British MP Jeremy Corbyn (left) meets Hadash MK Ofer Cassif, Nov. 12, 2025 (Photo: Al Ittihad)
Archiv: Ofer Cassif
Knesset MP Ofer Cassif on the Need for Palestinian Liberation
(October 18, 2025)
Dora Mengüç After October 7, Israeli society went through a deep trauma. You’ve said the government weaponized that trauma.
Ofer Cassif Yes. The massacre committed by Hamas was horrific — we all condemned it. But the government used fear, pain, and rage to manipulate people and justify a genocidal war.
The attack on Gaza had nothing to do with the well-being of Israelis, not even revenge. It was about realizing a preexisting plan — the annexation of occupied Palestinian territories without granting basic rights, and the expulsion of Palestinians who resist.
(…)
The only solution is the two-state solution. Gaza should be liberated, the West Bank including East Jerusalem must be liberated. The Palestinian people must be liberated — which, in my view, is also the liberation of the Israeli people. Because, of course, Palestinians are the main victims of occupation and apartheid — but we Israelis are also hostages of the fanaticism that sustains this system.
Who are Israel Parliament members Ayman Odeh, Ofer Cassif who showed ‘recognise Palestine’ sign to Trump?
Ayman Odeh, who is 50 and lists himself as an atheist (he was born in a Muslim family), leads the Arab-Jewish Hadash party that‘s part of the Joint List political group.
Hadash is considered a left-wing coalition formed by the Communist Party of Israel (Maki) and other like-minded groups.
Ofer Cassif, who is Jewish, is 60. He has represented Hadash in the Knesset since April 2019.
Hadash party leader Ayman Odeh and party member Ofer Cassif interrupt President Trump‘s speech
Left-wing Hadash party leader Ayman Odeh and party member Ofer Cassif interrupt President Trump‘s speech, yelling and holding a sign that says „Recognize a Palestinian state,“ and are forcefully removed from the Knesset by security.
MK Cassif: More of Us in Israel are Saying No to this Endless War
(August 27, 2025)
As the descendant of a Jewish family from Poland, the words “never again” have significant meaning for me. In the aftermath of the Second World War, humankind vowed to never again allow such atrocities to occur. The Holocaust, the mass extermination of the Jewish people, plumbed the very depths of tyrannical evil. Precisely because of this heritage, I view “never again” as a universal imperative.
In 1948, the international community adopted the universal declaration of human rights and the convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide. In the decades since, we have failed globally many times to safeguard this invaluable truth: that people must not perish in flames, and such heinous crimes must not be perpetrated while outsiders stand idly by. But never in recent times have people around the world started into the abyss of annihilation as we are doing today in Gaza. As such, “never again” is not merely a moral reminder but an ethical decree to act.
Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me, as the saying goes. It seems that Netanyahu manages to fool western leaders time and time again. On Friday, in response to the IPC declaration of famine, the UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, said it was an “utterly horrifying and wholly preventable man-made catastrophe”. May I ask Lammy and the rest of the British cabinet – are you among the people responsible for this catastrophe?
WATCH: Israeli politician forcibly removed from Knesset podium
(video)
Israele, il deputato Cassif cita Grossman e parla di genocidio. Allontanato dall‘aula con la forza
Alla Knesset non si può dire genocidio. Lo ha constatato a sue spese il deputato della lista di sinistra „Hadash-Taal“ Ofer Cassif. Durante un suo intervento in parlamento, ha citato lo scrittore israeliano David Grossman che in un‘intervista rilasciata a Repubblica ha dichiarato: „Per anni mi sono rifiutato di usare il termine genocidio, ma ora, dopo le immagini che ho visto e dopo aver parlato con le persone che erano lì, non posso più evitarlo“.
Ofer Cassif removed from Knesset podium for quoting David Grossman
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that Israeli parliamentarian Ofer Cassif, from the left-wing Hadash-Ta’al party, was forcibly removed from the Knesset podium on Monday night during a plenary session after quoting renowned Israeli writer and novelist David Grossman, who acknowledged in an interview with the Italian daily La Repubblica last week that, with “‘immense pain and a broken heart”, Israel is currently committing “genocide” in Gaza. “For years I refused to use the term genocide, but now, after the images I’ve seen and after speaking to people who were there, I can no longer avoid it,’” Cassif said in his speech. Haaretz said the session was chaired by deputy Knesset Speaker Nissim Vaturi, who interrupted Cassif, saying “That’s not a quote – that’s made up,” and demanded Cassif be removed from the podium, followed by Likud member Tali Gottlieb who shouted: “He will not say ‘genocide’ in here!” before Knesset ushers physically removed Cassif from the podium.
