Ofer Cassif

Ofer Cassif (Hebrew: עֹופֶר כַּסִיף; born 25 December 1964) is an Israeli politician. A member of the Communist Party of Israel, he has represented the Hadash coalition in the Knesset since April 2019.

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 (IDF) 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^[update], Cassif lectures in political science at Tel Aviv University and Sapir Academic College.

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. Influenced by Marxism and socialism, Cassif became a prominent figure in the Communist Party of Israel (Maki), eventually rising to serve on both its Central Committee and its Political Bureau.

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.