Walid Haj Yahia is an Israeli Arab former politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Left Camp of Israel

Left Camp of Israel

The Left Camp of Israel was a left-wing political party in Israel. It was also known as Sheli , an acronym for Peace for Israel .-Background:...

 and Meretz.

Biography

Born in Tayibe

Tayibe

Tayibe is an Israeli Arab city in central Israel, 12 kilometers east of Kfar Saba. In 2007, it had a population of 36,800. Tayibe is part of the Triangle.-History:...

 during the Mandate era, Haj Yahia studied at he Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Hebrew University of Jerusalem

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...

, gaining a BA in sociology and political science. He worked as headmaster of a high school in Tayibe for 23 years, and was a member of the Teachers' Union's central committee.

A member of the Left Camp of Israel

Left Camp of Israel

The Left Camp of Israel was a left-wing political party in Israel. It was also known as Sheli , an acronym for Peace for Israel .-Background:...

, he was on the party's list for the 1977 elections

Israeli legislative election, 1977

The Elections for the ninth Knesset were held on 17 May 1977. For the first time in Israeli political history, the right-wing, led by Likud, won the election, ending almost 30 years of rule by the left-wing Alignment and its predecessor, Mapai...

. Although he missed out on a seat, he entered the Knesset on 13 February 1981 as a replacement for Uri Avnery

Uri Avnery

Uri Avnery is an Israeli writer and founder of the Gush Shalom peace movement.A member of the Irgun as a teenager, Avnery sat in the Knesset from 1965–74 and 1979–81...

. However, he lost his seat in the elections

Israeli legislative election, 1981

Elections for the tenth Knesset were held in Israel on 30 June 1981. Despite last minute polls suggesting a victory for Shimon Peres's Alignment, Menachem Begin's Likud won by just one seat...

 in June that year as the party failed to cross the electoral threshold.

After the 1992 elections

Israeli legislative election, 1992

Elections for the thirteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 23 June 1992. The result was a victory for the left, led by Yitzhak Rabin's Labor Party, though their win was at least partially due to several small right-wing parties narrowly failing to cross the electoral threshold and thus effectively...

 he returned to the Knesset on the Meretz list. On 4 August he was appointed Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development

Agriculture Minister of Israel

The Agriculture Minister of Israel is the political head of the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and a relatively minor position in the Israeli cabinet. Since 1992 the full title of the position has been the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development , the Development Ministry having been...

 in Yitzhak Rabin's government, a role he also held under Shimon Peres' brief tenure as Prime Minister after Rabin's assassination. He was re-elected in 1996

Israeli legislative election, 1996

Elections for the fourteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 29 May 1996. Voter turnout was 79.3%.The 1996 elections included two new changes, both designed to increase the stability of the Knesset. First, the Prime Minister was to be elected on a separate ballot from the remaining members of the...

, but lost his seat in the 1999 elections.

External links