in Israel Hayom.