texts:
 Again" off his debut album. <mask> played the role of Josh, a burned out rockstar in the 2010 movie Psychosis. The movie also featured three Hot Leg songs. <mask> also appeared on the Meat Loaf album Hang Cool Teddy Bear, where he co-wrote two songs ("Love Is Not Real" and "California Isn't Big Enough"). He also provided guitar on "California Isn't Big Enough" and backing vocals on "Love Is Not Real" and "Los Angeloser". In 2012, <mask> appeared in a Samsung commercial for their Galaxy Note smartphone during Super Bowl XLVI.In the same year, <mask> and brother Dan appeared in the ZingZillas episode Electric Guitar. In 2016, <mask> appeared on the De La Soul album and the Anonymous Nobody... providing vocals on the track "Lord Intended". In 2020, <mask> participated in the UK version of The Masked Singer, appearing as Chameleon. His identity was revealed in the third episode when he was voted out. During his time on the show he performed renditions of "Creep" by Radiohead, "Feel It Still" by Portugal. The Man, and "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper. Personal life

<mask> is a vegan.He resides in Switzerland with his wife and daughter. <mask> supported Manchester United growing up, but he is primarily a supporter of Norwich City. Equipment

<mask> is seen playing Gibson Les Paul Customs almost exclusively. He is most commonly seen playing an alpine white model which he used with the Darkness (as seen in the "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" & "Love is Only a Feeling" music videos), and with Hot Leg. It is rare to see him use another guitar, although he can be seen playing a custom Ibanez Jem for the song "Bald". He has

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type: original

texts: also been seen using an ebony Gibson Les Paul Custom, a one-off Gibson "Less Paul" custom sculpted to resemble a shell, and a custom finished blue Les Paul standard airbrushed with the mythical dog Black Shuck and Blythburgh church. In 2004 Gibson issued a limited run of <mask> signature Les Paul Customs based on the '68 RI with abalone and mother of pearl "flame" inlays on the fretboard, a sparkle finish in either Silverburst or Pinkburst (a Blueburst and Redburst have also been pictured, as well as a one-off Gold Mirror finish produced by SimS Custom Guitars).These have become highly valuable because of their scarcity and unique features. <mask> used Mesa Boogie dual and triple rectifier amplifiers rather than Marshall Amplification when performing with the Darkness. The stacks he was using had custom-made speaker cabs coated in red leather. During his time in Hot Leg he was exclusively seen using Cornford MK50H II's in white vinyl with two Cornford, 16-ohm, 4x12 cabinets loaded with Celestion "Vintage 30s". Since the Darkness reformation he has been seen using multiple modified Marshall 1959 MKII Plexi Reissue guitar amps with a boosted gain stage run through Marshall 1960B cabinets. Since 2016, <mask> uses EVH and Wizard amplifiers. In a 2012 edition of Guitarist Magazine's video series "On the Road with..." <mask>'s pedal setup consisted of a Boss Analog Delay, a Pro Co RAT, a Diamond Pedals Compressor, a Boss TU-3 Tuner, and a Dunlop Cry Baby DCR-2SR rack module which allows him to have three separate wah-wah pedals strategically placed around the stage.As of 2016, <mask> does not use any pedals. On the song

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Justin Hawkins
Hawkins
Hawkins
Hawkins
Hawkins


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 "Girlfriend", <mask> uses a Moog Keytar for the solo. <mask> is regularly seen playing a Martin Backpacker travel guitar on his various YouTube videos. References

External links
 <mask> Rides Again, YouTube channel
 Official Website of British Whale
 They Don’t Make 'Em Like They Used To MP3 – <mask> and Beverlei Brown's entry into Making Your Mind Up
 JustinHawkinsRocks.co.uk, UK-based fan site for <mask> and his projects

1975 births
Living people
21st-century English male singers
English rock singers
English singer-songwriters
People from Lowestoft
English rock guitarists
English tenors
Countertenors
Sopranists
Lead guitarists
People from Chertsey
The Darkness (band) members
People educated at East Point Academy
Ivor Novello Award winners
English male guitarists
Participants in British reality television

