MK Whbee told Mr. Matsas about the committees that he serves on; his background; his history with Ariel Sharon and how he is trying to bring peace to the Middle East.
Shortly before visiting New York, Mr. Whbee was in Morocco as a guest of King Mohammed VI, with whom he has a warm and friendly relationship. Together, they are working on improving the relationship between Morocco and Israel.
MK Whbee serves on the Knesset Finance Committee and Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. He is also Chairman of the Israel-Spain Parliamentary friendship Union, and he has the distinction of being the only non-Jew to briefly hold the position of Israel’s president.
Mr. Matsas asked if the fact that he’s not Jewish has been a hindrance to his career. “I think my appointment to the Knesset is the answer for those who accuse Israel of being an apartheid state. It shows minorities have equal rights and we are part of the government, the state and the parliament,” Whbee replied with a smile.
Born in northern Israel, in 1954, in the Druze village of Beit Jan, he earned a BA in the History of Islam from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an MA in the History of the New Middle East from the University of Haifa. He is married with four children.
He served in the Israeli army (IDF) as an officer and rose through the ranks. He served in the 1982 Lebanon War, and subsequently as a deputy brigade commander in the Golan Heights Division, then as a senior northern command officer. He finally attained the rank of lieutenant-colonel.
Whbee met Ariel Sharon in 1981 when Sharon was Defense Minister. In 1996, Sharon asked him to serve as his advisor and as his personal ambassador to Egypt and Jordan. They developed a close and successful relationship which was recounted in an entire chapter of the newly released biography “Sharon the Life of a Leader,” written by his son Gilad Sharon.
He was elected to the 16th Knesset in 2003, as a member of the Likud party. In March 2005, he was appointed Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, and in June 2006, he became Deputy Minister of Education, Culture and Sport.
When Sharon left Likud to found the Kadima party, Whbee followed, and was elected to the 17th Knesset in 2006 as a founding member of Kadima, assuming the position of Deputy Speaker of the Knesset. In October 2007 he was added to Ehud Olmert’s cabinet as Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister. He retained this seat in the 2009 elections.
When President Moshe Katzav took a leave of absence and during acting president Dalia Itzik’s trip abroad, in February 2007, Whbee briefly assumed the position of president. Never, since Israel became a state had a non-Jew been president nor has it happened again.
Today, within the framework of his international parliamentary activities, Deputy Speaker Whbee is Chairman of the Israel-Holland Parliamentary friendship Union, Chairman of the Israeli delegation to the Euro-Mediterranean Parliament and Vice-chairman of the Lobby for Jewish-Arab Coexistence. Slowly, he wants to bring peace to all these countries.
He and Ariel Nahum, his political and social adviser worked together on the Department of Housing to find solutions to the housing crisis Israel has been experiencing lately.
In addition to all his other roles, he is also the vice president of PAM, (The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean). PAM is an organization that promotes security, stability and peace in the Mediterranean countries.
While in NY for the UN General Assembly, PAM met to discuss the situation in Syria, announcing that they would be visiting Damascus to bring an end to the suffering of the Syrian people and to promote stability in the region.
Whbee was recently honored by the Fondazione Mediterraneo with the 2012 Mediterranean Award for Peace, for his commitment to promoting dialogue between Israel and Palestine. Every year, the award is presented to leading personalities from the world of politics, diplomacy, culture, education and science who have contributed to promoting dialogue and peace in the Greater Mediterranean Region. Whbee is in good company, over the years the award has been given to Noble Prize winners, kings and presidents.
MK Whbee is a dedicated man who fought for the State of Israel and then made a career of bringing peace to the Middle East.