Knesset Suspends Hadash MK Cassif for Accusing Israeli Soldiers of Committing Genocide in Gaza
“It’s not a matter of parliamentary ethics, but of political censorship and persecution as well as terrorization (“chilling effect”) of the entire leftist camp, Arabs and Jews alike,” Cassif wrote in a response posted to X. “The real end behind this suspension is to thwart our faction from any parliamentary activity altogether, and, in the longer run, to eliminate any representation of the Arab and the democratic Jewish citizens. My repeated suspensions are merely the appetizer, as they were.”
Cassif was instead suspended by the Ethics Committee in November 2024 for six months due to critics against ethnic cleansing in Gaza and attempt to oust Cassif from his sea failed in the Knesset plenum in February 2024 due to insufficient support from the opposition, with only 85 MKs voting in favor, short of the required 90. That effort to remove Cassif from the parliament came in response to his public support for South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Attempted removal of Ayman Odeh from the Israeli Knesset
EDM (Early Day Motion) 695: tabled on 24 January 2025
Tabled in the 2024-25 session.
This motion has been signed by 10 Members. It has not yet had any amendments submitted.
Motion text
That this House expresses deep concern regarding the efforts of Israeli coalition and opposition politicians to oust MK Ayman Odeh from the Knesset; joins Odeh in welcoming the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal which enabled the exchange of Israeli and Palestinian hostages and abductees; supports the sentiment of Palestinians and Israelis being freed from the burden of occupation and building a shared future; notes that, of the 90 Palestinians hostages most recently released by Israel, 69 were women, 21 were children, and most had been held without charge or trial; acknowledges the existence of myriad political mechanisms that enable the targeting, exclusion, and marginalisation of Palestinian-Israeli members of the Knesset, including the conflation of one’s support for Palestinian rights with support for terrorism or incitement to violence; further notes the similar employment of the impeachment process against MK Ofer Cassif, as a result of his signing a petition in support of the South Africa’s case forwarded in the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza; believes in the value of maintaining a representative democracy that encompasses a broad array of political, social, and ethnic creeds; and calls on the Government to vehemently oppose any efforts by Israeli parliamentarians to further solidify an ethnocratic, apartheid state, and deny the Palestinian population’s right to self-determination through the rooting out of democratically elected officials that represent their cause.
Israeli Activists Marched Near the Gaza Border Calling to End the War and Starvation
Among marchers: Hadash MK Ofer Cassif and internationally well-known singer Noa (Achinoam Nini). Noa wrote today on X, “Yesterday at the protest march on the Gaza border, we called for an end to this terrible and brutal war that is killing hostages and soldiers, and starving, burning, and murdering endless children and innocent people. Enough, enough, enooough!!!” “We brought food, signs, words, we brought our pain and love. There were speeches. One person read a heartbreaking letter from a friend in Gaza. There were also silent circles, singing (I sang through a megaphone), and cries of anguish… I felt there was no other place I wanted or could be. The conscience and heart of an entire country was reduced to a thousand people in white who refuse to let their hearts — our hearts — turn to stone.”
Protesters Gather Again Near Border with Gaza to Demand End to War
Several hundreds of Israeli protestors gathered near the border with Gaza on Friday, May 23, calling for an end to the deadly war and ethnic cleansing. “Only people can stop the criminal madness of the far-right government. We need to do everything to stop the massacre and the Trump’s imperialist eviction plan to expel Palestinians from their lands,” said Hadash MK Ofer Cassif to journalists.
Protesters chanted for peace and justice for both Israelis and Palestinians and held banners in Hebrew, Arabic and English, reading “Palestinian Lives Matter,” “No in My Name,” “End the War for All Our Sakes,” and “Refuse.” They held, also, pictures of murdered Gaza children.
Ofer Cassif, the Knesset Member Opposing the Genocide, in Conversation with Yanis Varoufakis
(streamed 5 hours ago)
Ofer Cassif, Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Israel and MK with Hadash-Ta‘al, is the only Israeli Jewish MK campaigning out against the genocide in Gaza.
While his colleagues go along with Netanyahu’s lie that it is all about Israel’s right to defend itself, Cassif has called it what it is: Genocide practised by the last Apartheid State — and demanded it stop. For doing so, he was suspended from the Knesset for six months. Back from his suspension this Wednesday, he is back in the Knesset – fighting for decency.
