Sheikh Jabr Muadi (; ; 1 April 1919 – 19 May 2009) was an Israeli

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

politician who served as a member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

for seven different parties between 1951 and 1981.

Biography

Born in Yirka in British-controlled

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, Muadi was first elected to the Knesset in 1951 as a member of the Democratic List for Israeli Arabs. Although he lost his seat in the 1955 elections, he returned to the Knesset on 13 February 1956 as a replacement for Seif el-Din el-Zubi. He lost his seat again in the 1959 elections. He returned to the Knesset again after being elected on the Cooperation and Brotherhood list in

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

. He retained his seat in the 1965 elections. The following year Cooperation and Brotherhood merged with

Progress and Development Progress and Development (, ''Kidma VePituah''; ) was an Arab satellite list in Israel. History Progress and Development was established in 1959, drawing its support from the Galilee area. Like other Israeli Arab parties at the time, it was asso ...

to form

Cooperation and Development Cooperation and Development (, ''Shituf VePituah''; ) was a short-lived Arab satellite list in Israel. History Cooperation and Development was established on 5 July 1966 during the 1965 Israeli legislative election, sixth Knesset, when two of the ...

. The two parties split again on 1 January 1967, and on 11 April, Muadi broke away to form his own single-member faction, the

Druze Party The Israeli Druze Faction (, ''al-Ketla al-Druzia al-Isra'iliah'', , ''HaSia'a HaDruzit HaYisraelit''), also known as the Druze Party, was a short-lived, one-man political faction in Israel. History The party was established on 11 April 1967 duri ...

, which he represented until the 1969 elections. In the elections he was returned to the Knesset on the Progress and Development list, and on 27 October 1971 was appointed Deputy Minister of Communications, becoming the second non-Jew to be part of an Israeli government. He was re-elected in

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

. In February 1974 the party merged into the

Alignment Alignment may refer to: Archaeology * Alignment (archaeology), a co-linear arrangement of features or structures with external landmarks * Stone alignment, a linear arrangement of upright, parallel megalithic standing stones Biology * Struc ...

, and on 6 May Muadi was re-appointed to his deputy ministerial post. On 24 March 1975 he became Deputy Minister of Agriculture. On 8 June 1976 Progress and Development left the Alignment, and the following year merged with the Arab List for Bedouins and Villagers to form the

United Arab List The United Arab List (, ''HaReshima HaAravit HaMe'uhedet''; , ''al-Qā'ima al-'Arabiyya al-Muwaḥḥada''), commonly known by its Hebrew acronym Ra'am (, ), is an Islamist and conservative political party in Israel and the political wing of ...

, the seventh party Muadi had represented in the Knesset. Despite leaving the Alignment, he remained a deputy minister. He lost his seat in the 1977 elections, but was due to re-enter the Knesset as part of a rotation deal with other party members. However, after Hamad Abu Rabia went back on a deal to resign his seat in order for Muadi to take it (a court had ruled the agreement was invalid), he was shot dead by Muadi's sons. Despite threats of revenge, Muadi took his seat on 12 January 1981.Druse Sheik Takes Seat In the Israeli Parliament
New York Times, 21 January 1981 He lost his seat for the final time in the 1981 elections, in which the United Arab List failed to cross the electoral threshold. He died in 2009 at the age of 90.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muadi, Jabr 1919 births 2009 deaths Alignment (Israel) politicians Cooperation and Brotherhood politicians Cooperation and Development politicians Democratic List for Israeli Arabs politicians Deputy ministers of Israel Druze members of the Knesset Israeli Druze people Israeli Druze Faction politicians Members of the 2nd Knesset (1951–1955) Members of the 3rd Knesset (1955–1959) Members of the 5th Knesset (1961–1965) Members of the 6th Knesset (1965–1969) Members of the 7th Knesset (1969–1974) Members of the 8th Knesset (1974–1977) Members of the 9th Knesset (1977–1981) People from Northern District (Israel) Progress and Development politicians United Arab List (1977) politicians