Joint List chief one of magazine's top 100 'global thinkers'

Arab-Israeli lawmaker Ayman Odeh praised for ‘uniting Israel’s Arabs,’ keeping alive dream of ‘resolving the world’s most intractable conflict’

The chairman of the Joint (Arab) List was named one of Foreign Policy’s top 100 “leading global thinkers” on Tuesday for “uniting Israel’s Arabs.”

“Middle East peace talks may be all but dead, but Ayman Odeh still dreams of resolving the world’s most intractable conflict,” the Foreign Policy profile of the party chairman said. “Odeh yoked diverse leaders — Islamists, secular feminists, socialists — with a forthright argument that Arabs deserve the same rights as Jewish citizens.”

Also on the list were Israel-born documentary filmmaker Leslee Udwin, as well as the head of the Iranian nuclear program Ali Akbar Salehi and US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz for their efforts to reach the Iran nuclear deal.

The announcement came as Odeh headed to the US for groundbreaking talks with senior White House and State Department officials. Odeh, who began his visit Monday night, will be the first prominent representative of Israel’s Arabic community to engage in high-profile diplomatic talks in Washington.

Along with the talks, Odeh will attend an event in his honor hosted by billionaire S. Daniel Abraham, a champion of coexistence between Arabs and Jews. The lawmaker will also speak with media outlets such as The New York Times and the Washington Post, and meet with civil rights leaders at the Atlanta church of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

“The issues that matter to Israel’s Arab citizens are hardly represented in the international conversation,” Odeh told Ynet. “I’m going to the US to bring that voice with me to influencing sources and opinion leaders, and to create contacts and connections with the progressive and civil rights movements.”

The Joint Arab List, a combination of the Arab parties in Israel, was formed in the lead-up to elections in March and is now the nation’s third largest political party.

Odeh has been criticized for failing to condemn Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians in recent months.

Asked on Israeli Radio in October if throwing rocks is a legitimate form of protest, he said, “I always blame the occupation for being guilty. I cannot tell the nation how to struggle, where and at which target to throw the rock.”

JTA contributed to this report.