Founder of Islamic Movement in Israel dies after long illness

Sheikh Abdullah Nimar Darwish, the founder of the Islamic Movement in Israel, died on Sunday from complications of a severe respiratory disease.

Darwish, 69, was born in Kafr Qasim, east of Tel Aviv, in 1948. Handicapped from birth, he eventually completed his religious studies in Nablus and began advocating a return to Islamic tradition. He subsequently established the Islamic Movement in Israel in 1971.

In 1981, Darwish was arrested and convicted of membership in a terrorist organization, for founding the Usrat al-Jihad ("Family of Jihad") group two years prior, with the aim of establishing "an Arab Islamic state in Palestine."

He was released in 1985 as part of the Jibril prisoner exchange between Israel and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command. The deal saw Israel release 1,150 Palestinian security prisoners in exchange for three Israeli soldiers captured during the 1982 Lebanon War.

Following his release, Darwish began publicly opposing Israeli Arabs' participation in acts of violence and advocated dialogue between the Jewish and Arab sectors.

While the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement became more radicalized over time and wasoutlawedby Israel in 2015, the Southern Branch, under Darwish's leadership, remained moderate. He also chaired the Adam Center for Interfaith Dialogue between Muslims, Jews and Christians.

Darwish's nephew, Khaled Issaw, who was by his side at Rabin Medical Center, where he was hospitalized, said that he spoke of peace until his very last breath.

"He was a giant, a peace seeker; a man who loved people and respected man as a man," Issaw said. "Until the very last moment he hoped that peace would come to this world."

He said Darwish "had hoped to see peace during his lifetime, but he didn’t. He promoted a religion of peace and love until his very last moment."

An official with the Islamic Movement eulogized Darwish, saying that "he was like a father to all of us. He was the glue that united and embraced everyone. We would all seek his counsel, come back to him in our most difficult moments, and he always had an answer to everything. We all mourn his passing."

Darwish was laid to rest in Kafr Qasim on Sunday afternoon.