Member of Knesset Ayman Odeh, chairman of Hadash, a predominantly Arab left-wing political party with communist ties, announced on Tuesday that he would not seek an additional term in office.
He is expected to remain in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, until the end of this term.
He gave no specific reason for his decision, stating on Twitter, “Part of being a public servant is knowing when to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. That’s why today I made one of the hardest decisions of my life: At the end of this term, I will not run in the next Knesset elections.”
Odeh started his political journey at age 23, when he was elected to the Haifa City Council, and was first elected to the Knesset in 2015 as the head of the Joint List, an alliance of four predominantly Arab parties: Hadash, the United Arab List, Balad, and Ta’al. The Joint List won 13 seats in 2015, becoming the third-largest party in the Knesset. In the March 2020 election, the Joint List increased its share of the vote, winning 15 seats.
In a Facebook video, Odeh said he would remain active in fighting to end Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories because “without peace, security, equality, and democracy, there will be no normal relations between the [two] nations.”
According to Hadash party rules, a member who has served for at least eight years needs a two-thirds majority vote from the party council to be reelected to the Knesset.
According to party officials, it would be nearly impossible for Odeh to gather such a majority, meaning he was in danger of losing his position on the party list.
The leading candidate to replace Odeh in the next elections is former lawmaker Dr. Yousef Jabareen, who has shown prior aspirations in running for leadership of the party.