Azmi Bishara

Azmi Bishara
Faction represented in the Knesset
1996–2007Balad
Personal details
Born (1956-07-22) 22 July 1956 (age 68)
Nazareth, Israel

Azmi Bishara (Arabic: عزمي بشارة listen born 22 July 1956) is an Arab-Israeli public intellectual, political philosopher and author.[1] He is presently the General Director of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies and the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.[2][3]

Born in Nazareth, Israel, his political activity began when he founded the National Committee for Arab High School Students in 1974. He later established the Arab Students Union when at university. In 1995 he formed the Balad party and was elected to the Knesset on its list in 1996. He was subsequently re-elected in 1999, 2003 and 2006. However, after visiting Lebanon and Syria in the aftermath of the 2006 Lebanon War, Bishara became the subject of a criminal investigation for acts of alleged treason and espionage and was suspected of supplying targeting information to Hezbollah. He fled Israel,[4][5][6] denying the allegations and refusing to return, claiming he would not receive a fair trial.[7][8]

Bishara has since established himself in Qatar at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies as an academic and researcher. He also helped establish the Al-Araby Al-Jadeed media conglomerate.[9] In 2017 he announced his retirement from direct political work at the beginning of 2017 with the aim of dedicating all his time to "writing and intellectual production".[10]

  1. ^ Stork, Joe (19 January 1994). "An Interview with Azmi Bishara". MERIP. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Executive Board". English.dohainstitute.org. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  3. ^ "Board of Trustees". Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  4. ^ Lewis, Ori (2 May 2007). "Israel accuses Israeli-Arab ex-lawmaker of treason". Reuters. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  5. ^ Lis, Jonathan; Ilan, Shahar (2 May 2007). "Ex-MK Bishara Suspected of Treason, Passing Data to Hezbollah". Ha'aretz. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Guardian1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Israel moves to revoke citizenship of Palestinian thinker Azmi Bishara". The New Arab. 31 July 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  8. ^ Khoury, Jack (10 May 2015). "Former MK Azmi Bishara Wants to Return to Israel, but Fears Unfair Trial". Ha'aretz. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  9. ^ Khatib, Lina (2014). "Qatar and the Recalibration of Power in the Gulf" (PDF). Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. p. 12. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  10. ^ "وفي رواية أخرى": عزمي بشارة يروي سيرته السياسية والفكرية [And in Another Novel: Azmi Bishara recounts his political and intellectual career]. Arab48.com (in Arabic). 4 March 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2024.