Hussein Faris ( ar, حسين فارس, he, חוסיין פארס; 18 September 1935 – 28 April 2021) 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 ...

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

Mapam Mapam ( he, מַפָּ״ם, an acronym for , ) was a left-wing political party in Israel. The party is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party. History Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the kibbutz-based Hashomer Hatz ...

and

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 Knesset ...

between 1988 and 1992.

Biography

Born in Sha'ab during the Mandate era, Faris attended high school in Kafr Yasif, before studying Middle Eastern studies and Arabic literature at the

University of Haifa The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming Is ...

, earning a BA. During his youth he was a member of the Arab Pioneers movement and a member of the board of

Hashomer Hatzair Hashomer Hatzair ( he, הַשׁוֹמֵר הַצָעִיר, , ''The Young Guard'') is a Labor Zionist, secular Jewish youth movement founded in 1913 in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary, and it was also the name of the group ...

. He went on to join Mapam, and became chief editor of the party's Arabic journal. In

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

he was elected to the Knesset on the party's list, and became a member of the Education and Culture Committee and the Committee for the Appointment of

Qadi A qāḍī ( ar, قاضي, Qāḍī; otherwise transliterated as qazi, cadi, kadi, or kazi) is the magistrate or judge of a '' sharīʿa'' court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and mino ...

s. He lost his seat in the 1992 elections shortly after Mapam merged into

. Faris was also a member of the board of the Teachers Union, and Chairman of the Committee Against Racism and for Co-existence in the

Western Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galile ...

. Faris died in

Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

in April 2021 at the age of 85.وفاة المربي وعضو الكنيست السابق حسين ابراهيم فارس من عكا
Panet, 28 April 2021

References

External links

* 1935 births 2021 deaths Arab members of the Knesset Arab people in Mandatory Palestine Hashomer Hatzair members Arab Israeli anti-racism activists Israeli Muslims Mapam politicians Members of the 12th Knesset (1988–1992) Meretz politicians People from Acre, Israel University of Haifa alumni {{Israel-politician-stub