In this livestream, Ofer joins Yanis for a rare, unfiltered conversation.
Next Friday: Ofer Cassif in Conversation with Yanis Varoufakis
As media attention fades and Western leaders remain complicit, Ofer stands nearly alone inside Israel’s political system. What does resistance look like from within the state committing these crimes? And how much longer can the world look away? In this livestream, Cassif joins Yanis Varoufakis for a rare, unfiltered conversation.
Communist Announces Her Refusal to Enlist in the Army in Protest of Occupation and War
Ella Keidar, an 18-year-old Communist objector announces on Wednesday, March 19, her refusal to enlist in the Israeli army in protest of occupation and war. Ella was sentenced to 30 days in military prison. During a demonstration in solidarity with Kedar held near the induction center at Tel-Hashomer, MK Ofer Cassif (Hadash) told the crowd: “Ella refused to enlist in the Israeli army because she refuses to take part in the genocide in Gaza and she is a hero and an inspiration to us all. It is our duty to refuse.” Keidar agreed, “We will not take part in the genocide in Gaza or the oppression of the Palestinian people….
Faced with impeachment, far-left lawmaker slams attempts to silence him
(February 23, 2025)
And by the way, that [in no way] means that there is any justification for the war crimes and crimes against humanity of October 7 whatsoever. Not even the ongoing occupation and persecution and oppression of the Palestinian people. What happened on October 7 must be rejected 100%.
The second thing is that the Palestinian people didn’t launch a war against Israel. Those who are guilty of the crimes of October 7 are Hamas and some other elements of course. That’s not the Palestinian people. The Israelis, in general, are innocents, and the Palestinians, in general are innocents. There are those who are guilty of war crimes here and there and everywhere. In my view, [they] should be caught and brought to justice in The Hague.
The Times of Israel: Does that include Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant?
Ofer Cassif: Yes.
MK Cassif: There’s a Fascist Atmosphere in Israel
(February 24, 2025)
“There are attempts to silence us and to pursue and to create an atmosphere of chilling effect to terrorize us. There are attempts, again, to silence us, to prevent us from raising our political voice. We were not elected to represent those who disagree with us. It’s our right and obligation to represent as firmly as possible our values for which we were elected. Since October 7, people have been arrested because of tweets [in which] they simply expressed sympathy for the children of Gaza, not for Hamas, perish the thought…There’s a fascist atmosphere,” Cassif said to The Times of Israel. Above excerpts from the interview.
MK Cassif: Occupied West Bank Refugee Camps in Serious Threat of Total Destruction
MK Ofer Cassif (Hadash), warned Al Jazeera in an interview that the Palestinian refugee camps in the occupied West Bank are “in serious threat of total destruction.” “We saw in the last few days that both the refugee camp in Jenin and the refugee camp in Tulkarem are under a serious threat of total destruction and yet again another expulsion of Palestinian people from there,” he told Al Jazeera, saying this has nothing with security.
“I’m also afraid that this has been done in purpose by the Israeli government in order to foil the ceasefire in Gaza — that’s the reason I’m so worried,” Cassif added, appealing to countries in the region to not “leave behind your brothers and sisters in Palestine.” “Don’t leave the Palestinians who’ve been butchered for more than one year by the Israeli government, that should have been stopped months ago,” he said.
Hadash and the Communist Party of Israel Slams Trump’s Calls to Ethnically Cleanse Gaza
According to Hadash MK Aida Touma-Sliman, “Trump’s Imperialist plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza and take it under American occupation is a declaration of another criminal war on the Palestinian people of Gaza. The people of Gaza will stay on their land, and they will rebuild it.” According to Hadash MK Ofer Cassif, “Facing the notion of Arab deportation and exile — ‘transfer’ — we must stand up and say sharply and simply: It will be impossible because we will not allow it. Even if we must lie down under the wheels of trucks. Even if we must blow up the bridges. There will be no mass deportation by force, because we will not allow it to happen, internationally known author Amoz Oz wrote this statement in his 1990 Manifesto ‘On Democracy and Obedience’.” “Now is the time to follow his wisdom and humanity and unite under one calling: No transfer, no ethnic cleansing, yes to peace and a Palestinian State!”, he added.
MK Cassif: Hussam Abu Safiya is the Symbol of the Gaza Genocide
According to Hadash-Ta’al MK Ofer Cassif, “We must not allow the Israeli government to kill this noble man [Abu Safiya]. His life and liberty, like those of all Palestinians, must be protected.” “In human history, every genocide has had its own martyrs and symbols. Those who faced barbaric power and humanitarian calamity with resilient, stoic virtue. Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and his unlawful abduction is the symbol of the Gaza genocide. We must not allow him to perish in captivity. I filed an official query for the Minister of Defense, like habeas corpus, demanding to know of his whereabouts. But this isn’t enough. I urge all to demand his immediate release from Israeli captivity.”
