Shafik Assad was an Israeli Arab

Arab citizens of Israel

Arab citizens of Israel refers to citizens of Israel who are not Jewish, and whose cultural and linguistic heritage or ethnic identity is Arab....

 politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Democratic Movement for Change

Democratic Movement for Change

The Democratic Movement for Change , commonly known by its Hebrew acronym Dash was a short-lived and initially highly-successful centrist political party in Israel...

, the Democratic Movement

Democratic Movement (Israel)

The Democratic Movement was a short-lived political party in Israel formed in the aftermath of the spectacular breakup of Dash. Founded in 1978, it lasted only until 1981.-Background:...

, Ahva

Ahva (political party)

Ahva was a short-lived political party in Israel, one of several spinoffs created by the collapse of Dash.-Background:Ahva was formed on 8 July 1980 when two MKs broke away from the Democratic Movement, itself a relatively new party, having been formed in 1978 when Dash split up...

 and Telem

Telem (political party)

Telem , lit. Movement for National Renewal) was a political party in Israel.-Background:Telem was formed on 19 May 1981 during the ninth Knesset by Moshe Dayan and two ex-Likud MKs. Dayan had been elected to the Knesset as an MK for the Alignment, which had lost the election for the first time in...

 between 1977 and 1981.

Biography

Born in Beit Jann

Beit Jann

Beit Jann is a Druze village on Mt. Meron, in northern Israel. At 940 meters above sea level, Beit Jann is one of the highest inhabited locations in the country. In 2007, the population was 10,300. The mayor of Beit Jann is Youssef Qabalan.-History:...

 during the Mandate era, Assad attended high school in Rameh

Rameh

Rameh is a local council in the North District of Israel. It is entirely populated by Arabs, of whom around 51% are Christian, 29% Druze, and a further 20% Muslim...

. He served as secretary of the Histadrut

Histadrut

HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael , known as the Histadrut, is Israel's organization of trade unions. Established in December 1920 during the British Mandate for Palestine, it became one of the most powerful institutions of the State of Israel.-History:The Histadrut was founded in...

 trade union in his hometown between 1961 and 1967, and headed the town's local council from 1969 until 1976.

He joined the new Democratic Movement for Change (Dash) party in the mid-1970s, and was elected to the Knesset on its list in 1977

Israeli legislative election, 1977

The Elections for the ninth Knesset were held on 17 May 1977. For the first time in Israeli political history, the right-wing, led by Likud, won the election, ending almost 30 years of rule by the left-wing Alignment and its predecessor, Mapai...

. On 14 September 1978 Assad was one of seven MKs to form the Democratic Movement after Dash split up. On 8 July 1980 he and Shlomo Eliyahu

Shlomo Eliyahu

Shlomo Eliahu is an Israeli businessman and former politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1978 and 1981.-Biography:Born in Baghdad in 1936, Eliahu made aliyah to Israel in 1950 with his parents and eight siblings. After initially being based in a ma'abara at Beit Lid, his family...

 left the Democratic Movement to establish the Ahva faction. On 15 June 1981 he moved parties again, this time joining Telem, but lost his seat in the 30 June 1981 elections

Israeli legislative election, 1981

Elections for the tenth Knesset were held in Israel on 30 June 1981. Despite last minute polls suggesting a victory for Shimon Peres's Alignment, Menachem Begin's Likud won by just one seat...

.

He died in 2004 at the age of 67.

External links