If you want to be notified the next time I write something, sign up for FREE email alerts or subscribe to the RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

By now, most of you have heard of Azmi Bishara. If not, Dr. Bishara is the Head of the National Democratic Assembly political party in Israel, a Christian Palestinian and a citizen of Israel who USED to represents Israel's Palestinian minority in the Knesset until few days ago.

In this remarkable 30 minutes speech presented at the City Club couple of years ago, Bishara discusses the last question of colonialism and its distinctive features that make it unique.

The talk is followed by another 20 minutes of heated question and answer exchange with the audience, however, the most important part of the whole thing from my point of view are the definitions, which he represented from a Palestinian point of view for terms like Conflict, Terrorism, Colonialism, Occupation, Liberation, Revolution, History, Violence, Targeting Civilians, Bad Guys, Liberal Occupation, Superiority, Demographic bomb, Racism, Right to Exist, Fundamentalism etc…

Don't miss it:

Few days ago, Danny Rubinstein wrote at Haaretz saying:

Is Bishara the 'Palestinian Herzl'?

The recent affair concerning the criminal investigation of MK Azmi Bishara, the Israeli Arab Balad party chairman who has left the country, has spawned a multitude of journalistic reports and commentaries. Palestinian political commentator Hassan al-Batal went as far as to write that the lawmaker "could have become the Palestinian Herzl," referring to the founder of Zionism.

The Arab media as a whole have applauded him. A journalist from the Saudi daily Asharq Al-Awsat interviewed a young woman from southern Lebanon, who predicted that Bishara would one day become president of the Palestinian state. He reminded her that Bishara was a member of the Israeli Knesset, and that he belonged to the Palestinian Christian minority. She was unfazed, insisting that he was the best choice precisely because of his intimate knowledge of "Zionist fascism."

And he concluded by saying:

In this case, the struggle in store for the Arabs of the occupied territories would be directed to achieving equal rights and equality within the State of Israel. This would include establishing full unity between them and the Arab Israeli minority - a unity that does not exist today. If that happens, then who knows what will occur: Azmi Bishara could very well go down in history as the "Palestinian Herzl."

Bishara studies at Humboldt University in Germany, is head of the philosophy department at Bir Zeit University, and is senior researcher at the Van-Leer Institute in Jerusalem.

Israelis as well Palestinians need a leader like this man. A humanist, a democrat and a liberal man who can lead both people to peace. He has all the ingredients . He is not Jew, he is not Muslim, he is Israeli by nationality, Palestinian by origin, and he knows what it takes to make peace in the Holy Land.