MK Ahmed Tibi (Hadash-Ta’al) called in the Knesset plenum on Monday, December 30, for the release of the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital. Tibi stated that “Dr. Abu Safiya has become an international icon in the last 24 hours. With a systematic destruction of hospitals in Gaza, and all health infrastructure, to render life impossible after the conflict – Israel is the country that has destroyed the most hospitals globally.” “This brave doctor, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, whose 15-year-old child was killed, and later had his hospital shot at and was wounded, remained with his team and patients – it’s a brave decision.” He added: “Ultimately, he came out to the tank and was arrested. Today, he’s in the detention facility at Sde Teiman and there is an international demand to release him. Why? Because doctors are killed in Sde Teiman. Dr. Albatsh, an orthopedist, was detained, tortured, and died. I called on the Defense Minister to release him today.”
According to Hadash-Ta’al MK Aida Touma-Sliman, “Dozens of Palestinians who were held at some point by the Israeli Army are nowhere to be found. The fact is extremely concerning given that according to Bt’selem, more than 60 Palestinians have died while imprisoned by Israel since the beginning of the war – some with clear indications of violence and torture. Like the darkest regimes, Israel is creating, under the cover of war, a parallel world of torture and violence where people are being disappeared.”
I was suspended from Israel’s Knesset for highlighting the tyranny of Netanyahu. Help us to oppose him
(November 29, 2024)
I am not alone in opposing his tyranny. The consistent political opposition inside Israel itself, made up of democratic Jews and Arab citizens, finds the notion of democracy in Israel under Netanyahu absurd too. Democracy in Israel never really existed, owing to the state of Israel’s definition as an ethnic concept, antithetical to political egalitarianism.
A state that under its basic laws declares one group politically superior to the other cannot be regarded as a democracy, but as an ethnocracy. Since its formation, Israel has been pursuing discriminatory policies towards its own Palestinian citizens in all spheres of life – housing, employment, welfare and education. Even the supposed Israeli bill of rights, the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, doesn’t dare to mention the right to equality.
Jeremy Corbyn and KKE Delegation Meets Hadash MK Ofer Cassif
British political leader Jeremy Corbyn welcomed today, Saturday, November 23, Hadash MK Ofer Cassif at the Peace & Justice Project office in London. “Dr Cassif was suspended from the Knesset for speaking out against the genocide in Gaza. We need more brave voices like his to bring about justice for the Palestinians,” said Corbyn to journalists.
On Friday, a delegation from the International Relations Section of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) met with Cassif, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Israel, during his brief stay in Athens.
Left-wing Jewish MP Ofer Kassif expelled from Knesset for six months
Israel‘s parliament has expelled a prominent left-wing Jewish MP over his support for South Africa‘s case against Israel in the International Court of Justice.
Ofer Kassif, the only Jewish MP for the left-wing Hadash party, will be suspended for six month after accusing Israel of committign war crimes in Gaza.
Israel Parliament Fight: Ben-Gvir, Other Israeli Knesset Members Clash Over Deportation Bill
A Knesset committee session on a controversial bill that proposes deporting relatives of terrorists erupted into a heated altercation, involving shouting and personal insults. The session escalated after MK Ofer Cassif opposed the bill, leading to a tense exchange with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who labeled Cassif a “terrorist.”
Following Stormy Debate, Knesset Advances Bill to Expel Family Members of ‘Terrorists’
The bill would give authority to the interior minister, after holding an arraignment, to expel the family member “to the territory of the Gaza Strip, or a different expulsion destination, depending on the circumstances.” The expulsion would apply for seven to 15 years for an Israeli citizen and 10 to 20 years for a noncitizen. According to the bill, the Israel Police has “all of the authorities given to it by law, including the authority to enter any place, remove from it any person, and use reasonable force to do so.”
The debate before the vote was heated, as far-right MKs who supported the bill accused MK Ofer Cassif (Hadash), who opposed the bill, of being a “terrorism supporter.” At one point, Knesset ushers had to physically stand between Cassif and MK Almog Cohen (Otzma Yehudit) who brutally attacked the Communist lawmaker.
