Seif el-Din el-Zoubi, ; in Hebrew his name was most often written without niqqud (as is standard) as . (; 1913 – 26 June 1986) was an Israeli Arab politician.

Biography

El-Zoubi was born in 1913 in

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

, where he attended high school. During the British Mandate of Palestine, he was active in the Haganah and later received the Fighter of the State Decoration. During the Israeli War of Independence, he convinced the Zoubi family to throw their weight behind the Jewish side and not for Fawzi al-Qawuqji's Arab Liberation Army. In 1949, he was elected to the Knesset as the leader of the Democratic List of Nazareth which was a bloc party of Mapai. During this time he was a member of the Knesset Internal Affairs Committee. He was re-elected in 1951 on the Democratic List for Israeli Arabs, and again in 1955. During this time he served on the Knesset house committee. He resigned from the Knesset on 13 February 1956. In 1959, he became mayor of Nazareth, the city's first Muslim mayor in decades, and held the post until 1965, when he returned to the Knesset on the Progress and Development list, which briefly merged into Cooperation and Development before regaining its independence. He was elected to the Knesset in 1969, and was appointed Deputy Speaker of the Knesset. In 1971, el-Zoubi became mayor of Nazareth again, holding the post until 1974. El-Zoubi 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 1974, Progress and Development merged into Alignment, before leaving it and forming 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 ...

. He was re-elected for a final time on the United Arab List slate in 1977, before resigning his seat on 3 April 1979. He died in 1986. Haneen Zoabi, who served as a Member of the Knesset for the Joint List, is a relative.

Controversy

According to Israeli historian Ori Stendel, el-Zoubi used his ties with the Israeli establishment to compensate for the decline of his political power within the Zubia clan. Historian Hillel Cohen wrote that el-Zoubi was "upgraded" by Mapai in exchange for relinquishing national demands and legitimizing land confiscations.

Yitzhak Laor Yitzhak Laor (; born in 1948) is an Israeli poet, author and journalist. Biography Yitzhak Laor was born in Pardes Hanna. Literary and journalism career He is the author of ten volumes of poetry, three novels, three collections of short stories, ...

described his conduct as tantamount to taking political bribery.

Publications

*Autobiography: ”Eyewitness” (, 1987)

References

Notes

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Zoubi, Seif El-Din El- 1913 births 1986 deaths Alignment (Israel) politicians Arab members of the Knesset Arab people in Mandatory Palestine Arab supporters of Israel Cooperation and Development politicians Democratic List for Israeli Arabs politicians Democratic List of Nazareth politicians Deputy speakers of the Knesset Haganah members Israeli Muslims Leaders of political parties in Israel Mayors of Nazareth Members of the 1st Knesset (1949–1951) Members of the 2nd Knesset (1951–1955) Members of the 3rd Knesset (1955–1959) 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) Politicians from Nazareth Progress and Development politicians United Arab List (1977) politicians