# Ofer Cassif

Ofer Cassif (Hebrew: עֹופֶר כַּסִיף; born 25 December 1964) is a far-left Israeli politician. He has represented Hadash in the Knesset since April 2019.

## Biography

Cassif was born in Rishon LeZion on 25 December 1964. He attended Shalmon Elementary School and the Reali Gymnasium, where he was friends with Nitzan Horowitz. Raised in a Mapai-supporting household, Cassif joined the Left Camp of Israel's youth group at the age of 16.
Cassif served in the Israel Defense Forces with the Nahal and the Nahal paratrooper brigade. During the First Intifada, he was imprisoned four times as a conscientious objector, stating that he refused to participate in the "oppression and occupation of the Palestinians."
After completing his military service in 1987, Cassif studied philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He then earned a PhD in political philosophy at the London School of Economics with a thesis titled On nationalism and democracy: A Marxist examination, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University.
As of 2019, Cassif lectures in political science at Tel Aviv University and Sapir Academic College.

## Political career

While studying at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Cassif was an anti-war activist and worked as a parliamentary aide to Hadash MK Meir Vilner. Cassif's political beliefs were influenced by Marxism and socialism.
For the April 2019 Knesset elections, Cassif was placed fifth on the joint Hadash–Ta'al list, occupying the "Jewish slot" after Dov Khenin's retirement. In March 2019, the Central Election Committee disqualified him from running, citing statements deemed as provocative, including his description of Ayelet Shaked as "neo-Nazi scum." The Supreme Court of Israel overturned this decision, allowing his candidacy. He entered the Knesset after the alliance won six seats and was subsequently re-elected in September 2019, 2020, and 2021.
In April 2021, Cassif was filmed being assaulted by police during a protest against evictions and Israeli settlements in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem. Politicians across the political spectrum, including Ahmad Tibi and Gideon Sa'ar (who described the attack as "a murderous blow to the parliament and to parliamentary immunity"), condemned the incident. Cassif was investigated for allegedly striking a police officer first.
Cassif proclaimed himself "an explicit anti-Zionist". In an interview with Haaretz, Cassif said: "I object to the ideology and practice of Zionism... it's a racist ideology and practice which espouses Jewish supremacy."
On 8 October 2023, shortly after the beginning of the Israel–Hamas war, Cassif told Al Jazeera that his party had warned the continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories would result in such conflict. He called the Israeli government "fascist", and accused it of carrying out pogroms and ethnic cleansing against Palestinians. These comments led to a 45-day suspension by the Knesset ethics panel, which he characterized as "another nail in the coffin of freedom of political expression".
On 7 January 2024, Cassif announced his intention to join South Africa in its legal proceedings against Israel brought under the Genocide Convention. Cassif stated:
   My constitutional duty is to Israeli society and all of its residents, not to a government whose members and its coalition are calling for ethnic cleansing and even actual genocide. They are the ones who hurt the country and the people, they are the ones who led South Africa to turn to The Hague, not me and my friends.
In response to his comments, 85 members of the 120 members of the Knesset signed a petition to expel Cassif from parliament, accusing him of treason. The measure was brought to a vote on 19 February 2024, with Cassif narrowly avoiding expulsion.
In November 2024, the Knesset Ethics Committee suspended Cassif for six months from plenary and committee meetings, allowing participation only in voting, a penalty considered one of the most severe sanctions in several years. Additionally, the committee withheld two weeks of his salary. The suspension cited a tweet by Cassif referring to Palestinians fighting the IDF in Jenin as "freedom fighter[s]", and his continuing public support for South Africa's genocide case against Israel.

## Personal life

Cassif is Jewish. He is married and has one son. He lives in Rehovot.