Politicsדיאב עובייד

Diyab Obeid

Diyab Obeid was an Israeli Arab politician who served as a member of the Knesset from 1961 to 1974.

1911 to 1984Knesset member, 1961 to 1974Cooperation and Brotherhood listSupporting continued military rule

Died: 18 February 1984, Israel
Occupation: politician, businessperson
Party: Mapai, Cooperation and Brotherhood, Cooperation and Development
Education: Al-Fadiliya School
Wars: 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine

Diyab Obeid was born in 1911 in Taibe

Obeid was born in Tayibe in 1911 and grew up in Tulkarm. His family was a Sunni Muslim family from Iraq, and one branch settled in Tayibe and grew citrus near Jaffa.

He worked as a merchant and in 1936 moved to Jaffa, where he sat on the local Merchants Council. In 1937, during the Arab revolt, he moved to Jebchit in southern Lebanon and returned in 1944. He kept ties with Jewish intelligence figures and acted against the Arab boycott of the Jewish community.

In 1948 he went to Tulkarm at the request of Israeli intelligence and passed on information. In 1949 he was arrested there on suspicion of spying and released on bail, and in November 1949 he moved to Israel. He served on the Tayibe local council from 1951 to 1958.

In 1961 he entered the Knesset on the Cooperation and Brotherhood list, linked to Mapai, and was reelected in 1965 and 1969. In February 1962 and 1963 he voted to continue military rule over Israeli Arabs. He lost his seat in the 1973 elections, became an advisor to the Minister of Agriculture in 1974, and died in 1984.