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Mansour Abbas

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Mansour Abbas
Abbas in 2023
Ministerial roles
2021–2022Minister without portfolio
Faction represented in the Knesset
2019United Arab List
2019–2021Joint List
2021–United Arab List
Personal details
Born (1974-04-22) 22 April 1974 (age 50)
Maghar, Israel

Mansour Abbas (Arabic: منصور عباس; Hebrew: מַנְסוּר עַבַּאס; born 22 April 1974)[1] is an Israeli Arab politician. He is currently the leader of the United Arab List and represents the party in the Knesset. He was appointed as the chair of Special Committee on Arab Society Affairs in the Knesset on 27 April 2021.[2] In 2021 Abbas made history by becoming the first Israeli Arab political leader to join an Israeli governing coalition.[3][4] He is a dentist by trade.

Early life and education

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Abbas was born in the town of Maghar in the Northern District of Israel, to a Muslim-Arabic family. His parents were farmers, and he had 10 siblings.[5] He began delivering sermons at the Peace Mosque in Maghar at the age of 17. He defines himself also as a Palestinian.

He attended the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to study dentistry. Abbas qualified as a dentist, though as of October 2023 his licence to practice has lapsed.[6][7] While at the university, he served as chair of the Arab Students Committee between 1997 and 1998.

Activism

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During his time at the university, Abbas met Abdullah Nimar Darwish, the founder of the Islamic Movement. Abbas also studied political science at the University of Haifa.

In 2007, Abbas became Secretary General of the United Arab List,[8] and in 2010 he was elected Deputy Chairman of the Southern Branch of the Islamic Movement.

Knesset career

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2019–2021

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In the April 2019 Knesset election, Abbas was nominated by the United Arab List and Balad to lead their joint party in the election.[9] He was subsequently elected to the Knesset as the alliance won four seats. Abbas attracted controversy when he spoke in support of conversion therapy to LGBTQ+ youth in an interview with Walla News, leading to his condemnation by other Joint List politicians.[10]

Further divisiveness was caused by Abbas's apparent attempt to improve ties with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing Likud party. He gave an interview with the right-wing pro-Netanyahu Channel 20 Network, where he advocated working with Zionist parties in order to secure the funds and reforms needed for the benefit of Arab Israeli society.[11]

On 21 April 2020, Abbas delivered a historic speech on the Holocaust in the Knesset in which he spoke of the suffering of the Jewish people at the hands of the Nazis. Abbas stated: "As a religious Palestinian Muslim Arab, who was raised on the legacy of Sheikh Abdullah Nimr Darwish who founded the Islamic Movement, I have empathy for the pain and suffering over the years of Holocaust survivors and the families of the murdered." He added, "I stand here to show solidarity with the Jewish people here and forever."[12]

Abbas joined the rest of the Joint List in voting against the Abraham Accords. He described his vote as a protest against the lack of a peace treaty with the Palestinians, adding, "If there will be a real agreement with the Palestinians, there will be real agreements with 55 Muslim countries. But what truly matters is that we are Israelis, and our actions are not supposed to be influenced by whether there is peace with Bahrain."[13]

2021–2022

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In January 2021, in the buildup to the 2021 elections, the United Arab List split from the Joint List.[14] Analysts attributed the split to a larger, more fundamental disagreement about whether to engage fully with Israeli politics as a means to improve quality of life for Arab Israeli citizens, which Abbas advocates, or to reject full engagement with domestic Israeli politics in order to focus on the larger Israeli-Palestinian conflict.[7][15][16][17][18][19] Abbas attributed this position to the influence of his mentor, Sheikh Abdullah, and described Abdullah's funeral as a philosophical turning point for him.[5][17]

During the 2021 Israeli-Palestinian crisis, Abbas condemned the burning of several synagogues in Lod by rioters, appealing to Muslim values and respect for the rule of law and vowing to help rebuild them. His actions earned him both praise from Jewish leaders and politicians, and anger from Muslim leaders, including calls to resign.[20][7][21][22][23]

According to the by-laws of the party, limiting MKs to three terms, Abbas was ineligible to run again for office in the 2021 elections. Abbas stated "I have to respect the institutions of Ra'am, if the bylaws are not changed, even though they didn't anticipate four elections in two years when they made the rules."[13] However, he ran in the election as party leader and the United Arab List won four seats.

