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- Arabic: عزمي بشارة {{IPAudio|AzmiBisharaAr.ogg|listen}}<br>
- Arabic: عزمي بشارة {{IPAudio|AzmiBisharaAr.ogg|listen}}<br>
- Hebrew: עזמי בשארה {{IPAudio|AzmiBisharaHe.ogg|listen}}<br>
- Hebrew: עזמי בשארה {{IPAudio|AzmiBisharaHe.ogg|listen}}<br>
Information from Azmi Bishara Knesset Profile in [http://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/eng/mk_eng.asp?ID=29 English], [http://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/heb/mk.asp?ID=29 Hebrew] and [http://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/arb/mk.asp?ID=29 Arabic]</ref> is an [[Israel]]i politician, leader of the [[Balad (political party)|Balad]] party, and was a member of the seventeenth [[Knesset]] until his resignation in April 2007.<ref name="KP" /> Bishara was born to [[Palestinian Christian]] parents <ref name="JPost"> [http://info.jpost.com/1999/Supplements/Elections99/candidates/bishara2.shtml Jerualem Post piece about Azmi Bishara for the 1999 elections] Accessed March 11 2007</ref> in [[Nazareth]], where he currently lives <ref name="KP" /> (as of February 2007).
Information from Azmi Bishara Knesset Profile in [http://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/eng/mk_eng.asp?ID=29 English], [http://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/heb/mk.asp?ID=29 Hebrew] and [http://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/arb/mk.asp?ID=29 Arabic]</ref> is a [[Palestinian Christian]] <ref name="JPost"> [http://info.jpost.com/1999/Supplements/Elections99/candidates/bishara2.shtml Jerusalem Post piece about Azmi Bishara for the 1999 elections] Accessed March 11 2007</ref> who was a Member of the Israeli [[Knesset]] and leader of the [[Balad (political party)|Balad]] party, from 1996 until his resignation in April 2007.<ref name="KP" /> He was born in [[Nazareth]], and maintains a family home there. <ref name="KP" /> (as of February 2007).


Bishara holds a PhD in Philosophy and has served as a senior lecturer and head of the Philosophy Department at [[Bir Zeit University]] in [[Ramallah]]. He has also served as a senior researcher at the [[Van Leer Institute]] in [[Jerusalem]]. <ref>[http://info.jpost.com/1999/Supplements/Elections99/candidates/bishara.shtml]</ref><ref>[http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/people/172.shtml]</ref>
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In the [[Israeli prime ministerial election, 1999|1999 election]] he became the first [[Arab citizens of Israel|Arab citizen of Israel]] to run for [[Prime Minister of Israel|Prime Minister]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2642137.stm Profile: Israel's Arab voice]. BBC News, January 9 2003</ref> He was one of five people to run for [[Prime Minister of Israel|Prime Minister]] in these elections, but dropped out of the race two days before election day. In the end, only [[Ehud Barak]] and [[Benyamin Netanyahu]] were left as final candidates, <ref name="JPost" /> with Barak emerging victorious.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1999/05/99/israel_elections/349677.stm Healing a national wound] BBC News, May 21 1999, accessed April 18 2007</ref>


⚫
Bishara was the first [[Arab citizens of Israel|Arab citizen of Israel]] to run for [[Prime Minister of Israel|Prime Minister]] in the [[Israeli prime ministerial election, 1999|1999 election]],<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2642137.stm Profile: Israel's Arab voice]. BBC News, January 9 2003</ref> but dropped out of the race two days before election day. In the end, only [[Ehud Barak]] and [[Benyamin Netanyahu]] were left as final candidates, <ref name="JPost" /> with Barak emerging victorious.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1999/05/99/israel_elections/349677.stm Healing a national wound] BBC News, May 21 1999, accessed April 18 2007</ref>
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He is being investigated by Israeli state security on charges of aiding Israel's enemies during the [[2006 Lebanon War]]. According to court documents "Bishara was questioned twice in the case and during the last encounter he told interrogators that he intends to leave Israel for a couple of days. He said he would attend a third questioning session soon upon his return to Israel". <ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3391929,00.html Bishara suspected of aiding enemy during Lebanon war] Ynetnews, Accessed 25 April 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3390826,00.html MK Bishara resigns from Knesset] Ynetnews, Accessed 25 April 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/852066.html Bishara suspected of aiding enemies during Second Lebanon War] Haaretz, Accessed 25 April 2007</ref>

