Montreal, April 6, 2016  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is thrilled to announce it will be hosting Ayman Odeh for a speaking event in Montreal on April 12 at 7:00 p.m.  Mr. Odeh is a lawyer and member of the Israeli Knesset (i.e. the Israeli Parliament.)  As leader of the “Joint List,” a party with 13 MKs, he is also an important political leader of Palestinians in Israel. His talk will focus on the Palestinian leadership in Israel, the struggles that Palestinians in Israel face, and how this community is fighting politically for its rights within Israel.

CJPME Factsheet 198, published April, 2016: Ayman Odeh is a Palestinian-Israeli lawyer and member of Israel’s Parliament, the Knesset. In 2015, he was elected leader of the party Hadash, a leftist coalition party in Israel. Shortly afterwards, Hadash joined with several other “Arab” parties to form a new coalition party known as the “Joint List.” Odeh was subsequently elected as leader of the Joint List. This new coalition allowed Israel’s Palestinian minority to win unprecedented representation in Israel’s 2015 elections. This factsheet examines Odeh’s political career and explains why he’s a symbol of hope for Palestinians.