Sheikh Abdullah Nimar Darwish (Arabic: عبد الله نمر درويش, Hebrew: עבדאללה נימר דרוויש עיסא; 1948 – 14 May 2017) was the founder of the Islamic Movement in Israel.
He remained in prison until 1985, when he was freed as part of the Jibril Agreement between the government of Israel and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command.
[3] Following his 1985 release, Sheikh Darwish became publicly active and began to express opposition to Israeli Arabs taking part in violent behavior.
In partnership with Rabbi Michael Melchior, he played an important role in setting up a major interfaith meeting in Alexandria, Egypt in 2002, during the Second Intifada;[7] this group produced a joint declaration rejecting murder in the name of God and pledging a joint quest for peace.
[10] Acknowledging that it was difficult for him to appear at the event because of the negative responses he would receive from clerical colleagues across the Muslim world, he denounced anti-semitism as not expressing the true spirit of Islam; he also criticized the Israeli government's refusal to participate in peace talks sponsored by Saudi Arabia that included Hamas and Fatah.
[7][8] Following the death of his brother in 2005, Darwish made a religious ruling allowing Muslims to donate organs for medical purposes.