⚫
Bishara is currently being investigated by Israeli state security on charges of aiding Israel's enemies during the [[2006 Lebanon War]]. According to court documents "Bishara was questioned twice in the case and during the last encounter he told interrogators that he intends to leave Israel for a couple of days. He said he would attend a third questioning session soon upon his return to Israel". <ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3391929,00.html Bishara suspected of aiding enemy during Lebanon war] Ynetnews, Accessed 25 April 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3390826,00.html MK Bishara resigns from Knesset] Ynetnews, Accessed 25 April 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/852066.html Bishara suspected of aiding enemies during Second Lebanon War] Haaretz, Accessed 25 April 2007</ref>


==Early life==
==Early life==

Revision as of 10:08, 30 April 2007

Template:MKs Azmi Bishara (Arabic: عزمي بشارة, Hebrew: עזמי בשארה, born July 22, 1956) [1] is a Palestinian Christian [2] who was a Member of the Israeli Knesset and leader of the Balad party, from 1996 until his resignation in April 2007.[1] He was born in Nazareth, and maintains a family home there. [1] (as of February 2007).

Bishara holds a PhD in Philosophy and has served as a senior lecturer and head of the Philosophy Department at Bir Zeit University in Ramallah. He has also served as a senior researcher at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem. [3][4]

Bishara was the first Arab citizen of Israel to run for Prime Minister in the 1999 election,[5] but dropped out of the race two days before election day. In the end, only Ehud Barak and Benyamin Netanyahu were left as final candidates, [2] with Barak emerging victorious.[6]

Bishara is currently being investigated by Israeli state security on charges of aiding Israel's enemies during the 2006 Lebanon War. According to court documents "Bishara was questioned twice in the case and during the last encounter he told interrogators that he intends to leave Israel for a couple of days. He said he would attend a third questioning session soon upon his return to Israel". [7][8][9]

Early life

Bishara went to school in Nazareth Baptist school,[citation needed] and established the first National Committee of Arab High School Students [10] and in 1974 was its chairman and in 1976, he was instrumental setting up the Committee for the Defense of Arab Lands, as well as the first National Arab Student Union. [2]

In the 1970s Bishara attended the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, was the head of the Arab Student Union, and was also active in the Jewish-Arab student group Campus. At the time Bishara was a member of the Israeli Communist Party Rakah (now part of Hadash), and supported an Internationalist-Marxist political agenda. His Communist affiliation helped him secure a scholarship for graduate studies in East Germany.[citation needed]

Upon completing his Ph.D in philosophy at Humboldt University of Berlin in 1986, he joined the faculty of Bir Zeit University, [11] and went on to head the Philosophy and Cultural Studies Department for two years, from 1994 to 1996. He has also worked as a senior researcher at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem. [12]

Political career

Bishara has been a Knesset member ever since the fourteenth Knesset (first seating June 17 1996) [1] and "was a key founder of the political party that he represents in the Knesset, the National Democratic Assembly (NDA-Balad)." [12] (The NDA is at times misnamed the "National Democratic Alliance".) Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

On April 22, 2007, Bishara resigned from the Knesset via the Israeli Embassy in Cairo following a police investigation into his foreign contacts, and accusations of aiding the enemy during wartime, passing information on to the enemy and contacts with a foreign agent, as well as laundering money received from foreign sources [13]. He was said to be "considering staying abroad because he feared a long term jail sentence and an end to his political career." [14] He also stated that he believed he wouldn't receive a fair trial. [13]

