Ahmed Dabbah ( ar, احمد ذباح, he, אחמד דבאח; born 27 January 1955) is an

Israeli Arab The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...

politician who served as a member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

for Kadima between 2012 and 2013, the party's first non-

Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

MK. He also served as mayor of

Deir al-Asad Deir al-Asad ( ar, دير الأسد; he, דֵיר אֶל-אַסַד) is an Arab town in the Galilee region of Israel, near Karmiel.

and the now-dissolved city of Shaghur.

Biography

Dabbah started his career as a primary school teacher, before becoming the owner and CEO of "Saleh Dabbah and Sons", a business conglomerate including supermarkets and a slaughterhouse, as well as establishing the Dabbah shopping mall in

Deir al-Asad Deir al-Asad ( ar, دير الأسد; he, דֵיר אֶל-אַסַד) is an Arab town in the Galilee region of Israel, near Karmiel.

. He has nine children.

Political career

In 1992 he joined

Likud Likud ( he, הַלִּיכּוּד, HaLikud, The Consolidation), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement, is a major centre-right to right-wing political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon ...

, but transferred to Kadima after it was founded in 2005,Former mayor to become Kadima's first Arab MK
The Jerusalem Post, 15 August 2012 becoming one of its leading activists. Although he was given a high placing by

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. S ...

on the party's original list for the 2006 Knesset elections, he was ultimately placed only 51st on the final list,Kadima
17th Knesset website and failed to win a seat as the party won only 29. He was placed 36th on the party's list for the

2009 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2009. * Electoral calendar 2009 * 2009 United Nations Security Council election Caribbean * 2009 Antiguan general election * 2009 Aruban general election * 2009 Caymanian constitutional referendu ...

,Kadima
18th Knesset website but again failed to win a seat as the party won only 28 seats. Dabbah has been the mayor of Deir-el-Asad, as well as the head of the Shagur Local Council. As mayor of Deir-el-Asad, Dabbah helped Shaul Mofaz gain votes among the Arab-Israeli public, who was running to replace

Tzipi Livni Tziporah Malka "Tzipi" Livni ( he, ציפי (ציפורה) מלכה לבני, ; born 8 July 1958) is an Israeli politician, diplomat, and lawyer. A former member of the Knesset and leader in the center-left political camp, Livni is a former fore ...

as leader of Kadima. Dabbah helped bring 1,121 votes from his town of Deir-el-Asad for Shaul Mofaz, which totals more votes than both Mofaz's and Livni's combined votes from Tel Aviv, which numbered 1,112. Dabbah has said that he is a public figure that the public trusts, and objects to being called a "vote contractor." Dabbah was sworn into the Knesset on 16 August 2012 as a replacement for Avi Dichter, who had resigned his seat on 14 August after leaving the party in order to join the Netanyahu government as an independent.Dichter quits Kadima to join government
Ynetnews, 14 August 2012 This took the number of Arab members of the Knesset to 17, a record. Placed ninth on the Kadima list for the 2013 elections,Kadima
Central Elections Committee he lost his seat as the party were reduced to two MKs.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dabbah, Ahmed Year of birth uncertain 1955 births Living people 20th-century Israeli businesspeople 20th-century Israeli educators 21st-century Israeli businesspeople Arab citizens of Israel Arab members of the Knesset Israeli activists Israeli Muslims Kadima politicians Mayors of places in Israel Members of the 18th Knesset (2009–2013) People from Northern District (Israel)