Ofer Cassif, Israeli lawmaker opposing occupation from inside Knesset

JERUSALEM

Knesset member Ofer Cassif has narrowly survived impeachment in the Israeli parliament for his public support for a genocide lawsuit filed by South Africa against Israel over Tel Aviv’s deadly offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Only 85 members out of the required 90 lawmakers in the 120-seat Knesset voted on Tuesday in favor of expelling Cassif.

The only Jewish member of the Arab-majority Hadash-Ta’al party, Cassif signed a petition backing South Africa’s genocide accusations against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and accused Israeli government officials of advocating for crimes against humanity against the Palestinians.

Born on December 25, 1964, in the city of Rishon LeZion in central Israel, Cassif holds a Ph.D. in philosophy and politics, according to the Knesset's website.

He was elected to the assembly for the first time in 2019 and has since maintained his seat in the Knesset.

He has emerged over the years through his participation in protests against the decades-long Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, which at times led him to face physical assaults.

During the first Palestinian Intifada in 1987, Cassif refused military service in the occupied Palestinian territories and subsequently faced imprisonment.

Malicious intent

Cassif termed the motion to oust him from the Knesset as “malicious intent.”

“Behind the lie on which the impeachment request is based is a clear malicious intent — political persecution and the silencing of any critical voice in general and of the Arab citizens and their representatives in the Knesset in particular — when the ultimate goal is their complete exclusion from the public and parliamentary discourse,” he said.

According to the latest official data, Israel’s Arab population is estimated at 2.048 million, constituting 21% of the country’s total population of 9.7 million.

“Only in an Orwellian world where truth is a lie can my signature on a petition whose stated purpose is to end violence be presented as support for violence,” Cassif said.

The Knesset member continued, “Even if we assume that my signature contained an explicit statement that the Israeli government is committing genocide in Gaza, does this and the call for an end to the war [constitute] support for Hamas or its armed struggle, as required by the impeachment law?''

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, killing 29,313 Palestinians and injuring more than 69,000 others with mass destruction and shortages of necessities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the Hague-based court. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio