Salah Tarif
Salah Tarif | |
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Ministerial roles | |
2001–2002 | Minister without Portfolio |
Faction represented in the Knesset | |
1992–1999 | Labor Party |
1999–2001 | One Israel |
2001–2003 | Labor Party |
2005–2006 | Labor Party |
Personal details | |
Born | Julis, Israel | 9 February 1954
Salah Tarif (Arabic: صالح طريف, romanized: Ṣāliḥ Ṭarīf, Hebrew: סאלח טריף; born 9 February 1954) is a Druze Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1992 and 2006. When appointed Minister without Portfolio by Ariel Sharon in 2001, he became Israel's first non-Jewish government minister.[1]
Biography[]
Born in the Druze village of Julis, Tarif is the grandson of Sheikh Amin Tarif.
Tarif served in the paratrooper and tank units of the IDF, before graduating from the University of Haifa with a BA. Whilst at university he served as deputy chairman of the student union.
Tarif later became mayor of Julis, and chaired the board of Druze and Circassian mayors. A member of the Labor Party, he was on the Alignment list (largely composed of Labor Party members) for the 1988 Knesset elections. Although he failed to win a seat, he entered the Knesset on 3 February 1992 as a replacement for Ezer Weizman.[2] He retained his seat in the June 1992 elections, and in November 1995 was appointed Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs in Shimon Peres' government. He was re-elected in 1996, after which he was appointed Deputy Speaker of the Knesset.
He was re-elected in 1999 (in which Labor ran under the One Israel umbrella), and in 2001 was appointed a Minister without Portfolio in Ariel Sharon's national unity government, making him the first non-Jew to hold a full ministerial position. However, he left the cabinet in January 2002 when he resigned following the decision to prosecute him on charges of bribery and breach of trust,[3] though he did remain a Knesset member.
He lost his seat in the 2003 elections as Labour won only 19 seats, but re-entered the Knesset in November 2005 as a replacement for Amram Mitzna who resigned to take over as mayor of Yeruham. In January 2006 Tel Aviv district court upheld his conviction on these charges[4] and in March he lost his seat again following fresh elections.
See also[]
- List of Israeli public officials convicted of crimes
- Mowafak Tarif, spiritual leader of the Druze in Israel and the grandson of Sheikh Amin Tarif
References[]
- ^ Ministers of the Minorities Knesset website
- ^ Knesset Members in the Twelfth Knesset Knesset website
- ^ This Week in Israel Archived 2004-12-17 at the Wayback Machine The Agenda
- ^ District court rejects MK Tarif's appeal against bribery conviction Haaretz, 23 January 2006
External links[]
- Salah Tarif on the Knesset website
- Jewish News Weekly - Not all Israeli Arabs cheer Druze leader
- 1954 births
- Living people
- Alignment (Israel) politicians
- Deputy ministers of Israel
- Deputy Speakers of the Knesset
- Druze members of the Knesset
- Druze people of Israeli nationality
- Government ministers of Israel
- Israeli government officials convicted of crimes
- Israeli Labor Party politicians
- Israeli people convicted of bribery
- Israeli politicians convicted of corruption
- Israeli politicians convicted of crimes
- Mayors of local councils in Israel
- Members of the 12th Knesset (1988–1992)
- Members of the 13th Knesset (1992–1996)
- Members of the 14th Knesset (1996–1999)
- Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003)
- Members of the 16th Knesset (2003–2006)
- One Israel politicians
- People from Julis
- University of Haifa alumni