27 Facts About Ahmad Tibi

Ahmad Tibi is a trained physician and graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as a gynecologist.

Ahmad Tibi was born in Tayibe, a town about 16 kilometres east of the Mediterranean coast north of Tel Aviv, in 1958.

Ahmad Tibi studied medicine at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, graduating with honors in 1983.

Ahmad Tibi began a residency as a gynecologist at Hadassah Hospital in 1984, but in 1987, he was involved in a violent incident with a security guard that led to his dismissal.

Ahmad Tibi had walked past a security checkpoint when the guard, a recent American immigrant named David Rothstein who had just been hired, ordered Ahmad Tibi to let him inspect his briefcase after he had walked past the guard booth, assuming the guard would recognize him.

Ahmad Tibi refused, which led to a physical struggle between him and Rothstein for the briefcase.

Ahmad Tibi identified Tibi as a doctor, and ordered him released.

Ahmad Tibi then swung the briefcase at Rothstein's head, causing a wound that bled profusely and required four stitches to close, and walked away, leaving Rothstein bleeding on the floor.

Ahmad Tibi claimed that Rothstein had tried to slap him across the mouth as they disengaged, which Rothstein denied.

Ahmad Tibi attended PLO meetings around the world, and in 1984, he met Yasser Arafat in Tunis, at a time when meeting PLO members was still a criminal offense in Israel.

Ahmad Tibi was questioned by police several times, subjected to a stay of exit order from Israel, and arrested once.

Ahmad Tibi served as a political advisor to Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat from 1993 to 1999, representing the Palestinians at the 1998 Wye River negotiations.

Ahmad Tibi resigned from this post in 1999 upon deciding to run for the Knesset.

Ahmad Tibi described his relationship with Arafat as "close" and "extremely interesting and important to [him]".

Ahmad Tibi was first elected to the Knesset in the 1999 elections after establishing Ta'al and running jointly with Azmi Bishara's Balad party, but broke away during the same Knesset session.

Kleiner claimed that Ahmad Tibi was assisting the Palestinians in their war against Israel.

Ahmad Tibi protested the Knesset's decision as unconstitutional and illegal under Israeli law, and appealed to the Supreme Court of Israel, which deferred a decision on the case.

Ahead of Israel's 2003 elections, several politicians, including the heads of the National Union and National Religious Party, sought to have Ahmad Tibi banned from standing again as candidate; the official motion to disqualify him was filed by Likud MK Michael Eitan, who argued that beside his history as adviser to Arafat, Ahmad Tibi had supported Palestinian terror throughout the Intifadas and used his immunity as MK since his election to further Palestinian interests.

However, the Supreme Court of Israel rejected the committee's arguments, unanimously overturning the ban, and Ahmad Tibi was elected as part of a joint list of Ta'al and Hadash.

Inside and outside Israel, Ahmad Tibi is acknowledged as an effective parliamentarian and advocate for Palestinians who live in Israel and the territories it controls.

Ahmad Tibi was the first Arab member of the Knesset to succeed in passing legislation under his own name against opposition, including an August 2012 law regularizing compensation given by airlines to their customers for delayed or cancelled flights.

Ahmad Tibi was favored several times in media surveys of the Arab-Palestinian population in Israel as the most popular Arab member of the Knesset and cited as best public speaker in the Knesset by parliamentary reporters.

Ahmad Tibi is a member of the House Committee and the Finance Committee.

Ahmad Tibi opposes Israel's character as a Jewish state, claiming that its self-definition as Jewish is racist, and favors Israel becoming a "state of all its citizens".

Ahmad Tibi opposes the recruitment of Arab citizens of Israel into the IDF.

Ahmad Tibi continues to be considered controversial in the Israeli politics mainly due to his wide relations with Palestinian and Arab parties, and his speeches in the Knesset.

However, Ahmad Tibi is known for having pronounced a moving speech to commemorate Holocaust Day in 2010 at the Israeli Knesset.