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Ofer Cassif

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Ofer Cassif
עופר כסיף‎
Cassif in 2021
Faction represented in the Knesset
2019Hadash
2019–2022Joint List
2022–Hadash
Personal details
Born (1964-12-25) 25 December 1964 (age 59)
Rishon LeZion, Israel

Ofer Cassif (Hebrew: עֹופֶר כַּסִיף, born 25 December 1964)[1] is an Israeli politician. He has represented Hadash in the Knesset since April 2019. Israeli media has referred to him as "far-left".[2]

In 2024, Cassif provoked significant domestic controversy for his acknowledgment of the legitimacy of genocide charges brought against the Israeli Government before the International Court of Justice.[3][4][5][6] On 7 November 2024, he was suspended from the Knesset for six months for his comments,[7] a penalty considered one of the most severe parliamentary sanctions in recent years.[8]

Biography

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Cassif was born in Rishon LeZion on 25 December 1964.[1] He attended Shalmon Elementary School and the Reali Gymnasium, where he was friends with Nitzan Horowitz.[9] Raised in a Mapai-supporting household, Cassif joined the Left Camp of Israel's youth group at the age of 16.

Cassif served in the Israel Defense Forces with the Nahal and the Nahal paratrooper brigade.[9][10] During the First Intifada, he was imprisoned four times as a conscientious objector, stating that he refused to participate in the "oppression and occupation of the Palestinians."[11]

After completing his military service in 1987, Cassif studied philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[10] He then earned a PhD in political philosophy at the London School of Economics with a thesis titled On nationalism and democracy: A Marxist examination,[12] and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University.[13]

As of 2019, Cassif lectures in political science at Tel Aviv University and Sapir Academic College.[10]

Political career

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While studying at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Cassif was an anti-war activist and worked as a parliamentary aide to Hadash MK Meir Vilner. Cassif's political beliefs were influenced by Marxism and socialism.[10]

For the April 2019 Knesset elections, Cassif was placed fifth on the joint Hadash–Ta'al list, occupying the "Jewish slot" after Dov Khenin's retirement.[14] In March 2019, the Central Election Committee disqualified him from running, citing statements deemed as provocative, including his description of Ayelet Shaked as "neo-Nazi scum."[9][15] The Supreme Court of Israel overturned this decision,[16] allowing his candidacy. He entered the Knesset after the alliance won six seats and was subsequently re-elected in September 2019, 2020, and 2021.

In April 2021, Cassif was filmed being assaulted by police during a protest against evictions and Israeli settlements in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem. Politicians across the political spectrum, including Ahmad Tibi and Gideon Sa'ar (who described the attack as "a murderous blow to the parliament and to parliamentary immunity"), condemned the incident.[17][18] Cassif was investigated for allegedly striking a police officer first.[19]

Cassif proclaimed himself "an explicit anti-Zionist".[10] In an interview with Haaretz, Cassif said: "I object to the ideology and practice of Zionism... it's a racist ideology and practice which espouses Jewish supremacy."[20]

On 8 October 2023, shortly after the beginning of the Israel–Hamas war, Cassif told Al Jazeera that his party had warned the continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories would result in such conflict. He called the Israeli government "fascist", and accused it of carrying out pogroms and ethnic cleansing against Palestinians.[21] These comments led to a 45-day suspension by the Knesset ethics panel, which he characterized as "another nail in the coffin of freedom of political expression".[22]

On 7 January 2024, Cassif announced his intention to join South Africa in its legal proceedings against Israel brought under the Genocide Convention.[23] Cassif stated:

My constitutional duty is to Israeli society and all of its residents, not to a government whose members and its coalition are calling for ethnic cleansing and even actual genocide. They are the ones who hurt the country and the people, they are the ones who led South Africa to turn to The Hague, not me and my friends.[24]

Ofer Cassif in a demonstration in At-Tuwani, October 2021.

