Muhamad Kanan ( ar, محمّد كنعان; he, מוחמד כנעאן, born 17 October 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 the

United Arab List The United Arab List ( he, הַרְשִׁימָה הַעֲרָבִית הַמְאוּחֶדֶת, ''HaReshima HaAravit HaMe'uhedet''; ar, القائمة العربية الموحدة, ''al-Qā'ima al-'Arabiyya al-Muwaḥḥada''), commonly kn ...

and the Arab National Party between 1999 and 2003.

Biography

Born in Tamra, Kanan gained a BA at the

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) ( he, אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has five campuses: the ...

, before studying community centre management at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

and then working as a high school teacher. Between 1980 and 1988 he served as deputy mayor of his hometown, and chaired the management council of the town's community centre between 1981 and 1989. He was elected to the Knesset on the United Arab List list in the

1999 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1999. * 1999 electoral calendar Africa * 1999 Algerian presidential election * 1999 Botswana general election * 1999 Beninese parliamentary election * 1999 Central African Republic presidential elect ...

, but on 19 February 2001, left the party to establish the Arab National Party along with Tawfik Khatib. The new party did not participate in the 2003 elections, and both lost their seats. In the run-up to the 2006 elections it looked like Kanan would join

Hadash Hadash ( he, חד״ש, lit=New), an acronym for ''HaHazit HaDemokratit LeShalom uLeShivion'' ( he, הַחֲזִית הַדֶּמוֹקְרָטִית לְשָׁלוֹם וּלְשִׁוְיוֹן, lit=The Democratic Front for Peace and Equalit ...

. However, the party then entered the election race, before withdrawing and announcing its support for Balad, though by then it was too late to take the party's name off the ballot. On election day the party picked up only 738 votes (0.02%), the second lowest in total and far below the

electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...

of 2%. In December 2008, Kanan joined the new Arab Centre Party, and was given second place on its Knesset list.Party aims to improve Arabs' daily life
''The Jerusalem Post'', 4 December 2008

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kanan, Muhamad 1955 births People from Tamra Ben-Gurion University of the Negev alumni Israeli educators Arab members of the Knesset Living people United Arab List politicians Arab National Party politicians Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003)