The Hadash National Council elected on Saturday, May 16, the top six candidates for the Hadash list for the Knesset. Over a thousand activists attended the council meeting held at Deir Hanna in Galilee, including 966 delegates who chose the candidates for the list one after another, in order of their ranking.
Former Member of Knesset Dr. Yousef Jabareen, who served in the Knesset on behalf of Hadash from 2015 to 2021, was elected as the head of the list. Jabareen is a resident of Umm al-Fahm, a father of four, a jurist, and an academic specializing in constitutional law and human rights. He previously served as a faculty member at the University of Haifa and Tel-Hai College. In the 23rd Knesset, he chaired the Committee on the Rights of the Child, where he led the approval of supervision regulations for early childhood daycare centers—one of the committee’s central achievements. Additionally, Jabareen headed the Joint List’s International Relations Committee. He will replace current chairman Ayman Odeh, who has led the Hadash parliamentary faction since 2015. Odeh did not seek reelection and will resign at the end of the current Knesset term. Also, MK Aida Touma-Sliman, did not seek reelection after 11 years in the Knesset.
Natour, Atawneh, Washahi, Jabareen, Cassif and Farah at the Hadash National Council held in Deir Hanna, Saturday, May 17, 2026 (Photo: Zo Haderekh)
Jafar Farah—founder and director of the Mossawa Center for the rights of Arab citizens in Israel, a Haifa resident, and a well-known public figure in the Arab community—was elected to the second spot on the list. Incumbent Member of Knesset Dr. Ofer Cassif, who has represented Hadash in the Knesset since 2019, was re-elected to the third spot. MK Yousef Atawneh, a resident of Hura and one of the leaders of the Arab-Bedouin population in the Negev, was re-elected to the fourth spot. Dr. Nihaya Washahi, a lecturer in education and a resident of Ar’ara, was elected to the fifth spot. Iyas Natour, a well-known left activist in the Arab- Druze community, was elected to the sixth spot.
Following his election as head of the list, Jabareen stated: “I am proud and grateful to the voters for the trust they have placed in me. From here, I call for the establishment of the broadest and strongest Joint List possible. This is the need of the hour, and it is what our public demands. Therefore, we all share the responsibility to act accordingly. I call upon all components of the Joint List to enlist in this mission, advance the negotiations, and become an influential and decisive political force. We will do everything to prevent the government of Netanyahu, Ben Gvir, and Smotrich from continuing for another term, and we will fight for equality, for democracy, and for peace, together with Jewish democratic forces. Together we will bring change.”
Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=33453
