Juma Azbarga ( ar, جمعة زبارقة, he, ג'ומעה אזברגה; born 15 August 1956) is a Bedouin
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. He served as a Member of 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 ...
for 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 ...
between 2017 and 2019.
Biography
Azbarga was born in
Lakiya
Lakiya, or Laqye ( ar, اللقية, he, לָקִיָּה) is a Bedouin town ( local council) in the Southern District of Israel. In it had a population of .
History
Lakiya was founded in 1985 as part of a government project to settle Bedouin ...
and attended a local community school as there were no state schools in Lakiya at the time. In 1973 he moved to
Tayibe
Tayibe, also spelled Taibeh or Tayiba, ( ar, الطيبة, lit=the kind/benevolent, translit=aṭ-Ṭayyibah, South Levantine pronunciation: ; he, טַיִּבָּה) is an Arab city in central Israel, north east of Kfar Saba.Joumah Azbarga: Biography Knesset He then joined a teacher training college in
Beersheba
Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...
, but was expelled following an argument about politics with a lecturer. After working as an earthworks contractor, he helped open the first
Maccabi Healthcare Services
Maccabi Health Services (Hebrew: מכבי שירותי בריאות, formerly Maccabi Fund for the Ill, Hebrew: קופת חולים מכבי), known as Kupat Holim Maccabi, is one of the four Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) currently activ ...
clinics for the
Negev Bedouin
The Negev Bedouin ( ar, بدو النقب, ''Badū an-Naqab''; he, הבדואים בנגב, ''HaBedu'im BaNegev'') are traditionally pastoral nomadic Arab tribes ( Bedouin), who until the later part of the 19th century would wander between Sa ...
community. He then attended
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) ( he, אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has five campuses: the ...
, earning a BA in health administration, before returning to manage the Maccabi clinics in the Bedouins towns of
Kuseife
Kuseife ( ar, كسيفة) or Kseifa ( he, כְּסֵיפָה) is a Bedouin town ( local council) in the Southern District of Israel. Kuseife was founded in 1982 as part of a government project to settle Bedouins in permanent settlements. In 1996 ...
, Lakiya and
Rahat
Rahat ( ar, رهط, he, רַהַט) is a predominantly Bedouin city in the Southern District of Israel. In it had a population of . As such, it is the largest Bedouin city in the world, and the only one in Israel to have city status.
Rahat i ...
.
Azbarga joined the Balad party in 1999, and was eighth on its list for the 2003 Knesset elections, but failed to be elected. In 2004 he was elected to Lakiya local council on the party's list. He was fifth on the Balad list for the 2006 Knesset elections, but the party won only three seats. He was moved down to tenth for the
2009 elections
The following elections occurred in the year 2009.
* Electoral calendar 2009
* 2009 United Nations Security Council election
Caribbean
* 2009 Antiguan general election
* 2009 Aruban general election
* 2009 Caymanian constitutional referendu ...
, which saw the party win three seats again, but was fourth on its list for the
2013 elections
The following elections were occurred in the year 2013.
Asia
* 2013 Armenian local elections 26 May, 17 November, and 8 December 2013
* 2013 Armenian presidential election 18 February 2013
* 2013 Bangladeshi presidential election 22 April 2013 ...
, but the party won only three seats. He was subsequently placed fourteenth on the Joint List, an alliance of Arab parties, for the 2015 Knesset elections. He did not enter the Knesset as the alliance won only 13 seats. However, Joint List MK
Basel Ghattas
Dr Basel Ghattas ( ar, باسل غطاس, he, באסל גטאס; born 23 March 1956) is an Israeli Arab politician. A member of Balad, he served as a member of the Knesset for Balad and the Joint List from 2015 until 2017. In December 2016, he ...
gave up his seat in March 2017 after agreeing to resign from the Knesset and be jailed for two years after smuggling notes and phones to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.Arab MK signs plea bargain, agrees to go to jail The Times of Israel, 16 March 2017 Azbarga took Ghattas' seat on 21 March.
Balad contested the April 2019 elections in alliance with 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 ...
. Azbarga was given the 109th slot on the two parties' list,Ra'am–Balad list CEC losing his place in the Knesset as they won only four seats.