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Balad Chairman Azmi Bishara. (Archives) del.icio.us Digg It!  new Last update - 03:58 16/04/2007 MK Bishara: My three options are exile, martyrdom, or jail By Yoav Stern and Jack Khoury, Haaretz Correspondents Balad Chairman Azmi Bishara told Al-Jazeera in a televised interview Sunday that an ongoing criminal investigation against him has left him with three options - martyrdom, exile, or prison. Bishara added that he is reconsidering his decision to resign from the Knesset at this time, in the wake of an ongoing criminal investigation against him. "The investigation made me reconsider [the timing]," he said. "In principle I will not reconsider the decision to resign." Advertisement There is currently a court-imposed gag order on details of the investigation, which also prevents publication of remarks Bishara himself made during the interview regarding the nature of the probe. Bishara said that while he had decided to resign because he had exhausted his parliamentary efforts, recent developments have caused him to reconsider. Bishara added that he has yet to decide whether to return to Israel. "I am not an Israeli democrat," he said. "I am a Palestinian Arab democrat." Bishara said what he termed the campaign of incitement against him is well-organized and well-orchestrated. "What concerns me is that the rules of the game have changed," he said. "That a person of my age and standing has to prove his innocence and is seen as an enemy." "I was surprised at the caliber of the injustice that they are preparing. I have denied all accusations," he said. "What is the meaning of me spending the coming 10 years proving my innocence to the Israelis? "There is also a cultural question here, what they consider innocent I do not," he continued. "How would the innocent prove himself innocent to the criminals and why?" he said. Court lifts gag order on existence of gag order in Bishara case Lifting a rare court order which had forbidden the publication of the existence of a gag order concerning an investigation into Balad Chairman Azmi Bishara, Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court on Sunday ruled that the press could discuss the existence of the probe, but not its substance. Prior to the Sunday ruling, the press was forbidden even to discuss either the existence of the investigation or the order that forbade its publication. The court rejected the request of the Balad party, Haaretz and other media outlets to remove the gag order, and said that the details of the investigation must not yet be released, as Bishara has yet to appear before the court. The court added that "the investigation is being carried out cautiously by senior investigation officials and under the supervision of the attorney general." Exposure of the suspicions against Bishara, it said, would "significantly and tangibly harm the progress of the investigation." Following the hearing, MK Jamal Zahalka, chairman of the Balad Knesset faction, said, "I am willing to refer to the investigation if media outlets release my statements. We are being subjected to a mudslinging campaign without the ability to respond, and we are seeking to expose the truth." Zahalka said Balad, and Bishara himself, were suffering political persecution and that police were misusing the gag order for their own ends. "Someone is consciously disseminating false news stories to the media, and this causes harm, first and foremost, to us," he said. On Friday, Bishara lashed out against the country's Hebrew-language media, accusing them of incitement against him. "The publication of a photograph of my home and its address in newspapers constitutes incitement to murder. It makes me rethink my position as a Knesset member," Bishara said in an exclusive interview to the Nazareth radio station A-Shams, his first interview to electronic media since