Ahmad Tibi ( ar, أحمد الطيبي, , he, אַחְמָד טִיבִּי, , sometimes spelled Ahmed Tibi; born 19 December 1958) is a Palestinian-Israeli politician. The leader of the

Ta'al Ta'al ( he, תַּעַ״ל, an acronym for he, תְּנוּעָה עֲרָבִית לְהִתְחַדְּשׁוּת, label=none, lit=Arab Movement for Renewal, ar, الحركة العربية للتغيير) is an Israeli Arab political party ...

party, he has 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 ...

since 1999. Tibi was acknowledged as a figure in the Israeli-Palestinian arena after serving as a political advisor to the late Palestinian president

Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...

(1993–1999). Tibi is also a trained physician and graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as a gynecologist.

Early life and career

Tibi was born in

Tayibe Tayibe, also spelled Taibeh or Tayiba, ( ar, الطيبة, lit=the kind/benevolent, translit=aṭ-Ṭayyibah, South Levantine pronunciation: ; he, טַיִּבָּה) is an Arab city in central Israel, north east of Kfar Saba.Jaffa. Tibi studied medicine at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, graduating with honors in 1983. He began a residency as a gynecologist at Hadassah Hospital in 1984, but in 1987, he was involved in a violent incident with a security guard that led to his dismissal. Tibi had walked past a security checkpoint when the guard, a recent American immigrant named David Rothstein who had just been hired, ordered Tibi to let him inspect his briefcase after he had walked past the guard booth, assuming the guard would recognize him. Tibi refused, which led to a physical struggle between him and Rothstein for the briefcase. Moments later, Rothstein's superior arrived and broke it up. He identified Tibi as a doctor, and ordered him released. Tibi then swung the briefcase at Rothstein's head, causing a wound that bled profusely and required four stitches to close, and walked away, leaving Rothstein bleeding on the floor. Tibi claimed that Rothstein had tried to slap him across the mouth as they disengaged, which Rothstein denied. The hospital director, Dr. Jacques Michel, subsequently questioned Tibi, Rothstein, and a few witnesses over the incident, then fired Tibi without conducting a formal inquiry. A hospital spokeswoman said that Michel felt that to strike a man and leave him injured on the floor was such a grave and violent act for a doctor to commit as to warrant dismissal. During his studies, Tibi had also become involved in politics. In the 1980s, he made connections with prominent Palestinian activists. He attended PLO meetings around the world, and in 1984, he met

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

, at a time when meeting PLO members was still a criminal offense in Israel. Tibi was questioned by police several times, subjected to a stay of exit order from Israel, and arrested once. Tibi served as a political advisor to Palestinian Authority President

from 1993 to 1999, representing the Palestinians at the 1998 Wye River negotiations. He resigned from this post in 1999 upon deciding to run for the

. Tibi described his relationship with Arafat as "close" and "extremely interesting and important to im. He was first elected to the Knesset in the 1999 elections after establishing Ta'al and running jointly with

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 ...

's Balad party, but broke away during the same Knesset session. In 2002, MK Michael Kleiner initiated actions in the Knesset to restrict movements by Tibi inside the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

and the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. Kleiner claimed that Tibi was assisting the Palestinians in their war against Israel. Tibi protested the Knesset's decision as unconstitutional and illegal under Israeli law, and appealed to the Supreme Court of Israel, which deferred a decision on the case. Ahead of Israel's 2003 elections, several politicians, including the heads of the National Union and

National Religious Party The National Religious Party ( he, מִפְלָגָה דָּתִית לְאֻומִּית, ''Miflaga Datit Leumit'', commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew acronym Mafdal, ) was a political party in Israel representing the religious Zionist moveme ...

, sought to have Tibi banned from standing again as candidate; the official motion to disqualify him was filed by

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 Sha ...

Michael Eitan Michael Eitan ( he, מיכאל איתן; born 6 March 1944) is an Israeli politician. A member of the Knesset for Likud from 1984 until 2013, he also served as Minister of Science & Technology between July 1997 and July 1998 and Minister of Im ...

, who argued that beside his history as adviser to Arafat, Tibi had supported Palestinian terror throughout the Intifadas and used his immunity as MK since his election to further Palestinian interests. Eitan's motion passed in the Israeli Central Elections Committee by one vote. However, the Supreme Court of Israel rejected the committee's arguments, unanimously overturning the ban, and Tibi was elected as part of a joint list of

and

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 ...

. Before the

2006 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2006. * Elections in 2006 * Electoral calendar 2006 * 2006 Acehnese regional election * 2006 American Samoan legislative election * 2006 Bahraini parliamentary election * 2006 Costa Rican president ...

, Tibi took his Ta'al party out of the Hadash coalition and joined 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 ...

(UAL). After retaining his seat, he became a Deputy

Speaker of the Knesset The Speaker of the Knesset ( he, יוֹשֵׁב רֹאשׁ הכנסת, Yoshev Rosh HaKnesset, Chairman of the Knesset) is the presiding officer of the Knesset, the unicameral legislature of Israel. The Speaker also acts as President of Israel whe ...

