{{Short description|Israeli politician (1952–2025)}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{Infobox officeholder | image = Issam Makhoul (00320755).jpg | caption = Makhoul's Knesset portrait | birth_date = {{birth date|1952|7|18|df=y}} | birth_place = Peki'in, Israel | death_date = {{death date and age|2025|12|26|1952|7|18|df=y}} | death_place = | office = Faction represented in the Knesset | suboffice = Hadash | subterm = 1999–2006 | office2 = Chairman of Hadash | term_start2 = 2023 | term_end2 = 2025 | predecessor2 = Ayman Odeh | office3 = General Secretary of Maki | term_start3 = 2002 | term_end3 = 2007 | predecessor3 = Mohamed Nafa | successor3 = Mohamed Nafa }}
'''Issam Makhoul''' ({{langx|ar|عصام مخول}}, {{langx|he|עיסאם מח'ול}}; 18 July 1952 – 26 December 2025) was an Israeli Arab politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Hadash from 1999 to 2006. A prominent figure in Maki, he served as its General Secretary from 2002 to 2007 and was elected Chairman of Hadash in 2023. In his capacity as party leader, he oversaw the party's domestic activities and its international relations with other communist parties. In 2003, while serving in the Knesset, Makhoul was the target of a failed assassination attempt by a right-wing extremist involving a car bomb at his home in Haifa.
==Life and career== Born in Peki'in,<ref name=M>{{cite web|url=https://www.marxists.org/hebrew/makhoul/about/life_story.htm|title=עיסאם מח'ול - קורות חיים|website=Marxists.org}}</ref> Makhoul studied philosophy and sociology at the University of Haifa, gaining a MA. During his time at university he also became the first chairman of the National Union of Arab Students following its establishment in 1976. After graduating he worked as a sociologist, and was a member of the Emile Touma Institute for Political and Historical Research,<ref name=K/> which he chaired from 2010 onwards.<ref name=M/>
===Political career=== Makhoul joined Maki in 1977, serving as secretary of the Haifa branch during the 1980s.<ref name=M/> In 1993 he became a member of the party's politburo.<ref name=M/> He was elected to the Knesset on the Hadash list (an alliance led by Maki) in 1999 and was re-elected in 2003.<ref name=K/> He was an active critic of Israel's nuclear weapons program, and in 2000 was the first Knesset member to attempt a break in Israel's "nuclear ambiguity" policy by prompting an open debate on Israel's atomic program. He was also a supporter of Mordechai Vanunu, the former Israeli nuclear technician who was imprisoned for revealing details of Israel's nuclear weapons program to the British press in 1986, and called for Vanunu's release on several occasions. In 2002 he was elected secretary-general of Maki, holding the post until 2007.<ref name=M/>
====Assassination attempt==== On 24 October 2003, Makhoul was the target of an assassination attempt when an explosive device was planted in his private car in central Haifa.<ref name="explosion">{{cite news |author=Ali Waked |title=חיפה: פיצוץ במכוניתו של ח"כ עיסאם מח'ול מחד"ש |trans-title=Haifa: Explosion in the car of Hadash MK Issam Makhoul |url=https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-2804655,00.html |website=Ynet |date=24 October 2003 |language=he |access-date=2026-02-08}}</ref> Makhoul and his wife, Suad, were preparing to leave their home; Makhoul reversed his Knesset-supplied Ford out of the driveway while his wife started their personal Honda to pick up their twin children from school. The Honda's ignition sparked an explosion, engulfing the vehicle in flames, but Suad managed to escape the blast unhurt.<ref name="Haaretz2003">{{cite news |author=David Ratner |url=https://www.haaretz.com/news/mk-s-wife-unhurt-after-bomb-explodes-under-her-car-1.103677 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522165944/http://www.haaretz.com/news/mk-s-wife-unhurt-after-bomb-explodes-under-her-car-1.103677 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 22, 2011 |title=MK's wife unhurt after bomb explodes under her car |work=Haaretz |date=24 October 2003 |accessdate=24 January 2014}}</ref>
