Tawfik Toubi in the israeli knesset left

Tawfik Toubi ( ar, توفيق طوبي, he, תופיק טובי, 11 May 1922 – 12 March 2011) was 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 ...

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

politician. He was the last surviving member of the first Knesset. Tawfik Toubi was married to Olga Touma and one of his sons, Elias Toubi, studied medicine in Leningrad. He is also the second longest-serving Knesset member of all time, over 41 years of office, all consecutive. Tawfik Toubi Speech

Biography

Toubi was born in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropo ...

to an Arab Orthodox family in 1922, he is the son of Elias and Alice (born Khoury). and was educated at the Mount Zion School in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. He joined the

Palestine Communist Party The Palestine Communist Party ( yi, פאלעסטינישע קומוניסטישע פארטיי, ''Palestinische Komunistische Partei'', abbreviated PKP; ar, الحزب الشيوعي الفلسطيني) was a political party in Mandatory Palest ...

in 1941 and later was one of the founders of the League for National Liberation, which originally opposed

partition of Palestine The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was a proposal by the United Nations, which recommended a partition of Mandatory Palestine at the end of the British Mandate. On 29 November 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted the Plan as ...

but later came to accept it, after the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

indicated that it would support partition. He was elected to 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 th ...

in Israel's first elections in 1949 as a member of

Maki Maki may refer to: People * Mäki, a Finnish surname (includes a list of people with the name) * Maki (name), a Japanese given name and surname (includes a list of people with the name) Places * Maki, Ravar, Kerman Province, Iran * Maki, Rigan ...

. He was re-elected in 1951, 1955, 1959 and 1961. In 1965 he was involved in a breakaway from Maki to form Rakah, and was voted back into the Knesset on the new party's list later in the same year. In 1976, he was elected deputy secretary general of the new

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 ...

party, an alliance of Rakah and several other smaller left-wing and Israeli Arab parties. He served as Hadash's secretary-general from 1989 to 1993, and was elected to the Knesset on Hadash's list in 1977, 1981, 1984 and 1988, before resigning from the Knesset in July 1990 and being replaced by Tamar Gozansky. Toubi was also publisher and editor of Arab language Communist paper ''Al Ittihad''. He retired from the Knesset in 1990, after a 41-year tenure, and died on 12 March 2011, at age 88. Internal affairs committee in session, 1949 D660-078

Internal affairs committee in session, 1949 D660-078

Legacy

Toubi is remembered as one of the two MKs (the other being

Meir Vilner Meir Vilner ( he, מאיר וילנר, born Bar Kovner; 23 October 1918 – 5 June 2003) was an Israeli communist politician and Jewish leader of the Communist Party of Israel (Maki), at one time a powerful force in the country. He was the y ...

) who exposed the Kafr Qasim massacre, and is seen by the Israeli left as a fighter against

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

. He is regarded as father of the 'state of all its citizens' formula, which he brought up when the Knesset debated the Basic Law in 1985. It now appears in the

Meretz Meretz ( he, מֶרֶצ, ) is a left-wing political party in Israel. The party was formed in 1992 by the merger of Ratz, Mapam and Shinui, and was at its peak between 1992 and 1996 when it had 12 seats. It currently has no seats in the Knes ...

platform, and is supported by the left, the post-Zionists and all the Arab MKs. He is seen less favorably by the Israeli right, although he is remembered as more of a respected adversary than a militant anti-Zionist (such as

Azmi Bishara Azmi Bishara ( ar, عزمي بشارة born 22 July 1956) is an Israeli Arab public intellectual, political philosopher and author. He is presently the General Director of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies and the Chair of the B ...

). In 1949, Israeli poet

Nathan Alterman Nathan Alterman ( he, נתן אלתרמן, August 14, 1910 – March 28, 1970) was an Israeli poet, playwright, journalist, and translator. Though never holding any elected office, Alterman was highly influential in Socialist Zionist politics, ...

wrote:

''Who is Tawfik Tubi? A Knesset member,''
''a Communist, an Arab who sits''
''in that House by full right...''
''That's democracy, not always easy,''
''but if we don't understand this part,''
''we haven't gotten anything at all.''

Toubi raised the issue of the

right of return The right of return is a principle in international law which guarantees everyone's right of voluntary return to, or re-entry to, their country of origin or of citizenship. The right of return is part of the broader human rights concept freedom of ...

for

Palestinian refugees Palestinian refugees are citizens of Mandatory Palestine, and their descendants, who fled or were expelled from their country over the course of the 1947–49 Palestine war (1948 Palestinian exodus) and the Six-Day War (1967 Palestinian exodus ...

on at least two occasions in the Knesset. After the

1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

, he demanded that the inhabitants of al-Birwa be allowed to return to their homes, a request refused by

David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the name ...

.Kacowicz and Lutomski, 2007, p. 139. After the 1967 war, he requested from

Moshe Dayan Moshe Dayan ( he, משה דיין; 20 May 1915 – 16 October 1981) was an Israeli military leader and politician. As commander of the Jerusalem front in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (1953–1958) dur ...

that the inhabitants of

Yalo Yalo ( ar, يالو, also transliterated Yalu) was a Palestinian Arab village located 13 kilometres southeast of Ramla. Identified by Edward Robinson as the ancient Canaanite and Israelite city of Aijalon.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, pp8081 D ...

be allowed to return to their homes, but it too was denied.Karmi, 1999, p. 87. In 2012, the discourses and articles of Tawfik Toubi were published in Israel by his wife Olga and his son Elias. Tawfik Toubi is accepted, honored and rewarded by the Israeli establishment. In 2011, Knesset Speaker

Reuven Rivlin Reuven "Ruvi" Rivlin ( he, רְאוּבֵן "רוּבִי" רִיבְלִין ; born 9 September 1939) is an Israeli politician and lawyer who served as the tenth president of Israel between 2014 and 2021. He is a member of the Likud party. Riv ...

said:

''Toubi was a valued and impressive parliamentarian that left his mark on the Israeli parliament. He was a member of a confronting movement but nevertheless insisted on respecting the rules of the game and knew how to apply them to himself in practice.''

Distinctions

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

*
Tawfik Toubi's biography
Knesset website *
Ben-Gurion and Tewfik Toubi Finally Meet (October 28, 1966)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toubi, Tawfik 1922 births 2011 deaths Arab members of the Knesset Arab Israeli anti-racism activists Israeli Christian socialists Eastern Orthodox Christians from Israel People from Haifa Hadash politicians Maki (political party) leaders Maki (historical political party) politicians Members of the 1st Knesset (1949–1951) Members of the 2nd Knesset (1951–1955) Members of the 3rd Knesset (1955–1959) Members of the 4th Knesset (1959–1961) Members of the 5th Knesset (1961–1965) Members of the 6th Knesset (1965–1969) Members of the 7th Knesset (1969–1974) Members of the 8th Knesset (1974–1977) Members of the 9th Knesset (1977–1981) Members of the 10th Knesset (1981–1984) Members of the 11th Knesset (1984–1988) Members of the 12th Knesset (1988–1992)