Zouheir Bahloul ( ar, زهير بهلول, he, זוהיר בהלול; born 24 December 1950) 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 ...

sports broadcaster, journalist and politician.

Biography

Bahloul was born in 1950 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 metropol ...

, Israel, to a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

family. His mother, who was a journalist, was offered the opportunity to manage a Muslim orphanage in

Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

, and the family subsequently moved there. In 1974, he was hired as a researcher at the Israel Broadcasting Authority. Later, he became a sports announcer. He broadcast various athletic competitions for radio and television on Channel 1. While mainly working in sports broadcasting, Bahloul has also worked as a journalist, focused on promoting the Arab sector in Israel. During the 1990s he presented current events programs and talk shows in Arabic. Bahloul, an avid vegan, was married to Jamila until her death in 2010, and has three children.

Political career

In December 2014, Bahloul joined the

Israeli Labor Party The Israeli Labor Party ( he, מִפְלֶגֶת הָעֲבוֹדָה הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִית, ), commonly known as HaAvoda ( he, הָעֲבוֹדָה, , The Labor), is a social democratic and Zionist political party in Israel. The p ...

. On 14 January 2015 he beat the member of

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 ...

and former minister

Raleb Majadele Raleb Majadele ( ar, غالب مجادلة, Levantine Arabic: ; he, ראלב מג'אדלה, ; also spelt Ghaleb Majadele, born 5 April 1953) is an Israeli Arab politician. He served as a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party in three spells ...

for the minority slot in the party's primary elections and was subsequently placed 17th on the

Zionist Union The Zionist Union ( he, הַמַחֲנֶה הַצִיּוֹנִי, translit. ''HaMaḥaneh HaẒiyoni'', lit. ''the Zionist Camp'') was a centre-left political alliance in Israel. It was established in December 2014 by the Israeli Labor Par ...

list for the 2015 Knesset elections.Israeli Arab sportscaster to get into game from inside Knesset
The Times of Israel, 5 December 2014 He stated that if elected, he would first focus on changing the national education system to foster more diversity and Jewish–Arab dialogue. In a 9 February 2015, interview with

Al-Monitor Al-Monitor ( ar, المونيتور) is a news website launched in February 2012 by the Arab American entrepreneur Jamal Daniel and based in Washington, DC, United States. Al-Monitor provides reporting and analysis from and about the Middle East. ...

, Bahloul said he joined the

, an alliance of Labor and

Hatnuah Hatnua ( he, הַתְּנוּעָה, lit=''The Movement'') was a liberal political party in Israel formed by former Israeli Foreign Minister and Vice Prime Minister Tzipi Livni to present an alternative to voters frustrated by the stalemate in ...

, because he saw the Labor Party's potential to integrate "the Arab population in the state's affairs" and because Hatnuah leader

Tzipi Livni Tziporah Malka "Tzipi" Livni ( he, ציפי (ציפורה) מלכה לבני, ; born 8 July 1958) is an Israeli politician, diplomat, and lawyer. A former member of the Knesset and leader in the center-left political camp, Livni is a former fore ...

had "stood like a bulwark against" anti-democratic legislation during her time as Justice Minister. He called on Arab parties to adopt a different strategy and demonstrate willingness to join a Labor-led coalition after the 2015 elections. He was subsequently elected to the Knesset when the Zionist Union won 24 seats in the March 2015 elections. In October 2018, he resigned from the Knesset due to his opposition to the Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People.Arab lawmaker from Zionist Union quits Knesset over nation-state law
The Times of Israel, 16 October 2018

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bahloul, Zouheir 1950 births Living people Arab citizens of Israel Arab members of the Knesset Channel 1 (Israel) people Israeli Arab journalists Israeli journalists Israeli Labor Party politicians Israeli Muslims Members of the 20th Knesset (2015–2019) People from Haifa Sports commentators Zionist Union politicians