Coalition government

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On 2 June 2021, after holding negotiations with Israeli opposition figures Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett, Abbas renewed his commitment to backing a non-Netanyahu government after signing a coalition agreement with Lapid, thereby forming the thirty-sixth government of Israel.[24][25] A photograph of Abbas signing the agreement, which made Ra'am the first independent Arab party to be part of a governing coalition, was widely circulated; after signing it, Bennett praised Abbas as a "courageous" leader.[26][27][28] The agreement included pledges to spend approximately US$16 billion to improve infrastructure and reduce crime in Arab towns, to protect homes built without permits in Arab villages, and to recognize four Bedouin towns in the Negev desert.[29][30]

On 28 October 2021 the Israeli cabinet approved a plan to spend US$9.4 billion to improve employment opportunities and health services for Israeli Arabs and improve housing, technology, and infrastructure in Arab areas;[31][32] it included a further US$1 billion to address high crime rates in Arab areas.[31][33] Abbas was widely credited with accomplishing an "historic step" forward for Arab Israelis in securing this unprecedented amount of funding.[15][34] The plan was signed into law when the budget passed on 4 November 2021.[35]

Abbas, Israeli president Isaac Herzog and young Bedouins in the city of Rahat, 15 February 2022

Under Abbas's direction the coalition government recognized several Bedouin villages and has connected tens of thousands of previously illegal homes to the electrical grid.[15][36][37][38]

On 9 November 2021 Abbas met with King Abdullah II of Jordan, the first occasion where the king has met an Arab party leader who is a sitting member of the Israeli government; the two discussed the peace process and reiterated their support for a two-state solution.[39][40]

On 21 December 2021 Abbas said that Israel was born as a Jewish state and will remain so, provoking outrage from members of other Arab parties.[41][42] On 10 February 2022 Abbas rejected Amnesty International's charge that Israel is an apartheid state, saying of Israel: "I would not call it apartheid."[43][44]

2022–present

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Abbas led his party into the 2022 Israeli legislative election, where he was reelected. Abbas was praised in a November 2022 op-ed in The New York Times by former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who described him as "brave".[45][46] Following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, Abbas urged unity between Jews and Arabs in Israel.[47]

He condemned the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.[48][49] On 1 December 2023, he said that "armed Palestinian factions need to stop using weapons and turn to a diplomatic project with the Palestinian Authority to strengthen the chances of a Palestinian state and announce an inclusive and permanent ceasefire to bring about peace and an end to" the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. In response, Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called him a "terrorist supporter", Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich accused him of supporting Israel's enemies, and Legislative Committee Chairman Simcha Rothman accused Abbas and the United Arab List of being "supporters of terrorism". On the other hand, Israel's Labor Party leader Merav Michaeli praised Abbas, saying his statements demonstrate "a committed and real Jewish-Arab partnership".[50]

Ideology and political views

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Abbas has been stated to be conservative and socially conservative and has opposed pro-LGBT legislation.[51][52] He has also spoken out in support of conversion therapy for LGBT people.[53] He is frequently referred to as an Islamist.[51][54] He has lambasted political parties on the Israeli left, saying, "What have I to do with the left? … in religious matters, I'm right-wing" and said that he has more in common with conservative Jewish ultra-Orthodox parties than with socially liberal parties.[51]

Abbas publicly accepts Israel as a de facto Jewish state and states that it does not practice apartheid.[55][56] His decision to do so during comments he made at a business conference caused an uproar among some in the Arab public.[56]

Personal life

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Abbas is married with three children and lives in Maghar; his wife, Yakoot, is a high school English teacher.[7]

