Ayman Odeh

Ayman Odeh (; ; born 1 January 1975) is an Israeli Arab lawyer and politician. He is a member of Knesset and leader of the Hadash party. Biography Ayman Odeh was born in 1975, and raised in Haifa, within the Kababir neighbourhood. His father was a construction worker. Although his family was Muslim, Odeh's parents sent him to a Christian school where he was the only Muslim student, proudly noting that he got an A in New Testament studies on his high school final exams. He now describes himself as having transcended the confines of religion and ethnicity. He studied law at the University of Craiova in Romania from 1993 to 1997. During his law studies in Romania, he took part in pro-Palestinian rallies, learned Romanian, and read the memoirs of various political thinkers and revolutionaries. He earned a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Craiova and in 2001 was certified to practice law in Israel, though he is not a member of the Israel Bar Association. Odeh is married to Nardine Aseli, a gynecologist, whom he met at the wake for her 17-year-old brother who was killed in 2000 at the start of the Second Intifada. They have three children. He speaks Arabic, Hebrew, English, and Romanian.