Majadle's wife says he will bridge gaps with Jews

Baka al-Gharbiya residents have describe first Arab minister as a "charismatic and honest man."

By SHELLY PAZ
majadle face 298.88 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
majadle face 298.88
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
There was no one more delighted by MK Ghaleb Majadle's entrance into the history books on Sunday by becoming Israel's first Arab cabinet minister than his wife, Huda. Like her politician husband, to whom she has been married for 23 years, she is a native of Baka al-Gharbiya near Hadera. "Ghaleb grew up in a family in which his father was also a local leader and a council member for many years," she told The Jerusalem Post. "Later on, Ghaleb became the one to whom all the village residents turned to when they had problems, a dispute that had to be solved or even when a "sulha" [reconciliation] was needed," she said. According to Huda, Majadle as a child enjoyed spending his time with the elders and pretty soon became the villagers' mediator - in charge of restraining the young from going wild or getting into troubles. As a student of education and sport at Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba, "many organizations" approached him, and offered him political positions, she said, without elaborating. "After a while he decided that this was his real mission, so he dropped out of school and started his career in politics," Hula recalled. Majadle, 53, and his wife, who did not disclose her age, have two daughters and two sons between the ages of 10 and 21. Local residents described Majadle as a "charismatic and honest man." Daigam Ganaiem, a worker at a local bakery, said that he too was happy for Majadle. "He is a good person who helps other people and doesn't care if they support him or not," Ganaiem said. His wife conceded that there were those who opposed Majadle's taking a seat in the Knesset "Of course not everyone here is happy about Ghaleb's appointment and the representatives of the various Arab parties said he shouldn't agree to take the job, but I am sure they would have acted in the same way if they were in his shoes," she said. "Ghaleb is both an Arab and a Palestinian, and he represents our sector. He will act to reduce the gaps between the Jewish and the Arab sectors in Israel," his wife added. "That is his mission and I am sure he will do a great job."