Ezra Nawi

Ezra Yitzhak Nawi (Hebrew: עזרא יצחק נאווי‎‎; born 1952) is an Israeli Mizrahi Jew, left-wing,human rights activist and pacifist. He is particularly active among the Bedouin herders and farmers of the South Hebron Hills and against the establishment of Israeli settlements there, in what Uri Avnery describes as a protracted effort by settlers to cleanse the area of Arab villagers, in the prevention of which he has played a key role. He has been described as a "Ta'ayush nudnik", and "a working-class, liberal gay version of Joe the Plumber".

He is regarded by some as an extreme leftist activist and troublemaker. He has been charged with numerous infractions of the law, with convictions ranging from statutory rape, illegal use of a weapon and possession of drugs to assaulting two policemen, In addition, he has also served several short stints in prison as a consequence of his activism. Defenders claim that many of the prosecutions are politically motivated.

According to David Shulman, he is considered a major obstacle to the theft of Palestinian land and he is an Israeli exponent of Gandhian civil disobedience. Nawi has said that he strikes back when attacked. He came to international attention after being convicted in 2007 of participating in a riot and assaulting two police officers in connection with the demolition of Bedouin homes in the West Bank by Israeli border policemen. His trial and imprisonment spurred a world-wild protest against his treatment that elicited 20,000 signatures.

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