Abbas serves as an imam at a mosque near Tiberias.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Members of the 25th Knesset". Knesset. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  2. ^ "MK Mansour Abbas Appointed to Chair Special Committee". Knesset News. 27 April 2021. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  3. ^ "Mansour Abbas: Arab-Israeli political trailblazer". France 24. 29 October 2022. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  4. ^ Khoury, Jack (7 August 2022). "After a Turbulent Year, Mansour Abbas Still Has a Strong Grip on Islamist Party". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  5. ^ a b Halpern, Orly (11 June 2021). "'It's Possible to Do Things Differently.' The Arab Kingmaker Who Joined Israel's Far-Right to Oust Netanyahu". Time. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Dental Certification Mansour Abbas". Ministry of Health, Israel. Archived from the original on 18 September 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d e Margalit, Ruth (22 October 2021). "The Arab-Israeli Power Broker in the Knesset". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  8. ^ "מנסור עבאס". Maariv.
  9. ^ "Ra'am–Balad list". Central Elections Committee.
  10. ^ Sverdlov, Leon (11 July 2020). "Arab MK: LGBTQ rights are human rights, Arab community is evolving". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 22 November 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  11. ^ "Arab MK under fire from his party for urging cooperation with Netanyahu". The Times of Israel. 25 November 2020. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  12. ^ Issan-Benchimol, Noémie; Beressi, Elie (10 March 2022). "An Islamist Rewrites the Rules of the Political Game in Israel". K. Jews, Europe, the XXIst century. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  13. ^ a b Hoffman, Gil (19 November 2020). "Meet Mansour Abbas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's unlikely ally". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 31 January 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  14. ^ "Knesset panel approves Joint List's breakup after talks with Ra'am faction fail". The Times of Israel. 28 January 2021. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  15. ^ a b c "Arab leader's gamble to play kingmaker in Israel is paying off". NPR. Associated Press. 17 January 2022. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  16. ^ "Why 1 Arab Party Joined Israel's Coalition Government But The Other Did Not". NPR. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  17. ^ a b Kingsley, Patrick (4 July 2021). "As Secular Peace Effort Stutters in Israel, Religious Mediators Hope to Step In". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  18. ^ "Arab Parties' Fight for Political Control in Israel's Negev Reaches Boiling Point". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  19. ^ Falk, Thomas O. (2 July 2021). "Can United Arab List change Israeli politics from within?". Al Jazeera English. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  20. ^ "Lod: Why an Israeli town's mayor is warning of civil war". BBC News. 12 May 2021. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  21. ^ Daventry, Michael (17 May 2021). "Israeli Arab leader Mansour Abbas visits synagogue torched in Lod". Jewish News. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Mansour Abbas: We will repair synagogues torched by Arabs". The Times of Israel. 16 May 2021. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  23. ^ Hauser Tov, Michael (17 May 2021). "Islamist Leader Faces Ire Over Visit to Burned Synagogue: 'His Position Is in Danger'". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  24. ^ "Mansour Abbas signs coalition agreement to unseat Benjamin Netanyahu". The National. 2 June 2021. Archived from the original on 4 May 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  25. ^ "Lapid Expected to Tell President He Has Succeeded in Forming a Government". Haaretz. 2 June 2021. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  26. ^ Kershner, Isabel (2 June 2021). "The Arab party Raam makes history within coalition". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 18 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  27. ^ Kingsley, Patrick; Rasgon, Adam (3 June 2021). "Fragile Israeli Coalition to Oust Netanyahu Faces Growing Pressure". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  28. ^ Hoffman, Gil (3 June 2021). "Bennett: Mansour Abbas courageous leader". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  29. ^ Ayyub, Rami (3 June 2021). "Arab Islamist helps clinch Israel's new anti-Netanyahu government". Reuters. Archived from the original on 18 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  30. ^ Rasgon, Adam (10 June 2021). "A New Israeli Government Could Mean Help for Neglected Bedouin Villages". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  31. ^ a b "Israeli cabinet backs huge spending plan for Arab minority". BBC News. 25 October 2021. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  32. ^ Khoury, Jack; Peleg, Bar; Efrati, Ido; Kadari-Ovadia, Shira (28 October 2021). "Five-year Plan for Israel's Arab Community: $9 Billion Won't Bridge a Gap Decades in the Making". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  33. ^ Boxerman, Aaron (24 October 2021). "Cabinet okays NIS 32 billion to develop Arab Israeli economy, fight crime". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  34. ^ Boxerman, Aaron (8 October 2021). "As unprecedented billions planned for under-served Arabs, devil's in the details". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  35. ^ Wootliff, Raoul (4 November 2021). "Coalition passes 2021 budget, first in 3.5 years, averting early election threat". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  36. ^ Boxerman, Aaron (3 November 2021). "Government legalizes 3 unrecognized Bedouin towns, fulfilling Ra'am's pledge". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  37. ^ "3 Bedouin villages to be recognized, receive infrastructure". The Jerusalem Post. 21 October 2021. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  38. ^ Shpigel, Noa (5 January 2022). "Fast-tracked Knesset Vote on Unrecognized Villages Passes, Enraging Opposition". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  39. ^ Khoury, Jack; Lis, Jonathan (9 November 2021). "Jordan's Abdullah Talks Palestinians, Jerusalem With Israeli Lawmaker Abbas". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  40. ^ Boxerman, Aaron (9 November 2021). "Ra'am party chief Abbas discusses 2-state solution with Jordan's king". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  41. ^ Hoffman, Gil (22 December 2021). "Israel is a Jewish state and will remain so - Ra'am's Abbas". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 23 December 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  42. ^ Toameh, Khaled Abu (22 December 2021). "Palestinians slam Mansour Abbas for 'recognizing' Israel as a Jewish state". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 23 December 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  43. ^ Krauss, Joseph (10 February 2022). "Arab party leader in Israel rejects 'apartheid' label". ABC News. Archived from the original on 10 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  44. ^ Kraus, Joseph (10 February 2022). "Arab party leader in Israel rejects 'apartheid' label". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 10 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  45. ^ "Bennett extolls outgoing coalition in NYT op-ed, praises Ra'am's Abbas as 'a mensch'". The Times of Israel. 27 November 2023. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  46. ^ Bennett, Naftali (27 November 2022). "A Good-Will Government Was Possible in Israel". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  47. ^ Pacchiani, Gianluca (7 October 2023). "Ra'am leader Abbas urges Arab community not to respond to incitement, calls for unity". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 15 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  48. ^ "The Arab Israeli community stands in solidarity against Hamas - opinion". The Jerusalem Post. 24 October 2023.
  49. ^ "Arab Israeli Lawmaker Abbas Denounces Hamas Attack, Says the Massacre Does Not 'Represent Our Arab Society'". Haaretz. 7 November 2023.
  50. ^ "Ministers decry Mansour Abbas for calling on Palestinians to lay down arms". The Jerusalem Post. 2 December 2023.
  51. ^ a b c Abu Sneineh, Mustafa (24 March 2021). "Mansour Abbas, the Islamist leader who could be Israel's kingmaker". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  52. ^ "Arab leader's gamble to play kingmaker in Israel is paying off". NPR. 17 January 2022. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  53. ^ Boxerman, Aaron (25 March 2021). "How Islamist Ra'am broke Arab politics and may win the keys to the government". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  54. ^ Halpern, Orly; Qana, Kafr (11 June 2021). "'It's Possible to Do Things Differently.' The Arab Kingmaker Who Joined Israel's Far-Right to Oust Netanyahu". Time. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  55. ^ Kershner, Isabel (27 August 2022). "Lesson's Learned, Israel's Unlikely Kingmaker Looks Ahead". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  56. ^ a b Goldenberg, Tia (17 January 2022). "How Islamist lawmaker Mansour Abbas has shaken up Israeli politics". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
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