Sheikh Ibrahim Sarsur ( ar, ابراهيم صرصور, he, אִבְרָהִים צַרְצוּר; born 2 February 1959) is an

Israeli Arab The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...

politician. A former leader of the

United Arab List The United Arab List ( he, הַרְשִׁימָה הַעֲרָבִית הַמְאוּחֶדֶת, ''HaReshima HaAravit HaMe'uhedet''; ar, القائمة العربية الموحدة, ''al-Qā'ima al-'Arabiyya al-Muwaḥḥada''), commonly kn ...

, he represented the party in the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

from 2006 to 2015.

Biography

Born in

Kafr Qasim Kafr Qasim ( ar, كفر قاسم, he, כַּפְר קָאסִם), also spelled as Kafr Qassem, Kufur Kassem, Kfar Kassem and Kafar Kassem, is a hill-top city in Israel with an Arab citizens of Israel, Arab population. It is located about east ...

, Sarsur studied English literature and English linguistics at

Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academi ...

during the 1970s. He became a member of Kafr Qasim council in 1989, serving on it until becoming the head of the southern faction of the Islamic Movement (considered more moderate than its northern counterpart) in 1999. He also became one of the heads of the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel. In the

2006 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2006. * Elections in 2006 * Electoral calendar 2006 * 2006 Acehnese regional election * 2006 American Samoan legislative election * 2006 Bahraini parliamentary election * 2006 Costa Rican president ...

he was elected to the Knesset. He spoke out against a meeting of Arab lesbians in 2007, releasing a statement saying that "all respectable people from all communities and streams to stand up against preaching sexual deviance among our women and girls." He also claimed there were no homosexuals in the Muslim community. Following an Israeli air strike in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

which killed a woman and her four children in April 2008, he compared the actions of Israel to those of the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

: "Israel's killing of innocent people is reminiscent of some very dark times, including that of the Nazis." In April 2010 Sarsur lost in the elections of the southern branch to Sheikh

Hamed Abu Daabas Sheikh Hamed Abu Daabas ( ar, حماد ابو دعابس, he, חמאד אבו דעאבס) is an Arab-Israeli of Bedouin descent, and the chairman of the southern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel. Abu Daabas was elected as the chairman of ...

. Abu Daabas received 192 votes while Sarsur received 142. Sarsur was re-elected in 2009. In a June 2011 speech he praised Hezbollah for "defeating" Israel and called for a new

caliphate A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

to be established with its capital in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. He was re-elected again in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

. Later in the year he signed a petition along with 105 other MKs calling for the release of the Jewish-American

Jonathan Pollard Jonathan Jay Pollard (born August 7, 1954) is a former intelligence analyst for the United States government. In 1987, as part of a plea agreement, Pollard pleaded guilty to spying for and providing top-secret classified information to Israel. H ...

, currently imprisoned by the United States for spying for Israel. Sarsur was quoted as saying that he "felt an emotional kinship with Pollard when eheard about the conditions under which he lives", comparing Pollard's treatment to that of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. Sarsur retired from politics prior to the

2015 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in the year 2015. Africa * 2015 Beninese parliamentary election 26 April 2015 * 2015 Burkinabé general election 29 November 2015 * 2015 Burundian legislative election 29 June 2015 * 2015 Burun ...

, and was given a symbolic 119th place on the

Joint List The Joint List ( ar, القائمة المشتركة, ''al-Qa'imah al-Mushtarakah'', he, הָרְשִׁימָה הַמְּשֻׁתֶּפֶת, ''HaReshima HaMeshutefet'') was a political alliance of four of the Arab-majority political parties in ...

, an alliance of

Hadash Hadash ( he, חד״ש, lit=New), an acronym for ''HaHazit HaDemokratit LeShalom uLeShivion'' ( he, הַחֲזִית הַדֶּמוֹקְרָטִית לְשָׁלוֹם וּלְשִׁוְיוֹן, lit=The Democratic Front for Peace and Equalit ...

and several Arab parties.Joint List list
Central Elections Committee His successor as party leader is Masud Ghnaim.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sarsur, Ibrahim 1959 births Living people Arab members of the Knesset Bar-Ilan University alumni Israeli Muslims Members of the 17th Knesset (2006–2009) Members of the 18th Knesset (2009–2013) Members of the 19th Knesset (2013–2015) Muslim Brotherhood leaders People from Kafr Qasim United Arab List leaders

Biography

See also

References

External links