(1975- ) A
Palestinian citizen of
Israel political figure. As of 2015, Odeh leads the political party
Hadash, which is part of the historic union of Arab political parties in Israel known as The
Joint List. Odeh, a lawyer from Haifa, is head of the Joint List. Odeh became the Secretary General of Hadash in 2006, and became the party's leader ahead of the 2015 elections, in which he became a member of the
Israeli Knesset, with the Joint List being the third largest bloc. In his political career, Odeh has focused on issues of social justice and equality for Palestinian citizens of Israel, including advocating on behalf of unrecognized villages in the
Negev/Naqab desert. See "
Q&A: Ayman Odeh, head of the Joint List," Dalia Hatuqa, Al Jazeera English, March 16, 2015; and "
Arab Alliance Rises as Force in Israeli Election," Diaa Hadid, The New York Times, March 15, 2015.