Labib Hussein Abu Rokan (, ; 1911 – 20 November 1989) was a

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 ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i 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 the

Cooperation and Brotherhood Cooperation and Brotherhood (, ''Shituf VeAhva''; ) was an Arab satellite list in Israel. History Cooperation and Brotherhood was an Israeli Arab organisation formed to participate in the 1959 elections. Like other Israeli Arab parties at the ...

party between 1959 and 1961.

Biography

Abu Rokan was born in

Isfiya Isfiya (, ), also known as Usfiya, is a Druze-majority village in northern Israel, governed by a Local council (Israel), local council. It also includes Christians, Muslims and a few Jews, Jewish households. Located on Mount Carmel, it is part of ...

during the

Ottoman era The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Central Euro ...

. During the

Arab revolt The Arab Revolt ( ), also known as the Great Arab Revolt ( ), was an armed uprising by the Hashemite-led Arabs of the Hejaz against the Ottoman Empire amidst the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On the basis of the McMahon–Hussein Co ...

in the late 1930s, he played a crucial role in establishing connections with

Abba Hushi Abba Hushi (Also: Aba Khoushy; ; born Abba Schneller; 1898 – 24 March 1969) was an Israeli politician who served as mayor of Haifa for eighteen years between 1951 and 1969. Hushi was one of the founders and activists of Hashomer Hatzair move ...

(secretary of

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

Workers Council) and the

Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...

. He was also a member of the

Histadrut Histadrut, fully the New General Workers' Federation () and until 1994 the General Federation of Labour in the Land of Israel (, ''HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael''), is Israel's national trade union center and represents the m ...

-affiliated Union of Workers in Eretz Yisrael. During the

1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

Abu Rokan recruited Druze volunteers to fight in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

. Following the war, he helped establish co-operative groups in Druze and Arab villages, including Bustan, which sold vegetables. In 1950 he became head of

local council, a position he held until 1959. That year, he was elected to the Knesset as a representative of the Cooperation and Brotherhood party. Despite the party maintaining its two-seat strength in the 1961 elections, Abu Rokan and his colleague Yussef Diab lost their seats. In 1963, Abu Rokan was appointed as a

Qadi A qadi (; ) is the magistrate or judge of a Sharia court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and minors, and supervision and auditing of public works. History The term '' was in use from ...

of the Druze Religious Court. Later, in 1980, he became a qadi in the Druze Religious Appeals Court.Laviv-Hussein Abu-Rochan: Public Activities
Knesset website He died on 20 November 1989.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abu Rokan, Labib Hussein 1911 births 1989 deaths Arab people in Mandatory Palestine Cooperation and Brotherhood politicians Druze members of the Knesset Israeli Druze people 20th-century Israeli judges Israeli trade unionists Members of the 4th Knesset (1959–1961) People from Isfiya