Elias Nakhleh

Elias Nakhleh was born in 1913 in Rameh

Elias Nakhleh was born in 1913 in Rameh to a Greek Catholic family. His father was the community's mukhtar in the village. He finished his schooling at the Scottish high school in Safed.

From 1930 to 1948 he served in the Transjordan Frontier Force and reached the rank of captain. During the 1948 war he joined the Arab Liberation Army and fought in several battles. After Operation Hiram he left for Lebanon and later returned under a family reunification arrangement.

In 1953 he was elected to the Rameh local council. He ran for the Knesset in 1955 on the Arab List, which won no seats. In 1959 he entered the Knesset on the Progress and Development list and was re-elected in 1961 and 1965.

In 1968 he left his faction and formed Jewish-Arab Brotherhood. In 1969 he returned to the Knesset on the Cooperation and Brotherhood list and served as Deputy Speaker. He sat on the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee and the Education and Culture Committee.

He lost his seat in the 1973 elections when his party did not pass the threshold. In 1990 he received the Presidential Medal for work on resolving conflicts and promoting tolerance. He died the same year.