Majalli Wahabi

Majalli Wahabi
Date of birth	12 February 1954 (1954-02-12) (age 57)
Place of birth	Beit Jann, Israel
Knessets	16th, 17th, 18th
Party	Kadima
Former parties	Likud
Ministerial posts (current in bold)	Acting President of Israel Deputy Speaker of the Knesset Deputy Minister of Education, Culture, and Sport Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs

Majalli Wahabi (Hebrew: מגלי והבה‎, Arabic: مجلي وهبه‎, also spelt Majalli Wahbee, born 12 February 1954) is an Israeli Druze politician who currently serves as a member of the Knesset for Kadima. He briefly assumed the position of President due to President Moshe Katzav's leave of absence and Acting President Dalia Itzik's trip abroad in February 2007, making him the first non-Jew to act as Israel's head of state.

Background

Wahabi was born on 12 February 1954 in the Druze village of Beit Jann. He earned a B.A. in the History of Islam from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an M.A. in the History of the New Middle East from the University of Haifa.

He served in the Israel Defense Forces. Initially assigned as an instructor at the intelligence school, he joined a Druze infantry battalion and became an officer. He served in the 1982 Lebanon War, and subsequently as a deputy brigade commander in the Golan Heights Division and as a senior Northern Command officer. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.

Wahabi is married with four children. Wahabi's son, Tomer is the first Druze member of Israel Army Radio. He is fluent in Hebrew, Arabic, English, and French.

Political career

Wahabi met then-Defense Minister Ariel Sharon in 1981. Starting in 1996, he served as Sharon's personal ambassador to Israel's Arab neighbors, Egypt and Jordan.

He was elected to the 16th Knesset in 2003 on the Likud list. In March 2005 he was appointed Deputy Minister in the Ministry in the Prime Minister's Office, and became Deputy Minister of Education, Culture and Sport in June 2006.

When Sharon left Likud to found Kadima, Wahabi followed, and was elected to the 17th Knesset in 2006 on the Kadima list. He assumed the position of Deputy Speaker of the Knesset. In October 2007 he was added to Ehud Olmert's cabinet as Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister. He retained his seat in the 2009 elections after being placed 21st on the Kadima list.

His public activities include:

• Director General, the Ministry for Regional Cooperation (1999–2002)
• Senior Political Advisor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1998–1999)
• Aide to the Minister of Infrastructure (1996–1999) (Ariel Sharon)

Wahabi condemened a website that "incited against Israeli soldiers" as war criminals and published their personal information and called for the punishment of those responsible.^[1]

See also

• List of Arab members of the Knesset

References

1. ^ Benari, Elad (19 November 2010). "Website Targets Cast Lead Soldiers". Israel National News. Arutz Sheva. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/140733. Retrieved 21 November 2010. 

External links

• Majalli Wahabi Knesset website

Persondata
Name	Wahabi, Majalli
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	12 February 1954
Place of birth	Beit Jann, Israel
Date of death
Place of death