Visits to Syria

Bishara visited Syria in 2001, and gave a speech at a memorial ceremony for Syrian President Hafez al-Assad where he expressed support for Hezbollah. Upon his return to Israel, he was indicted and charged with incitement to violence and support for a terrorist organization, as defined by Israel's Prevention of Terror Ordinance. [15] Bishara again visited Syria in September 2006, where he warned of the possibility that "Israel launch a preliminary offensive in more than one place, in a bid to overcome the internal crisis in the country and in an attempt to restore its deterrence capability."[16] He and members of his party also visited Lebanon, where they told the Lebanese prime minister that Hizbullah's resistance to Israel has "lifted the spirit of the Arab people". [17] Soon thereafter at Interior Minister Roni "Bar-On's request, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz ordered a criminal investigation be opened against Balad MKs Azmi Bashara, Jamal Zahalka and Wassel Taha over their recent visit to Syria", as "[a]fter Bashara's last trip in 2001, the Knesset passed a law forbidding MKs from visiting any enemy state."[18]

Bishara adress a rally of supporters in April 2007. He told the thousands of supporters "My guilt is that I love my homeland... our intellect and our words are our weapons. Never in my life did I draw a gun or kill anyone." [19]

Miscellaneous

Writings

  • He is the author of the book The Palestinian Intifada and Its Reflections in the Israeli Public Opinion[citation needed]
  • He also published two novels of a planned trilogy: The Checkpoint (2004) (available in French translation, and a Hebrew translation is forthcoming) and Love in the Shadow Zone (2005).[citation needed]
  • Bishara has contributed articles to many books that deal with nationalism, Islam, and democracy, the Palestinian issue, and minority rights;[citation needed]
  • he also edited a series of 15 brochures and schoolbooks for teaching democracy and democratic principles in Arabic.[citation needed]

Arabic

Muwatin’s Publications

  • On the Democratic Option: Four Critical Studies. Re-published by the Center for Arab Unity Studies, Lebanon, 1993 (with Burhan Ghalioun, George Giacaman, and Said Zeedani)
  • Ziad Abu-Amr, with a Critical Commentary by Ali Jarbawi and Azmi Bishara: Civil Society and Democratic Change in Palestinian Society. 1995
  • A Critical Perspective on Palestinian Democracy. 1995 (with Musa Budeiri, Jamil Hilal, George Giacaman, and Azmi Bishara)
  • A Contribution to the Critique of Civil Society. 1996
  • The Ruptured Political Discourse and other Studies. 1998
  • The Site of Meaning: Essays from the First Year of the Intifada. 2002
  • In the Wake of the Israeli Invasion: Issues of Palestinian National Strategy. 2002.
  • Theses on a Deferred Awakening. 2003
  • From the Jewishness of the State to Sharon 2005 ISBN 9950-312-16-7
  • The Elements of Democracy Series Series Editor: Dr. Azmi Bishara (12 publications from '94 to '99)

Englisch

  • The Arabs in Israel/Azmi Bishara, Moreton-in-Marsh : Arris, 2003
  • The Palestinians of Israel/an interview with Azmi Bishara in The new Intifada:resisting Israel’s apartheid, edited by Roane Carey;introduction by Noam Chomsky, London; New York:Verso, 2001, ISBN 1950943778
  • The Palestinian elections:an assessment/‎Azmi Bishara et al.,‪ Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, Hebrew University of Jerusalem,‎‪ 1997 [20]

German

  • Die Jerusalem Frage :‎ Israelis und Palaestinenser im Gespraech‎ Teddy Kollek, Hanan Ashrawi, Amos Oz, Faisal Husseini, Ehud Olmert, Albert Aghazarian, Shulamit Aloni, Nazmi al-Jubeh, Meron Benvenisti, Ikrima Sabri, Michel Sabbah/Uri Avnery, Azmi Bishara (Hg.) (Translated from the Arabic, English or Hebrew by various translators), Heidelberg :‎ ‪ Palmyra,‎ ‪ c1996 [21]
  • --alles ändert sich die ganze Zeit:soziale Bewegung(en) im "Nahen Osten"/Jörg Später (Hrsg.), mit Beiträgen von Azmi Bishara et al., Freiburg (Breisgau) : Informationszentrum Dritte Welt, 1994 [20]