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Hawkins
Hawkins
Justin Hawkins
Justin Hawkins
Justin Hawkins


texts: <mask> (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian politician who has served as prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has presided over Fidesz, a national conservative political party, since 1993, with a brief break between 2000 and 2003. <mask> studied at Eötvös Loránd University and, briefly, at the University of Oxford before entering politics in the wake of the Revolutions of 1989. He headed the reformist student movement the Alliance of Young Democrats (), the nascent Fidesz. <mask> became nationally known after giving an address at the 1989 reburial of Imre Nagy and other martyrs of the 1956 revolution, in which he openly demanded that Soviet troops leave the country. After Hungary's transition to multiparty democracy in 1990, he was elected to the National Assembly and led Fidesz's parliamentary caucus until 1993. Under his leadership, Fidesz shifted away from its original centre-right, classical liberal, pro-European platform toward right-wing national conservatism.<mask>'s first term as prime minister, from 1998 to 2002 at the head of a conservative coalition government, was dominated by the economy and Hungary's accession to NATO. He served as leader of the opposition from 2002 to 2010. In 2010, <mask> again became prime minister after Fidesz's supermajority victory in coalition with the Christian Democrats. Central issues during <mask>'s second premiership have included major constitutional and legislative reforms, the European migrant crisis, the lex CEU, and the COVID-19 pandemic. He has won reelection twice, in 2014 and 2018, and in November 2020 became the country's longest-serving prime minister. In December 2021, he became the longest-serving incumbent head of government in the European Union.

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Viktor Mihály Orbán
Orbán
Orbán
Orbán
Orbán
Orbán


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 Because of <mask>'s curtailing of press freedom, erosion of judicial independence and undermining of multiparty democracy, many political scientists and watchdogs consider Hungary to have experienced democratic backsliding during <mask>'s tenure.<mask>'s attacks on the European Union while accepting its money and funneling it to his allies and family have also led to characterizations of his government as a kleptocracy. Between 2010 and 2020, Hungary dropped 69 places in the Press Freedom Index and 11 places in the Democracy Index; Freedom House has downgraded the country from "free" to "partly free." <mask> defends his policies as "illiberal democracy." As a result, Fidesz was suspended from the European People's Party from March 2019 until March 2021, when Fidesz left the EPP over a dispute over new rule-of-law language in the latter's bylaws. Early life
<mask> was born on 31 May 1963 in Székesfehérvár into a rural middle-class family, as the eldest son of the entrepreneur and agronomist Győző <mask> (born 1940) and the special educator and speech therapist, Erzsébet Sípos (born 1944). He has two younger brothers, both entrepreneurs, Győző, Jr. (born 1965) and Áron (born 1977). His paternal grandfather, Mihály <mask>, practiced farming and animal husbandry.<mask> spent his childhood in two nearby villages, Alcsútdoboz and Felcsút in Fejér County; he attended school there and in Vértesacsa. In 1977, his family moved permanently to Székesfehérvár. <mask> graduated from Blanka Teleki High School in Székesfehérvár in 1981, where he studied English. After completing two years of military service, he studied law at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, writing his thesis on the Polish Solidarity movement. After obtaining his JD degree (equivalent to a

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 Master study) in 1987, he lived in Szolnok for two years, commuting to his job in Budapest as a sociologist at the Management Training Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. In 1989, <mask> received a scholarship from the Soros Foundation to study political science at Pembroke College, Oxford. His personal tutor was the Hegelian political philosopher Zbigniew Pełczyński.In January 1990, he left Oxford and returned to Hungary to run for a seat in Hungary's first post-communist parliament. At the age of 14 and 15, he was a secretary of the communist youth organization, KISZ, of his secondary grammar school (KISZ membership was mandatory in order to matriculate to a university). <mask> said in a later interview that his political views had radically changed during the military service: earlier he had considered himself a "naive and devoted supporter" of the Communist regime. Early career (1988–1998)

