Azmi Bishara facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Azmi Bishara
Faction represented in the Knesset
1996–2007	Balad
Personal details
Born	(1956-07-22) 22 July 1956 (age 69) Nazareth, Israel

Azmi Bishara (Arabic: عزمي بشارة, born 22 July 1956) is a well-known Arab-Israeli thinker, writer, and political expert. He is currently the General Director of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies. He also leads the Board of Trustees for the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.

Born in Nazareth, Israel, Azmi Bishara started his political work early. In 1974, he created the National Committee for Arab High School Students. Later, at university, he formed the Arab Students Union. In 1995, he helped start the Balad political party. He was elected to the Knesset (Israel's parliament) in 1996. He was re-elected several times until 2006.

After some events in 2006, Bishara left Israel. He then settled in Qatar. There, he became an important academic and researcher at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies. He also helped create the Al-Araby Al-Jadeed media group. In 2017, he decided to focus all his time on writing and thinking.

Early Life and Education

Azmi Bishara was born in Nazareth into a Christian Arab family. His mother was a teacher, and his father worked as a health inspector and a trade unionist. His family has lived in the Nazareth area for hundreds of years.

His interest in politics began when he was in high school. In 1974, at 18, he started the "National Committee of the Arab High School Students." He said he formed this group to fight against unfair practices.

While studying at the University of Haifa, he created the Arab Students Union. He also helped found the Committee for the Defense of Arab Lands in 1976. He later studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem from 1977 to 1980. During this time, he led the Arab Students Union. He then went to Berlin and earned his PhD in philosophy from the Humboldt University of Berlin.

His Work and Ideas

Academic Contributions

After getting his PhD in philosophy from Humboldt University of Berlin in 1986, Azmi Bishara joined Birzeit University in the West Bank. He led the Philosophy and Cultural Studies Department from 1994 to 1996. He also worked as a senior researcher at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute.

Bishara helped establish the Society for Arab Culture. He also co-founded Muwatin, the Palestinian Institute for the Study of Democracy, in 1992. He is also a member of the board of trustees for the Arab Democracy Foundation.

Today, Bishara is the general director of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies in Doha, Qatar. This center is also known as the Doha Institute. He is also a key advisor to Qatar's former emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, and the current emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad.

Political Journey

In 1995, Azmi Bishara led a group of young Israeli Palestinian thinkers. They founded the political party called National Democratic Assembly, or Balad for short. In 1996, he was elected to the Knesset, Israel's parliament.

Bishara planned to be the first Arab to run for Prime Minister in the 1999 election. However, he decided not to run just two days before the election.

In 2003, the Central Elections Committee tried to stop Bishara from running in the elections. They said he supported "armed struggle." However, the Supreme Court overturned this decision. The court explained that his speeches did not clearly support a terrorist organization, even though they supported a "terrorist organization."

After his election, the Knesset voted to remove Bishara's special protection as a member of parliament. However, the Supreme Court later dismissed the charges and gave his protection back.

Views on the 2006 Israel–Lebanon War

During the 2006 Lebanon War, Bishara spoke out against the Israeli government. He criticized them for not providing bomb shelters in Arab areas in northern Israel. He also said Israel was using Arabs as "human shields" by placing military units near Arab towns.

Bishara believed that Arab Israelis would face difficulties after the war. He said, "If [the Israelis] lose, they will turn against us, if they win, they will turn against us."

In September 2006, after the war, Bishara visited Syria. He warned that Israel might launch more attacks to solve its internal problems. Bishara and members of his party also visited Lebanon. They told the Lebanese prime minister that Hezbollah's resistance during the war had "lifted the spirit of the Arab people."

Resignation from Knesset

On 22 April 2007, Azmi Bishara resigned from the Knesset. He sent his resignation from the Israeli Embassy in Cairo. This happened after a police investigation into his contacts abroad. Bishara denied any wrongdoing. He stated he would not return to Israel because he believed he would not get a fair trial.

Later, a court allowed the public to know more about the suspicions against him. These included claims of helping an enemy during wartime and handling money from foreign sources. Bishara denied these claims.

In April 2007, Bishara spoke to his supporters in Nazareth by phone. He told them, "My guilt is that I love my homeland... our intellect and our words are our weapons. Never in my life did I draw a gun or kill anyone."

In 2008, the Knesset passed a new law, sometimes called the Bishara Law. This law would prevent anyone who visited an enemy state from being a member of the Knesset. Another "Bishara Law" in 2011 led to his Knesset pension being stopped.

Syrian Revolt

According to the Financial Times, Bishara was involved in forming the Syrian National Coalition. This is a main group of Syrian opposition, supported by Qatar. Bishara reportedly advised Qatar's emir and crown prince. In July 2011, Bishara said that Syria's leader, Assad, could have stayed in power if he had made the changes people wanted. He wrote, "The regime chose not to change, and so the people will change it."

Personal Life

Azmi Bishara is married and has two children. He received a kidney transplant in March 1997 at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. According to his website, he is a citizen of Qatar.

Published Works

Azmi Bishara has written many books and articles. Some of his works include:

• من يهودية الدولة حتى شارون (Min yahudiyat al-dawla hata Sharon) ("From the Jewishness of the State to Sharon") (2005)
• The Ruptured Political Discourse and Other Studies (Arabic, 1998)
• Two novels from a planned series: The Checkpoint (2004) (Arabic: وجد في بلاد الحواجز) and Love in the Shadow Zone (2005).

Books in Arabic

• On the Democratic Option: Four Critical Studies (1993)
• Civil Society and Democratic Change in Palestinian Society (1995)
• A Critical Perspective on Palestinian Democracy (1995)
• A Contribution to the Critique of Civil Society (1996)
• The Ruptured Political Discourse and other Studies (1998)
• The Site of Meaning: Essays from the First Year of the Intifada (2002)
• In the Wake of the Israeli Invasion: Issues of Palestinian National Strategy (2002)
• Theses on a Deferred Awakening (2003)
• ((عزمي بشارة‎)) (2005) (in ar). دار الشروق للنشر والتوزيع. ISBN 978-9950-312-16-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=4V9XRAAACAAJ.
• The Elements of Democracy Series, as editor (12 publications from 1994–99)

Articles in English

• "Religion and Democracy" (2002)
• "The Palestinians of Israel: An Interview with Azmi Bishara" (2001)
• The Palestinian elections:an assessment (1997)
• Universal instincts (2006)
• Ministry of strategic threats (2006)
• Realities of death (2006)
• A selective memory (2006)
• Strong in spite of themselves (2006)
• Initiative versus principle (2007)
• Shattered illusions (2007)
• Why Israel is After Me (2007)
• Israeli games again (2007)
• Ignorant thieves (2007)
• Headlong to more of the same (2007)
• US war insanity (2007)
• Madrid redux (2007)

Books in German

• alles ändert sich die ganze Zeit: Soziale Bewegung(en) im "Nahen Osten" (1994)
• Die Araber und die Shoa. Über die Schwierigkeit dieser Konjunktion. (1994)
• Die Jerusalem Frage: Israelis und Palaestinenser im Gespräch. (1996)

Awards and Recognition

Azmi Bishara has received several awards for his work:

• The Ibn Rushd Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2002 in Berlin.
• The Global Exchange International Human Rights Award in 2003 in San Francisco.

See also

In Spanish: Azmi Bishara para niños

• Palestinian Christians