Bahloul was born in 1950 in
Haifa, Israel, to a
Muslim Arab family. His mother, who was a journalist, was offered the opportunity to manage a Muslim orphanage in
Acre, and the family subsequently moved there. In 1974, he was hired as a researcher at the
Israel Broadcasting Authority. Later, he became a sports announcer. He broadcast various athletic competitions for radio and television on
Channel 1. While mainly working in sports broadcasting, Bahloul has also worked as a journalist, focused on promoting the Arab sector in Israel. During the 1990s he presented current events programs and talk shows in Arabic. Bahloul, an avid
vegan, was married to Jamila until her death in 2010, and has three children.
Political career In December 2014, Bahloul joined the
Israeli Labor Party. On 14 January 2015 he beat the member of
Knesset and former minister
Raleb Majadele for the minority slot in the party's primary elections and was subsequently placed 17th on the
Zionist Union list for the
2015 Knesset elections. He stated that if elected, he would first focus on changing the national education system to foster more diversity and Jewish–Arab dialogue. He was subsequently elected to the Knesset when the Zionist Union won 24 seats in the March 2015 elections. In October 2018, he resigned from the Knesset due to his opposition to the
Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People. ==References==