Ahmad Tibi
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- This article is about the Israeli politician. For the Canadian geneticist, see Ahmad Teebi.
Dr. Ahmad Tibi (born December 19, 1958; sometimes spelled Ahmed Tibi; Arabic: أحمد الطيبي) is an Israeli Arab politician and member of the Arab nationalist party, Ta'al (Arab Movement for Renewal). He was elected on a joint ticket with the United Arab List to serve in Israel's parliament, the Knesset. He describes himself as Arab-Palestinian in nationality, but has called Israel his "homeland" and vowed to stay in Israel regardless of the fate of the Palestinian territories.
He is a member of the anti-imperialist conference Axis for Peace.
Tibi is from Taibeh, in the Center District of Israel. He is a trained physician and graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
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[edit] Political career
[edit] Early career
Tibi served as a political advisor to the late Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat for several years, even representing the Palestinians at the 1998 Wye River negotiations. Tibi resigned from the post in 1999, upon deciding to run for the Knesset. Tibi has described his relationship with Arafat as "close" and "extremely interesting and important to [him]."
[edit] Travel restrictions conflict
Far-right MK Michael Kleiner initiated actions in the Knesset in 2002 to restrict movements by Tibi inside the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. 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 [1] and appealed to the Supreme Court of Israel, which deferred a decision on the case [2].
[edit] 2003 elections
Ahead of Israel's 2003 elections, several right-wing politicians, including the heads of the National Union and National Religious Party, sought to have Tibi banned from holding Knesset office; the official motion to disqualify Tibi's candidacy was filed by Likud MK Michael Eitan and passed the Israeli Central Elections Committee by one vote. However, the Supreme Court of Israel rejected the Committee's arguments and overturned the ban unanimously [3], and Tibi was elected on a joint list alongside left-wing Hadash members Mohammad Barakeh and Issam Makhoul.
[edit] 2006 elections
Before the 2006 elections, Tibi took his Ta'al party out of the Hadash coalition and joined the United Arab List.
[edit] External links
- Knesset Member, Ahmad Tibi, Knesset directory
- Q&A with Ta'al MK Ahmed Tibi, September 2, 2003, Haaretz News