. He was re-elected on the joint UAL–Ta'al list in the 2009 and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

elections. Inside and outside Israel, Tibi is acknowledged as an effective parliamentarian and advocate for Palestinians who live in Israel and the territories it controls. He was the first Arab member of the Knesset to succeed in passing legislation under his own name against opposition, including an August 2012 law regularizing compensation given by airlines to their customers for delayed or cancelled flights. In 2008, he initiated the establishment of the Parliamentary inquiry committee for the employment of Arabs in the public sector, serving as its chairman until 2012. He was favored several times in media surveys of the Arab-Palestinian population in Israel as the most popular Arab member of the Knesset and cited as best public speaker in the Knesset by parliamentary reporters. As of September 2014, Tibi remains Deputy Speaker and UAL-Ta'al Parliamentary Group Chairman. He is a member of the House Committee and the Finance Committee.

Political positions

Tibi supports an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 green lines and a

two-state solution The two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict envisions an independent State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel, west of the Jordan River. The boundary between the two states is still subject to dispute and negotia ...

, with a

Palestinian state Palestine ( ar, فلسطين, Filasṭīn), officially the State of Palestine ( ar, دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn, label=none), is a state located in Western Asia. Officially governed by the Palestine Liberation Organization ( ...

established alongside Israel. He also opposes Israel's character as a

Jewish state In world politics, Jewish state is a characterization of Israel as the nation-state and sovereign homeland of the Jewish people. Modern Israel came into existence on 14 May 1948 as a polity to serve as the homeland for the Jewish people. ...

, claiming that its self-definition as Jewish is racist, and favors Israel becoming a "state of all its citizens". Accordingly, he supports removing icons that represent the special status of the Jewish majority, including the

Law of Return The Law of Return ( he, חֹוק הַשְׁבוּת, ''ḥok ha-shvūt'') is an Israeli law, passed on 5 July 1950, which gives Jews, people with one or more Jewish grandparent, and their spouses the right to relocate to Israel and acquire Isr ...

, the flag, and the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

. He opposes the recruitment of Arab citizens of Israel into the IDF. Tibi also supports the Palestinian right of return, calling it a prerequisite for reconciliation, but has stated that he believes only a small percentage of Palestinian refugees would actually choose to move to Israel. Speaking to a 3 March 2018, London conference titled "Is President Trump legalizing the occupation?", the lawmaker denounced the recent Trump administration decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem in May. During the April 2019 Israeli elections, Tibi was frequently referenced by

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...

, who used the slogan "It's either Bibi or Tibi" – a phrase which was criticized by Tibi and opponents of Netanyahu as playing on Jewish fears of Arab involvement in the Israeli political process to cast the election as a dichotomy between returning Netanyahu as prime minister or allowing Arab Israelis to join a government.

Controversies

Tibi continues to be considered controversial in the Israeli politics mainly due to his wide relations with Palestinian and Arab parties, and his speeches in the Knesset. However, Tibi is also known for having pronounced a moving speech to commemorate Holocaust Day in 2010 at the Israeli Knesset.

Yair Lapid Yair Lapid ( he, יָאִיר לַפִּיד, transliterated: , ; born 5 November 1963) is an Israeli politician and former journalist who has been serving as the 14th prime minister of Israel since 1 July 2022. He previously served as the alt ...

reported on Israel's Channel 2: "Knesset elders claim that it might have been the best speech ever given in the Israeli Parliament." During an event honoring Palestinian martyrs in January 2012, Tibi described martyrs as "symbols of the homeland", while congratulating Palestinian martyrs in the Palestinian territories and inside Israel, as well as overseas, asserting that for Palestinians "there is nothing more praiseworthy than those who die for the homeland." While the word martyr in Arabic means to die for God's name, it has come to be associated with suicide bombers in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

References

External links

* *
Tibi's Facebook page
* * * Transcript of remarks at The Palestine Center, Washington, D.C. * by

Leon Charney Leon Charney (July 23, 1938 – March 21, 2016) was an American real estate tycoon, attorney, author, philanthropist, political pundit, media personality and Jewish cantor. He lived in Manhattan in New York City, dividing his time between his ...

on The Leon Charney Report {{DEFAULTSORT:Tibi, Ahmad 1958 births Living people Arab members of the Knesset Arab-Israeli physicians Balad (political party) politicians Deputy Speakers of the Knesset The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School alumni Israeli Muslims Leaders of political parties in Israel Israeli gynaecologists Joint List politicians Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003) Members of the 16th Knesset (2003–2006) Members of the 17th Knesset (2006–2009) Members of the 18th Knesset (2009–2013) Members of the 19th Knesset (2013–2015) Members of the 20th Knesset (2015–2019) Members of the 21st Knesset (2019) Members of the 22nd Knesset (2019–2020) Members of the 23rd Knesset (2020–2021) Members of the 24th Knesset (2021–2022) 20th-century Israeli physicians 21st-century Israeli physicians People from Tayibe Ta'al politicians Anti-Zionism Israeli people of Syrian descent Arab Israeli anti-racism activists

Early life and career

Political positions

Controversies

See also

References

External links