Thursday, March 25, 2010, 7.00 p.m.
Bruno Kreisky Forum for Internationalen Dialogue | Armbrustergasse 15 | 1190 Vienna
AHMED TIBI
Member of Knesset, Israel
Moderator: Thomas Seifert (Die Presse)
Dr. Ahmad Tibi was born in Taybe, an Arab city in the Triagle - Israel in 1958. He studied medicine at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and specialized in gynaecology. He is married and has two daughters. Dr. Tibi is a prominent Arab politician and intellectual, elected as Knesset member representing " The Arab Movement for Change", a national political party which he established together with a large range of intellectuals in 1999. Earlier he served as a political advisor to the late Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat for several years and participated in Wye River negotiations. During three elections the parliament elections committee eliminated his candidacy for the elections as the claim that he supported Palestinian terror throughout the intifada, and recently claimed that he serves the Palestinian interests against Israel and rejects the definition of Israel as a Jewish state. But the Supreme Court of Israel deferred the committee's decision. Lately he was elected again for the 18th Knesset.
During his parliamentary work, Dr. Tibi was a member in different committees: interior, finance, women position, violence in sports, drugs, law and constitution, the head of environment committee, and the vice president of the parliament-Knesset.
He believes in the need of establishing a separate Palestinian state besides Israel state. He suggested defining Israel as a "multi-cultured country for all its nations". He calls for democracy among the Arab nation in Israel, and works for maintaining the 48's Arab and the Arab world relations. He supports sports and in the past recruited money from Qatar country in purpose of establishing and building the first stadium for the Arab minority in Israel. Dr Tibi heads the parliamentary committee of inquiry to accommodate the Arabs in the public sector , which held dozens of hearings called by the ministers and officials, which contributed to the advancement of this issue and the integration of many Arabs in jobs and companies. Supports human rights issues and was a member of the head court of Betselem human rights association, in addition to his political speech on the Knesset podium defending human rights. Delivered a speech in the Knesset during the parliament special session to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, considered by Chairman of the Knesset " the best speech ever delivered on podium ", and received global attention and has been translated into several languages. Awarded first place in opinion polls conducted by three major Arabic newspapers among the Arab community in Israel as the best deputy in the Knesset and the best political figure, and the same result in the poll held by the Palestinian Ma'an News Agency, where he was selected in the annual poll as the best political figure from the Arabs 48. The Haaretz newspaper selected him one of the 50 most influential figures in the last decade.