Born in Baqa al-Gharbiyye, as a teenager Majadele was a member of HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomedyouth movement, becoming its secretary. A businessman, he became secretary of the Regional Workers Council, and headed the Education and Sport department of the Histadruttrade union. He joined the Labor Party, and was placed twentieth on the party's list for the 2003 Knesset elections. Although the party won only 19 seats, Majadele entered the Knesset on 28 June 2004 as a replacement for Avraham Burg, who had resigned. He was re-elected in the 2006 elections. On 10 January 2007, Labor leaderAmir Peretz announced that Majadele would be appointed Minister of Science, Culture and Sport. On 28 January 2007 the cabinet voted to appoint him Minister without Portfolio. His appointment was confirmed by a vote in which all ministers except the chairman of Yisrael Beiteinu, Avigdor Lieberman, voted in favour. In March 2007 Majadele received the Science, Culture and Sport portfolio. Although welcomed by many, Majadele's appointment was controversial among several groups of politicians. Mohammed Barakeh of Hadash attacked it as a "dirty trick" that would not advance Arabs, while Lieberman and Esterina Tartman of Yisrael Beiteinu claimed it was damaging to Zionism. The latter criticism was itself extremely controversial, with lawmakers from across the political spectrum branding Lieberman's and Tartman's remarks racist; a number of Labor lawmakers demanded that Yisrael Beiteinu be expelled from the governing coalition as a condition of Labor continuing to participate in the government. For the 2009 elections he was placed fifteenth on the Labor list, but lost his seat as Labor were reduced to 13 representatives. However, he re-entered the Knesset on 13 April 2010 as a replacement for Yuli Tamir, who had resigned her seat. For the 2013 elections he was placed seventeenth on the party's list, and lost his seat again as the Labor Party won only 15 seats. However, he re-entered the Knesset on 14 December 2014 to serve as a replacement for Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, who resigned for health reasons after Danny Atar gave up the opportunity to take his place. He did not contest the 2015 elections, losing his seat.
Quotes
"I fail to understand how an enlightened, sane Jew allows himself to ask a Muslim person with a different language and culture, to sing an anthem that was written for Jews only," in reference to Hatikvah, the Israeli national anthem. Majadele went on to point out that, although he does not participate in singing Hatikvah, he does express respect for the song by standing up when it is sung.
"Israel is a Jewish state and it does not require external affirmation to prove its Jewishness. Any such request could only weaken the state."
"The roots of the Israeli Arab citizens of Israel were planted before the state was established. They are residents of this country with rights; their residency and citizenship are not open for negotiation", in response to comments made by Israeli Foreign MinisterTzipi Livni indicating that a future Palestinian state should provide a lasting solution for Israeli Arabs.
