Representative Ofer Cassif worked as a lecturer at several Israeli universities (French)
Ofer Kassif is an opposition member of the Israeli Parliament (Knesset), born in 1964. He is a member of the left-wing Hadash party with an Arab majority. A professor and lecturer at several Israeli universities, he was known for his controversial positions on the Zionist movement, settlements, and the entire political scene.
He joined the lawsuit filed by the State of South Africa against Israel before the International Court of Justice, as a result of which he faces threats of expulsion from the Knesset.
Birth and upbringing
Ofer Kassif was born on December 25, 1964 in the Rishon Lezion settlement south of Tel Aviv in Mahalla Palestine, and he is the only son of a left-wing family.
He is fluent in 3 languages: Hebrew, English and Spanish. He has been politically active since his high school studies.
Study and scientific training
Kassif earned a bachelor's degree in political science and philosophy at the Hebrew University, went on to pursue doctoral studies in political philosophy at the London School of Economics, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University in New York.
Before being elected to the Knesset, he worked as a lecturer in the field of politics and government at the Hebrew University, the Academic College in Tel Aviv, and Sapir College.
Kasif has been a member of the Knesset for the Jewish-Arab Hadash party since March 2019 (Anatolia)
Political experience
During the First Intifada, Kasif was the first to refuse to serve in the occupied territories, which led to him being imprisoned 4 times. At the same time, he joined the Communist Party and the Front movement, where he holds positions in leading institutions.
He worked as an assistant to the late parliamentarian Meir Fellner, who was a member of the Knesset for the Israeli Communist Party and the party's Secretary-General.
He opposes the Jewish nationalist movement that led to the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, or what is known as the “Zionist movement.” Before entering Parliament, he described then-Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked as “neo-Nazi scum,” and described Benjamin Netanyahu as “the main killer.”
He has been a member of the Knesset for the Jewish-Arab Hadash party since March 2019. Before the vote, the Knesset Central Elections Committee prevented him from running, accusing him of supporting terrorism and denying Israel's right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state. The Supreme Court overturned the decision.
He held several positions in the Israeli Knesset, including:
Member of the lobby to combat trafficking in women and prostitution, the lobby to combat Arab women’s employment, prevent violence against women and establish their rights, and the lobby to promote equality in mixed cities in 2021.
Member of the Subcommittee on the Appointment of Arab Teachers in Schools, the Finance Committee and the Education, Culture and Sports Committee from 2021.
Member of the special committee to discuss the draft law amending the Police Law 2022.
Member of the Special Committee to amend the Basic Law of the Government 2023.
He heads the lobby for public psychology, academic and cultural freedom, combating the climate crisis, and solving the public housing crisis in 2023.
On October 18, 2023, the Ethics Committee decided to remove him from the Knesset for a period of 45 days and deprive him of his salary for two weeks due to his statements against Israel during the war on Gaza.
His most important statements and positions
He is considered one of the strongest supporters of what is known as the two-state solution, and opposes the presence of Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories and protests against them. He says about the matter, “The compromise solution is to divide the land alongside the State of Israel, and establish an independent, sovereign Palestinian state, established in the old lands that Israel occupied in June 1967. This means the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank.”
In February 2022, he joined the demonstrators in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem, over the issue of evacuating families from the neighborhood and settling settlers in their homes.
On December 23, 2023, he participated in a demonstration against the Israeli war on Gaza and tweeted on the “X” platform: “An immediate ceasefire and exchange agreement is the only way to save human life, and it is the highest value ever.”
Among his statements: “Israel wants this violence, and all peace lovers must unite their forces and ask it to end the occupation now.”
Ofer Cassif and the South African lawsuit against Israel
Cassif announced his joining the lawsuit filed by the State of South Africa against Israel before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, accusing the government of Benjamin Netanyahu of calling for “ethnic cleansing” and genocide in light of the war on the Gaza Strip.
He explained that the first reason behind his support for this lawsuit is his belief in the necessity of investigating the events taking place in Gaza by an independent party, adding that the other reason is the desire to stop the killing that has claimed the lives of thousands of Palestinians and hundreds of Israeli soldiers, in addition to the fact that Hamas is still detaining 136 people. An Israeli prisoner, and he wants them to be rescued and returned to their families.
He says about the lawsuit, "My constitutional duty is toward Israeli society and all its residents, and not toward a government whose members and coalition call for ethnic cleansing and even actual genocide. They are the ones who harmed the country and the people, and they are the ones who pushed South Africa to submit a petition to The Hague, not me and my friends." .
A draft resolution to expel Kasif from the Knesset
Because of his position, he became a target of Israeli criticism, and Knesset member Oded Forer from the Yisrael Beytenu party led by Avigdor Lieberman began the process of expelling him from the Arab-Jewish Communist Front Party from Parliament in accordance with the Basic Law of the Knesset, which allows legislators to remove a colleague who expresses his support for the “armed struggle.” “By a hostile state or a terrorist organization against the State of Israel.
“The words of treason spoken by MK Kasif can no longer be heard while the blood of our soldiers and citizens screams from the ground,” Forer said.
Ofer Cassif supported the lawsuit filed by South Africa against Israel in the International Court of Justice (French)
Forer collected the signatures of 70 members of parliament in support of the draft expulsion resolution, a process that would then require for its passage the approval of a Knesset committee and finally 90 votes out of 120 in the plenary session.
He was also able to collect the signatures of 85 members of the Knesset, including 21 members of the opposition (from the Yisrael Beytenu, Yesh Atid and State Camp parties) on a request to begin impeachment procedures.
On January 29, 2024, an Israeli committee discussed the expulsion of Representative Cassif, and the committee heard legal arguments regarding the proposal.
While Cassif explained before the committee that his signing of the petition was based on the same values that he lived by throughout his political life, he said, “I signed the petition in order to prevent human suffering against hundreds of thousands of people, in my belief that only a ceasefire will return the kidnapped people to their homes.” "And prevents further killing of Israelis and Palestinians."
The expulsion procedures require that the parliamentary committee approve the decision and then refer it to the Knesset, provided that three-quarters of the members support the decision to pass it. After that, Kasif is given the opportunity of two days from the date of issuance of the decision to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Source: Al Jazeera + websites