Political analyst, writer, academic, activist, and member of the Israeli parliament, Azmi Bishara is one of the region's best known public intellectuals. He is also a contributor to Al-Ahram Weekly, the English language edition of the Cairo-based Al-Ahram newspaper. Bishara's book, Al-Hajiz (The Barrier), Volume I--fifty-nine short entries, part document, part eyewitness account, part philosophical and linguistic meditation--was published in Haifa, Israel, in 2004.