As Cassif entered the hearing, a woman told the Cassif that he should be “ashamed of his position,” and far-right lawmakers began shouting at Cassif, with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir calling him a “terrorist.” As Cassif addressed the committee, which he called a “gathering of fascists,” lawmakers screamed at him to leave and called on chairman Ofir Katz (Likud) to have him removed from the room. “Lucky you didn’t bring your pager,” one MK quipped, referring to the mass attack attributed to Israel that saw thousands of Hezbollah pagers explode on the men carrying them.”
CPI and Hadash Calls to Cease Deadly Military Operation in the Occupied West Bank
The Communist Party of Israel (CPI) and Hadash issued a common communique who said “The occupation’s attacks in the West Bank is a continuation of the campaign of destruction in Gaza.” They called for occupation forces to cease military operations in the West Bank.
According to Hadash MK Ofer Cassif, “The assault by the occupation forces on the West Bank has nothing to do with the security of Israel. It is just another layer in the total war that the Israeli government has been waging against the entire Palestinian people to annex their land and expel them from their homeland. Stop the war! End the occupation!”
MK Aida Touma-Sliman (Hadash) called it the “Gazafication of all Palestinian land” and part of a plan to “ethnically cleanse the West Bank.
Amid Police Provocation, Thousands Gathered in Nazareth to Celebrate May Day
MK Cassif said to journalists, “In spite of the fascist menace and terrorization, we marched today, thousands of Jews and Arabs together, to protest against the criminal massacre in Gaza, the occupation and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, against social injustice, class exploitation and fascism, and for the release of the hostages on the basis of ‘all-for-all’ principle, for social and national equality, democracy, and just peace.”
Racist Ben Gvir Warns Hadash Leader ‘Next in Line’ to Be Expelled from Knesset
Racist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir appears to threaten Hadash MK Ayman Odeh with impeachment, tweeting out a picture of him with the message “next in line.” The photo shared by Ben Gvir shows Odeh holding the arm of Khalida Jarrar, a legislator and senior figure in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, as she flashes a victory sign following her release from prison in September 2021. On last December 27, Jarrar was arrested again by occupation forces.
The far-right leader’s message comes hours after members of the Knesset House Committee overwhelmingly supported a motion to expel Hadash-Ta’al party lawmaker Ofer Cassif, voting 14-2 to advance his impeachment to the Knesset plenum following two days of contentious debate. During Tuesday’s debate on Cassif’s impeachment, Hadash-Ta’al MK Ahmad Tibi warned the Communist lawmaker’s ouster would “set a precedent” allowing for the impeachment of “all the Arab MKs in the Knesset.” “This is a black day for the Knesset,” Tibi declares following the vote.
Adalah: Motion to Expel Israeli Knesset Member for Supporting South Africa’s ICJ Case Is Unlawful
30/01/2024
Today, the Knesset’s House Committee voted to expel Hadash MK Ofer Cassif, based on his public support for South Africa‘s application to the ICJ accusing Israel of genocide. Adalah: The motion is a deliberate attempt to suppress political dissent against Israel‘s brutal military campaign on Gaza
“‘You can’t say that Cassif only wanted to stop the war, he’s accusing Israel of genocide,’ screams Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer ….” ? Ruckus at Knesset panel as deputy AG says expelling far-left MK lacks legal basis
European MPs Call for EU to Oppose Removal of Hadash MK Ofer Cassif
On Monday morning, the Knesset House Committee is slated to hear arguments in an unusual debate that will determine the political future of Communist lawmaker Ofer Cassif, from the Hadash-Ta’al parliamentary faction.
If the hearing goes badly for Cassif, he could soon face an unprecedented vote in the Knesset plenum to expel him from the legislative body, the result of his far-right MKs anger over his public support for a South African petition to the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
Four years ago, lawmakers attempted to gather the required signatures to bring similar charges against Hadash leader MK Ayman Odeh, but the effort never made it to the committee stage.
‘Why I support ICJ Gaza genocide case against my country, Israel’
(11.01.2024)
Israeli politician Ofer Cassif announced his support for the Gaza genocide lawsuit against Israel at the ICJ, and is now facing an attempt to get him kicked out of parliament. He explains why he did it.
Knesset debates booting lawmaker who supported ICJ genocide case
Forer announced the move after Cassif signed a petition in support of the South African case against the Jewish state and claimed that members of the government were calling for ethnic cleansing and even genocide.
Eighty-seven MKs subsequently signed on to the initiative, passing the minimum threshold required for lawmakers to remove a colleague who expresses “support for an armed struggle by an enemy state, or a terrorist organization against the State of Israel.”