Raleb Majadele

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Raleb Majadele (also spelt Ghaleb Majadele; Arabic: غالب مجادلة, Hebrew: ראלב מג'אדלה, born April 5, 1953 in Baqa al-Gharbiyye ^[1]) is an Israeli politician. He has been a Member of the Knesset for the Labor Party since mid-2004, and is the first Muslim Arab to be appointed as a Minister in the Israeli cabinet.^[2]

On January 10, 2007, Labor chairman Amir Peretz declared his intention to appoint him as Minister of Science, Culture and Sport, which would make him the first Muslim Arab to serve as a cabinet minister.^[3] Finally, on January 28, 2007 the Cabinet voted to appoint him as Minister without Portfolio.^[2] His appointment was confirmed by a vote in which all ministers except the head of Yisrael Beytenu, Avigdor Lieberman, voted in favour.^[2]

Although welcomed by many, Majadele's appointment was controversial among several groups of politicians. Mohammed Barakeh of the primarily Arab Hadash party attacked it as a "dirty trick" that would not advance Arabs,^[3] while Avigdor Lieberman and Esterina Tartman of Yisrael Beytenu party attacked it as damaging to Zionism.^[4] The latter criticism was itself extremely controversial, with lawmakers from across the political spectrum branding Lieberman's and Tartman's remarks racist; a number of Labor lawmakers demanded that Yisrael Beytenu be expelled from the governing coalition (which includes Labor and Yisrael Beytenu as well as Kadima, Shas, and Gil) as a condition of Labor continuing to participate in the government.^[4]

[edit] Quotes

"promoting coexistence between the two peoples inside the state, and promoting dialogue between the Palestinians and the Israelis toward negotiations and political agreement." [1]