In response to his comments, 85 members of the 120 members of the Knesset signed a petition to expel Cassif from parliament,[25] accusing him of treason.[26] The measure was brought to a vote on 19 February 2024, with Cassif narrowly avoiding expulsion.[27]

In November 2024, the Knesset Ethics Committee suspended Cassif for six months from plenary and committee meetings, allowing participation only in voting. Additionally, the committee withheld two weeks of his salary. The suspension cited a tweet by Cassif referring to Palestinians fighting the IDF in Jenin as "freedom fighter[s]",[additional citation(s) needed] and his continuing public support for South Africa's genocide case against Israel.[7]

Personal life

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Cassif is Jewish. He and is married and has one son. He lives in Rehovot.[28]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Members of the 25th Knesset". Knesset. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  2. ^ Lis, Jonathan (7 March 2019). "Israeli Arab Slate, Far-left Candidate Banned From Election Hours After Kahanist Leader Allowed to Run". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 25 October 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  3. ^ "MK: Expel lawmaker who supports genocide charges against Israel". Jewish News Syndicate. 8 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  4. ^ Sokol, Sam (8 January 2024). "MK starts process to expel far-left lawmaker who supports genocide charges against Israel". Times of Israel. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Israeli far-left lawmaker joins Gaza genocide lawsuit at ICJ". Jerusalem Post. 7 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Israeli politician signals support for South Africa ICJ case". Dawn. 8 January 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  7. ^ a b Sokol, Sam (11 November 2024). "Knesset suspends far-left MK Ofer Cassif for six months over comments on Gaza war". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  8. ^ Koningsveld, Akiva Van (11 November 2024). "Knesset votes to suspend Ofer Cassif for six months, cut salary". JNS.org. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  9. ^ a b c Itiel, Yoav (7 March 2019). ""גאה להיות קיצוני": לוחם הנח"ל שמתנגד לציונות ונפסל מריצה לכנסת - וואלה! בחירות 2022" ["Proud to be an extremist": the Nahal fighter who opposes Zionism and was disqualified from running for the Knesset]. Walla (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d e Hecht, Ravit (16 February 2019). "The Knesset Candidate Who Says Zionism Encourages anti-Semitism and Calls Netanyahu 'Arch-murderer'". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  11. ^ Ofer Cassif; Stephanie Van Hook; Lynn Gottlieb; Ela Gandhi; Michael N. Nagler; Mubarak Awad (1 April 2024), Against genocide: A conversation with Ofer Cassif, Metta Center for Nonviolence, Wikidata Q125559918
  12. ^ Cassif, Ofer (2006). On nationalism and democracy: A Marxist examination (PhD). London School of Economics and Political Science. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Ofer Cassif". ofercassif.academia.edu. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  14. ^ Itiel, Yoav (1 February 2019). "מועצת חד"ש בחרה: איימן עודה יעמוד בראש המפלגה בבחירות לכנסת". Walla (in Hebrew). Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  15. ^ Winer, Stuart (7 March 2019). "Elections panel bars Arab slate, Jewish far-left candidate; court will now rule". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  16. ^ Burger, Yotam (17 March 2019). "Israel's Top Court Bans Kahanist Leader From Election Run, Okays Arab Slates, Far-left Candidate". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  17. ^ "Outcry as police beat Joint List lawmaker during East Jerusalem protest The Times of Israel". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  18. ^ "Video shows police beating Israeli politician in Jerusalem". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  19. ^ "Ofer Cassif summoned for investigation after violent incident with cop". JPost.com. 2 August 2022. Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  20. ^ Levy, Gideon (18 April 2021). "Ofer Cassif, A Very Important Person". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  21. ^ Freedman, Eliyahu (7 October 2023). "Israeli lawmaker blames pogroms against Palestinians for "terrible" attacks". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  22. ^ "Israel police boss threatens to send anti-war protesters to Gaza "on buses"". Al Jazeera. 19 October 2023. Archived from the original on 9 November 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  23. ^ "Israeli far-left lawmaker joins Gaza genocide lawsuit at ICJ". JPost.com. 7 January 2024.
  24. ^ Cassif, Ofer. "My constitutional duty is to Israeli society". Twitter. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  25. ^ Shpigel, Noa (9 January 2024). "70 Israeli Lawmakers Sign Motion to Expel MK for Supporting ICJ Genocide Charges". Haaretz. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  26. ^ Silkoff, Shira; Sokol, Sam (10 January 2024). "85 lawmakers sign petition to expel far-left MK who accused Israel of genocide". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  27. ^ Shpigel, Noa (19 February 2024). "Knesset Narrowly Votes Against Expelling Left-wing Lawmaker for His Support of ICJ Genocide Case Against Israel". Haaretz. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  28. ^ Oz, Sheri (31 October 2022). "Interview: The Jewish MK in the Arab party, Hadash, Ofer Cassif". Israel National News. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
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