Hebrew

  • כיסופים בארץ המחסומים:רסיסי סיפור (במקור: وجد في بلاد الحواجر)\עזמי בשארה (מערבית: מיכאל גוגנהיימר), תל אביב : בבל, תשס"ה 2006
  • בין האני לאנחנו\עזמי בשארה (עורך), ירושלים : מכון ון ליר, תשנ"ט 1999
  • הנאורות - פרוייקט שלא נשלם? : שש מסות על נאורות ומודרניזם\עריכה ומבוא: עזמי בשארה, מבואות והערות למסות: רנה קלינוב, תל אביב : הקיבוץ המאוחד, תשנ"ז 1997 [22]

Awards

Bishara was awarded the “Ibn Rushd 'Averroes' Prize for Freedom of Thought” for the year 2002 in Berlin,[23] and the Global Exchange Human Rights Award for the year 2003 in San Francisco. [24]

References and notes

  1. ^ a b c d - English: Azmi Bishara listenⓘ
    - Arabic: عزمي بشارة listenⓘ
    - Hebrew: עזמי בשארה listenⓘ
    Information from Azmi Bishara Knesset Profile in English, Hebrew and Arabic
  2. ^ a b c d Jerusalem Post piece about Azmi Bishara for the 1999 elections Accessed March 11 2007
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ [2]
  5. ^ Profile: Israel's Arab voice. BBC News, January 9 2003
  6. ^ Healing a national wound BBC News, May 21 1999, accessed April 18 2007
  7. ^ Bishara suspected of aiding enemy during Lebanon war Ynetnews, Accessed 25 April 2007
  8. ^ MK Bishara resigns from Knesset Ynetnews, Accessed 25 April 2007
  9. ^ Bishara suspected of aiding enemies during Second Lebanon War Haaretz, Accessed 25 April 2007
  10. ^ Azmi Bishara - National Democratic Alliance Haaretz, Accessed March 11 2007.
  11. ^ "1980-1986: جامعة هومبولون برلين. تخرج منها بشهادة دكتوراة في الفلسفة بإمتياز."
    "1986-1996: محاضر الفلسفة والدراسات الثقافية، جامعة بير زيت."
    Translation:
    "1980-1986: Humboldt University, Berlin. He graduated cum-laude with a Ph.D. in Philosophy."
    "1986-1996: Lecturer in Philosophy and Cultural Studies, Bir-Zeyt University."
    Archived bio of Azmi Bishara (in Arabic) from the official NDA website Accessed February 24 2007
  12. ^ a b Bishara's English bio at Adalah
  13. ^ a b Balad Chairman Bishara: I cannot receive a fair trial in Israel Haaretz, Accessed 28 April 2007
  14. ^ Report: MK Bishara leaves Egypt Jerusalem Post. Accessed 25 April 2007
  15. ^ Israel's Knesset Votes to Revoke Immunity From Popular Palestinian Member of Parliament Azmi bishara
  16. ^ MK Bishara warns Syria of Israeli attack Ynetnews, September 9 2006
  17. ^ Balad MKs praise Hizbullah resistance Jerusalem Post, September 15 2006
  18. ^ Bar-On wants passports of Arab MKs who visited Syria revoked Haaretz, September 11 2006
  19. ^ Thousands protest in Nazareth in support of former MK Bishara Haaretz, Accessed 28 April 2007
  20. ^ a b "Azmi Bishara" in the Library of Congress Online Catalog
  21. ^ "Azmi Bishara" in the catalog of the Jewish National and University Library
  22. ^ עזמי בשארה in the catalog of the Jewish National and University Library
  23. ^ List of laureates of the Ibn Rushd prize for freedom of thought The Ibn-Rushd foundation
  24. ^ Global Exchange 3rd Annual Human Rights Awards Ceremony Global Exchange, May 22 2003
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