- Rostam Bastuni
MKs
Date of birth =15 March ,1923
Place of birth =Haifa , Mandate Palestine
Year of Aliyah =
Date of death =26 April ,1994
Knesset(s) = 2nd
Party =Mapam
Former parties =Left Faction
Gov't roles =Rostam Bastuni ( _ar. روستم بستوني, _he. רוסתם בסתוני, born
15 March 1923 , died26 April 1994 ) was anIsrael i politician and journalist, and the firstIsraeli Arab to represent a Zionist party in theKnesset .Background
Bastuni was born into a Christian family in Mandate Palestine from the mixed city of
Haifa . He attended the Technion, graduating with a degree inArchitecture , going on to become a teacher.Political career
Going into politics, Bastuni joined the Arab branch of
Mapam . He quickly rose through the party ranks, and although not elected, he served as the party's secretary in the first Knesset. He also edited the Arabic edition of Mapam's weekly magazine, "Al-Fajar".For the 1951 elections he was placed high enough on their list to win a place in the Knesset, thus becoming the first Israeli Arab to represent a Zionist party (three Arab MKs had served in the first Knesset, but none of them for Zionist parties - one had been a member of the communist Maki and the other two were members of an Arab party, the
Democratic List of Nazareth ).During his first Knesset term, internal divisions over the Prague Trials led to Mapam splitting. Bastuni left the party and set up the
Left Faction withAvraham Berman andMoshe Sneh . However, whilst Berman and Sneh went on to join Maki, Bastuni returned to Mapam.Bastuni lost his seat in the 1955 elections and did not return to the Knesset. Later, he served as an advisor in the Ministry of Housing on issues pertaining to Arab settlements. He was also dedicated to furthering Jewish-Arab harmony, and in 1966 he founded the "Actions Committee of Israeli Arabs for Israel". In 1969 he emigrated to the
United States , where he became an advocate of the binational (one state) solution, publishing his views in theNew York Times in 1972. He later taught Middle Eastern history at theState University of New York and became the chief architect of theNew York City Technical College .External links
* [http://headheeb.blogmosis.com/archives/023494.html Article on Israeli Arab politicians in the 2nd Knesset]
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