Responding to the attack, Makhoul stated: "I have no doubt that this is a politically motivated event... an attempt to harm me based on my views and positions," adding that the attempt would not deter his determination to express his opinions.<ref name="explosion"/>
The subsequent investigation led to the arrest of Eliran Golan and Alexander Rabinovitch, two Jewish men from Haifa motivated by nationalist sentiment. Golan admitted to investigators that he hated Arabs and had planned to target other prominent Arab figures, including Mohammad Barakeh, Azmi Bishara, and Ahmad Tibi.<ref name="Ratner">{{cite news |author=David Ratner |title=ארבע שנות מאסר למסייע לניסיון לרצח ח"כ מחול |trans-title=Four years in prison for accomplice in the attempted murder of MK Makhoul |url=https://www.haaretz.co.il/misc/2005-09-06/ty-article/0000017f-dbaf-df9c-a17f-ffbf70160000 |work=Haaretz |date=6 September 2005 |language=he}}</ref> Golan, the primary perpetrator, committed suicide while in custody in September 2005.<ref>{{cite news |author=Ahiya Raved |title=חיפה: אחרי שבוע ללא הכרה, מת אלירן גולן |trans-title=Haifa: After a week unconscious, Eliran Golan dies |url=https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3139523,00.html |website=Ynet |date=8 September 2005 |language=he}}</ref> Rabinovitch was convicted of aiding the attempt and supplying explosive materials; while initially sentenced to four years of actual imprisonment, the Supreme Court later extended his term to five years following an appeal.<ref name="Ratner"/><ref>{{cite web |title=פסק דין: ע פ 9995 05 מדינת ישראל נ אלכסנדר רבינוביץ |trans-title=Verdict: Criminal Appeal 9995/05 State of Israel v. Alexander Rabinovitch |url=https://lite.takdin.co.il/document/2149524/ע%20פ%209995%2005%20מדינת%20ישראל%20נ%20אלכסנדר%20רבינוביץ |website=lite.takdin.co.il |access-date=7 February 2026 |language=he}}</ref>
===Later activities=== Makhoul lost his seat in the 2006 elections. Thereafter he was involved in improving ties between Maki and the Chinese Communist Party.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}} He became chairman of Hadash in 2023.<ref name=M/>
===Personal life and death=== Makhoul was married to Suad Nasr-Makhoul, an artist and urban planner.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kirshtein |first=Ruli |date=2020-12-24 |title=נפתחה הגלריה הפרטית היחידה במגזר הערבי בחיפה |url=https://www.colbonews.co.il/culture/culture-news/89003/ |access-date=2026-02-08 |website=Colbo |language=he}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-06-14 |title=«غاليري حيفا» تحيي التراث الفلسطيني |url=https://al-akhbar.com/Last_Page/290040 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250221062734/https://al-akhbar.com/Last_Page/290040 |archive-date=2025-02-21 |access-date=2026-02-08 |language=ar}}</ref> Makhoul had two children and lived in Haifa.<ref name="M" /><ref name=i24/><ref name=K>{{cite web|url=https://main.knesset.gov.il/en/MK/APPS/mk/mk-print/218|title=Knesset Member Issam Makhoul|website=Knesset}}</ref> His brother Ameer was a director of the Haifa-based Ittijah, the Union of Arab Community-Based Associations.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2010-10-27 |title=Israeli Arab activist convicted of spying for Hezbollah |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-11638846 |access-date=2026-02-08 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> Makhoul died on 26 December 2025, at the age of 73.<ref name=i24>{{cite web|url=https://www.i24news.tv/ar/أخبار/middle-east/artc-f1fc4643|website=i24|title=وفاة عضو الكنيست السابق عصام مخول عن 72 عامًا بعد أزمة قلبية|date=26 December 2025}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links == {{Portal|Communism|Israel|Politics }} *{{Commons category-inline}} *{{MKlink|id=218}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Makhoul, Issam}} Category:1952 births Category:2025 deaths Category:Place of birth missing Category:Arab members of the Knesset Category:Hadash politicians Category:Hadash leaders Category:Maki (political party) leaders Category:Israeli sociologists Category:Israeli trade unionists Category:Maki (political party) politicians Category:Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003) Category:Members of the 16th Knesset (2003–2006) Category:University of Haifa alumni