Raik Haj Yahia was an Israeli Arab politician who served as a member of the Knesset

Knesset

The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...

 for the Labor Party and One Nation between March 1998 and June 1999.

Biography

Born in Tayibe

Tayibe

Tayibe is an Israeli Arab city in central Israel, 12 kilometers east of Kfar Saba. In 2007, it had a population of 36,800. Tayibe is part of the Triangle.-History:...

, Haj Yahia gained a BA in Hebrew language and education from Bar-Ilan University

Bar-Ilan University

Bar-Ilan University is a university in Ramat Gan of the Tel Aviv District, Israel.Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is now Israel's second-largest academic institution. It has nearly 26,800 students and 1,350 faculty members...

, before training to be a teacher at a Haifa

Haifa

Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...

 seminary. From 1971 until 1980 he worked as a teacher in an agricultural high school in his hometown. In 1981 he began working as a television reporter, a job he held until 1988. He became a member of Tayibe's local council, and became the town's first mayor in 1989. He also served as deputy head of the National Committee of Arab Local Authorities and of the Union of Local Authorities in Israel

Although he missed out on a seat in the 1996 elections

Israeli legislative election, 1996

Elections for the fourteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 29 May 1996. Voter turnout was 79.3%.The 1996 elections included two new changes, both designed to increase the stability of the Knesset. First, the Prime Minister was to be elected on a separate ballot from the remaining members of the...

 after winning a place on the party's list, Haj Yahia entered the Knesset on 28 March 1998 as a replacement for Moshe Shahal

Moshe Shahal

-Biography:Born in Baghdad in Iraq, Shahal made aliyah in 1950. He studied economics and Political Science at the University of Haifa, before graduating with a law degree from Tel Aviv University....

. Upon taking his seat, he resigned his position as mayor of Tayibe. On 25 March 1999, Yahia, Amir Peretz

Amir Peretz

Amir Peretz is an Israeli politician and member of the Knesset for the Labour Party. He is a former Defense Minister of Israel and former leader of the Labour Party, having left those positions in June 2007....

 and Adisu Massala

Adisu Massala

-Background:Masala was born in Ethiopia in 1961, and made aliyah in 1980 after crossing the Ethiopia-Sudan border to take a plane bound for Israel. Once in the country, he studied social work and mechanical engineering at Bar-Ilan University, gaining a BA and went on to work as a social worker...

 broke away from the Labor Party to form One Nation. He lost his seat in the 1999 elections

Israel legislative election, 1999

The Elections for the 15th Knesset were held on 17 May 1999 alongside simultaneous elections for Prime Minister. Voter turnout was 78.7%.-Context:The elections were held at a time when negotiations with the Palestinians were going badly...

 and died the following year at the age of 50.

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