Said Nafa | |
|---|---|
سعيد نفاع | |
 | |
| Faction represented in theKnesset | |
| 2007–2013 | Balad |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1953-04-01)1 April 1953 (age 72) |
Said Nafa (Arabic:سعيد نفاع;Hebrew:סעיד נפאע, alsoSaid Naffaa, born 1 April 1953) is anIsraeli Arab politician and lawyer. ADruze citizen of Israel, he served as a member of theKnesset forBalad between 2007 and 2013.[1]
Born into a family of theDruze faith inBeit Jann in 1953, Nafa joined the Communist PartyMaki at age 14. He studied law atTel Aviv University, graduating in 1983. In 1989, he was elected to his hometown'slocal council as a representative of Maki, and also served as mayor and deputy mayor in the 1990s.[1]
Nafa left the Maki party in 1997, and joined the Arab partyBalad in 1999, along with a large group consisting of other members of the Druze community in Israel.[1]
In 2001, he announced the "Pact of Free Druze", an initiative aimed at ending the conscription of Druze into the Israeli army and promoting the community's identity as an integral part of the Palestinian Arab population in Israel and thePalestinian people at large. Nafa himself is aconscientious objector who was jailed several times for refusing to carry out his army service and four of his sons have also stood trial for refusing to enlist.[1]
Another committee founded by Nafa in 2003 seeks to facilitate contacts betweenDruze leaders in Israel and elsewhere in theArab world, principallySyria andLebanon.[1]
Prior to the2006 elections Nafa was placed fourth on the Balad list.[2] Although Balad won only three seats in the election, he entered the Knesset on 24 April 2007 as a replacement for party leaderAzmi Bishara, who had resigned. He was placed second on the party's list for the2009 elections,[3] and retained his seat as the party won three mandates.
In the end of February 2012, Nafa was a guest of honor in a rally supportingBashar al-Assad and his regime in Syria. He stated that he came to support the regime and condemn the foreign coalition that was formed to prevent Assad's reform attempts. He also said that the western coalition made up the "genocide" and is (the western coalition) responsible for the death of Syrian children, by supplying weapons to the gangs.[4] According to Israeli prosecutors, Nafa also met with Talal Naji, the Secretary-General of thePFLP while in Syria.
In December 2011, Nafa was indicted for illegally entering an enemy state and contacting a foreign agent.[5]
Nafa did not contest the2013 elections and subsequently lost his Knesset seat.
On April 6, 2014, Nafa was convicted of illegally entering an enemy state and on one count of contact with a foreign agent. He was acquitted of a second count of contacting a foreign agent.[6] On September 4, 2014, he was sentenced to one year in prison.[7]
Nafa lives inBeit Jann and is married with nine children.[1]
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| National | |
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