Seif el-Din el-Zoubi ar, سيف الدين الزعبي, he, סַיִף אֵל־דִּין אֶל־זעֻבִּי; in Hebrew his name was most often written without niqqud (as is standard) as . (1913 – 26 June 1986) was an Israeli-Arab politician.

Biography

El-Zoubi was born in 1913 in

Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...

, where he attended high school. During the

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

, he was active in the

Haganah Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the I ...

, and later received the Fighter of the State Decoration. In 1949 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 (wit ...

as the leader of the

Democratic List of Nazareth The Democratic List of Nazareth ( he, רְשִׁימָה דֶּמוֹקְרָטִית שֶׁל נָצְרַת, ''Reshima Demokratit shel Natzrat''; ar, قائمة الناصرة الديمقراطية) was an Arab satellite list in Israel and t ...

. He was re-elected in 1951 on the

Democratic List for Israeli Arabs The Democratic List for Israeli Arabs ( ''al-Qā'ima al-dīmũqrāṭiyya li-'arab Isrā'īl'', he, רשימה דמוקרטית לערביי ישראל, ''Reshima Demokratit LeAravei Yisrael'') was an Arab satellite list in Israel. History In ...

, and

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijiangs ...

, but resigned from the Knesset on 13 February 1956. In 1959, he became mayor of

, the city's first Muslim mayor in decades, and held the post until 1965, when he returned to the Knesset on the

Progress and Development Progress and Development ( he, קידמה ופיתוח, ''Kidma VePituah''; ar, تقدم وتطور) was an Arab satellite list in Israel. History Progress and Development was established in 1959, drawing its support from the Galilee area. Lik ...

list, which briefly merged into Cooperation and Development before regaining its independence. He was re-elected in

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

, and was appointed 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 ...

. in 1971, el-Zoubi became mayor of Nazareth again, holding the post until 1974. el-Zoubi was re-elected in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

. In 1974, Progress and Development merged into the

Alignment Alignment may refer to: Archaeology * Alignment (archaeology), a co-linear arrangement of features or structures with external landmarks * Stone alignment, a linear arrangement of upright, parallel megalithic standing stones Biology * Struc ...

, before leaving it and forming the United Arab List. He was re-elected for a final time on the United Arab List slate in

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

, before resigning his seat on 3 April 1979. He died in 1986.

Haneen Zoabi Haneen Zoabi ( ar, حنين زعبي, he, חנין זועבי; born 23 May 1969), is a Palestinian-Israeli politician. The first Arab woman to be elected to the legislature on an Arab party's list, she served as a member of the Knesset for ...

, who served as a Member of the Knesset for the Joint List, is a relative.

Controversy

According to Israeli historian Ori Stendel, el-Zoubi had used his ties with the Israeli establishment to compensate for the decline of his political power within the Zubia clan. Historian

Hillel Cohen Hillel Cohen-Bar (born in Jerusalem, 5 October 1961) is an Israeli scholar who studies and writes about Jewish-Arab relations in Palestine/Israel. He is an associated professor at the Department of Islam and Middle East Studies at the Hebrew Univer ...

wrote that el-Zoubi was "upgraded" by

Mapai Mapai ( he, מַפָּא"י, an acronym for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', lit. "Workers' Party of the Land of Israel") was a democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger in ...

in exchange for relinquishing national demands and legitimizing land confiscations.

Yitzhak Laor Yitzhak Laor ( he, יצחק לאור, born in 1948) is an Israeli poet, author and journalist. Biography Yitzhak Laor was born in Pardes Hanna. Literary and journalism career He is the author of ten volumes of poetry, three novels, three collecti ...

described his conduct as tantamount to taking political bribery.

Publications

*Autobiography: ”Eyewitness” ( ar, شاهد عيان, 1987)

References

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zoubi, Seif El-Din El- 1913 births 1986 deaths Alignment (Israel) politicians Arab members of the Knesset Arab people in Mandatory Palestine Cooperation and Development politicians Democratic List for Israeli Arabs politicians Democratic List of Nazareth politicians Deputy Speakers of the Knesset Haganah members Leaders of political parties in Israel Mayors of Nazareth Members of the 1st Knesset (1949–1951) Members of the 2nd Knesset (1951–1955) Members of the 3rd Knesset (1955–1959) 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) Politicians from Nazareth Progress and Development politicians United Arab List (1977) politicians