Joumah Azbaga

Joumah Azbaga was born in Lakiya, a town in the Negev, in 1956. He was elected as a member of the town’s local council in 2004. Azbaga has been part of Balad’s central party committee since 1999. In 2017, he became a Member of the Israeli Knesset, replacing Basel Ghattas who was forced to resign after smuggling mobile phones to Palestinian prisoners.

Azerga opposed the Prawer Plan, which aimed to uproot Arab residents of the Negev, through the foundation of the Supreme Steering Committee of Negev Arabs.