leaving Israel three weeks ago. Bishara said he would grant interviews to other Arabic-language media outlets over the coming days. Bishara was guarded in his remarks because of the impossibility of discussing the reasons behind the announcement of his probable resignation from the Knesset. In an interview to the Taibeh-based Arabic magazine Panorama, Bishara said that the nationalist stream within the Arab public was threatening to Israel. "We do pose a threat, and that's why we are seen as a danger," Bishara said. "It would be illogical if we weren't seen as a danger and if we were not opposed," he said, adding, "we stand against the defective situation of those who are connected to Israelization and to the regime." In harshly criticizing the Israeli establishment, Bishara described several reasons for the rift between Balad and the state. He says that struggle began in 2000, after the incidents of October [when 13 Israeli Arabs were killed by police fire during riots] and the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada. The conflict heated up, partly as a result of the demand to change the character of the state and Bishara's fight against Zionism. It was further inflamed, Bishara charged, by the Arab community's demand for administrative autonomy as well as its "identification with the Lebanese people against the attacks on it" during last summer's war. Bishara noted that another Israeli Arab leader, Ra'ad Salah, had been detained in recent years. "It was because of his position, the Islamic movement and the hostility toward it ... He was sentenced to 30 months for money laundering and contact with a foreign agent," Bishara said. Several institutions abroad have offered to allow Bishara to continue his literary, academic and political work under their auspices. Bishara refused to disclose his whereabouts or to say when he would return to Israel, but he has said that he plans to travel to Qatar on Sunday. It should be noted that he has visited the country several times over the past few years, and last month he reported from Doha as a special commentator on the Arab summit held in the city. He said he plans to attend a conference being held later this week in Bahrain on Arab nationalism. "I want my privacy," Bishara said, "I need a few days of quiet in order to think about what is happening. Bookmark to del.icio.us Santa's helpers Foreign workers hope for citizenship for Christmas. He's ba-ack In a new audio tape Bin Laden vows to free Palestine.   1.   oops! 05:02  |  ron 15/04/07   2.   crap. he and others of his ilk must be brought to court for racis 06:32  |  ralph 15/04/07   3.   HAARETZ:Israeli media could accuse Bishara.Where are you,HAARETZ? 06:48  |  Vittorio 15/04/07   4.   Bishara, watch ur back...we know where u live now 06:58  |  yonatan 15/04/07   5.   The government should offer to protect him and his family. 07:52  |  Timothy 15/04/07   6.   all goes back to racist zionism 08:00  |  arab 15/04/07   7.   Bishara hardly the only one against destroying lebanon 08:24  |  dana 15/04/07   8.   Zionism and Bishara 08:51  |  Steve 15/04/07   9.   #7 he can get asylum in jordan dana HIS REAL HOME 09:04  |  paul harris 15/04/07   10.   the biggest problem for mr. bishara seems to be... 09:22  |  saul a. readner 15/04/07   11.   Bish-arab thought that he has a monopoly, i.e. only he may incite 11:18  |  Uzi 15/04/07   12.   talkback 15:52  |  peter 15/04/07   13.   Bishara is but one of several Arab Israeli leaders, political and 16:04  |  Nadav 15/04/07   14.   to 6 16:22  |  baracuda 15/04/07   15.   Fighting Israeli oppression using democarcy is just fine 16:25  |  JUDGE 15/04/07   16.   HAARETZ IS DISGUSTING 17:26  |  GrossedOut 15/04/07   17.   Bishara 18:04  |  steve 15/04/07   18.   peter # 12 18:54  |  scallywag 15/04/07   19.   Nadev#13 19:44  |  Frederico 15/04/07   20.   #5 timothy 20:13  |  Dell 15/04/07   21.   "I am a Palestinian Arab democrat." So return your passport 21:12  |  Fedup 15/04/07   22.   One possible reason 21:13  |  Jean-Pierre 15/04/07   23.   Cant blame this guy, really 21:33  |  SLAVO 15/04/07   24.   A Palestinian democrat in Israeli Knesseth ? 21:42  |  Nora 15/04/07   25.   BISHARA 21:58  |  JOJO 15/04/07   26.   democracies cannot be founded on ethnic exclusivity 22:01  |  deborah 15/04/07   27.   And he could well come back,Israeli Lefties`s enforced ban on 22:05  |  Absolute Sweden 15/04/07   28.   Frederico of Sweden, 19, the whites in America do not constitute 22:05  |  Nadav 15/04/07   29.   Just go! Let´s welcome Samir Khouri! 22:14  |  Tulip 15/04/07   30.   Every Israeli Arab Generation... 23:19  |  Avi Yerushalmi 15/04/07   31.   You are full of it... 23:43  |  paul 15/04/07   32.   #5 Timothy 23:55  |  TamTam 15/04/07   33.   BISHARA 23:56  |  TARIQ FROM NAZARETH 15/04/07   34.   History,can not be changed. 23:59  |  Lois Riel 15/04/07   35.   #5 - Bishara is facing 4 years in jail 00:01  |  redmike 16/04/07   36.   JAIL SOUNDS GOOD TO ME. WHAT`S THE DILLEMA? 00:12  |  Ben 16/04/07   37.   Your brothers are now your enemies 00:13  |  Lois Riel 16/04/07   38.   Israel leave Bishara alone 00:24  |  Arab 16/04/07   39.   #6, Typical Arab Comment 00:30  |  Mordechai 16/04/07   40.   Bashira, you are no martyr 00:35  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 16/04/07   41.   Bishara condems himself 00:40  |  Eli 16/04/07   42.   Israeli democracy? 01:03  |  Ernst 16/04/07   43.   # 6 arab 01:40  |  ChanahS 16/04/07   44.   The beginning of the end... 01:41  |  Salomoni 16/04/07   45.   MK Bishara: "I must choose exile, martyrdom, or jail..." 01:51  |  Citizen 16/04/07   46.   Secret democracy is no democracy at all 01:51  |  Jimmy Carter 16/04/07   47.   Modest Bishara - the victim game 01:54  |  ChanahS 16/04/07   48.   Bishara: "I am not an Israeli democrat" 02:03  |  Spoon 16/04/07   49.   wrong. be enemy of state, or loyal citizen in a democratric jewis 02:04  |  ralph 16/04/07   50.   Disappoint him 02:06  |  Mark Lincoln 16/04/07   51.   ARAB WHO IS RACIST 02:13  |  TOBIA 16/04/07   52.   mk bishara 02:24  |  Shmuelshachor 16/04/07   53.   JIMMY CARTER HA HA HA HA YOU HAVE YOU STOPPED RUNNING TO THE BANK 02:35  |  TOBIA 16/04/07   54.   Martyrdom? 02:43  |  Dr. Barry 16/04/07   55.   Maybe he`s just bored now that his secular nationalism is dying 03:01  |  Gal 16/04/07   56.   here`s a thought 03:24  |  Takan 16/04/07   57.   If Bishara continues on 03:27  |  Star of David 16/04/07   58.   to dana in new york,your wrong lady,everyone in the usa knows 03:47  |  terrornator 16/04/07   59.   I`m neither Arab nor Jewish... 04:20  |  Tobias Flame 16/04/07   60.   3 options - all smack of guilt 05:26  |  Harry 16/04/07   61.   to #59,the flame of hong-kong 05:29  |  Shmuelshachor 16/04/07   62.   to #59,the flame of hong-kong 05:29  |  Shmuelshachor 16/04/07   63.   I Vote For Martyrdom 05:57  |  Phinias Whoppy 16/04/07   64.   Tobias Flame, Bishara is not treated badly. He is a member of ... 06:04  |  Nadav 16/04/07   65.   Re tobia 06:06  |  Billy Jack 16/04/07   66.   #59 Tobias: Yeah i know, just look 06:09  |  Star of David 16/04/07   67.   Bishara:: Bish mazal + Hara 06:16  |  Star of David 16/04/07   68.   HE IS A TRAITOR 06:26  |  Gary 16/04/07   69.   #50, Mark Lincoln 07:14  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 16/04/07   70.   #7, dana 07:15  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 16/04/07   71.   To Phinias Whoppy # 63- First Martyrdom, then Jail in Exile 08:54  |  Eli 16/04/07   72.   OPTION 4. A well paying job Israel bashing for Arab media. 10:26  |  PETERSM 16/04/07   73.   #70 Cipora JK - crimes against the state? 01:48  |  dana 17/04/07   74.   Not A Difficult Decision 16:36  |  Natan 30/12/07

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