On 30 March 1988, <mask> was one of the founding members of Fidesz (originally an acronym for Fiatal Demokraták Szövetsége, "Alliance of Young Democrats") and served as its first spokesperson. The first members of the party, including <mask>, were mostly students from the Bibó István College for Advanced Studies who opposed the Communist regime. At the college, itself a part of Eötvös Loránd University, <mask> also co-founded the dissidenting social science journal Századvég. On 16 June 1989, <mask> gave a speech in Heroes' Square, Budapest, on the occasion of the reburial of Imre Nagy and other national martyrs of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.In his speech, he demanded free elections and the withdrawal of Soviet troops. The speech brought him wide national and political acclaim. In summer 1989, he took part in the opposition round table talks,

masks: Orbán Orbán Orbán Orbán Orbán Orbán


texts: representing Fidesz alongside László Kövér. On returning home from Oxford, he was elected Member of Parliament from his party's Pest County Regional List during the 1990 parliamentary election. He was appointed leader of the Fidesz's parliamentary group, serving in this capacity until May 1993. On 18 April 1993, <mask> became the first president of Fidesz, replacing the national board that had served as a collective leadership since its founding. Under his leadership, Fidesz gradually transformed from a radical liberal student organization to a center-right people's party.The conservative turn caused a severe split in the membership. Several members left the party, including Péter Molnár, Gábor Fodor and Zsuzsanna Szelényi. Fodor and others later joined the liberal Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ), initially a strong ally of Fidesz, but later a political opponent. During the 1994 parliamentary election, Fidesz barely reached the 5% threshold. <mask> became MP from his party's Fejér County Regional List. He served as chairman of the Committee on European Integration Affairs between 1994 and 1998. He was also a member of the Immunity, Incompatibility and Credentials Committee for a short time in 1995.Under his presidency, Fidesz adopted "Hungarian Civic Party" (Magyar Polgári Párt) to its shortened name in 1995. His party gradually became dominant in the right-wing of the political spectrum, while the former ruling conservative Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF) had lost much of its support. From April 1996, <mask> was chairman of the Hungarian National Committee of the New Atlantic Initiative (NAI). In September 1992, <mask> was elected vice chairman of the Liberal International. In November 2000, however, Fidesz left the Liberal International and joined

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 the European People's Party (EPP). During the time, <mask> worked hard to unite the center-right liberal conservative parties in Hungary. At the EPP's Congress in Estoril in October 2002, he was elected vice-president, an office he held until 2012.First premiership (1998–2002)

In 1998, <mask> formed a successful coalition with the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF) and the Independent Smallholders' Party (FKGP) and won the 1998 parliamentary elections with 42% of the national vote. <mask> became the second youngest prime minister of Hungary at the age of 35 (after András Hegedüs), serving between 1998 and 2002. The new government immediately launched a radical reform of state administration, reorganizing ministries and creating a superministry for the economy. In addition, the boards of the social security funds and centralized social security payments were dismissed. Following the German model, <mask> strengthened the prime minister's office and named a new minister to oversee the work of his Cabinet. Despite vigorous protests from the opposition parties, in February the government decided that plenary sessions of the unicameral National Assembly would be held only every third week. As a result, according to opposition arguments, parliament's legislative efficiency and ability to supervise the government were reduced.In late March, the government tried to replace the National Assembly rule that requires a two-thirds majority vote with one of a simple majority, but the Constitutional Court ruled this unconstitutional. The year saw only minor changes in top government officials. Two of <mask>'s state secretaries in the prime minister's office had to resign in May, due to their implication in a bribery scandal involving the American military manufacturer

masks: Orbán Orbán Orbán Orbán Orbán


texts: Lockheed Martin Corporation. Before bids on a major jet-fighter contract, the two secretaries, along with 32 other deputies of <mask>'s party, had sent a letter to two US senators to lobby for the appointment of a Budapest-based Lockheed manager to be the US ambassador to Hungary. On 31 August, the head of the Tax Office also resigned, succumbing to protracted attacks by the opposition on his earlier, allegedly suspicious, business dealings. The tug-of-war between the Budapest City Council and the government continued over the government's decision in late 1998 to cancel two major urban projects: the construction of a new national theatre and of the fourth subway line. Relations between the Fidesz-led coalition government and the opposition worsened in the National Assembly, where the two seemed to have abandoned all attempts at consensus-seeking politics.The government pushed to swiftly replace the heads of key institutions (such as the Hungarian National Bank chairman, the Budapest City Chief Prosecutor and the Hungarian Radio) with partisan figures. Although the opposition resisted, for example by delaying their appointing of members of the supervising boards, the government ran the institutions without the stipulated number of directors. In a similar vein, <mask> failed to show up for question time in parliament, for periods of up to 10 months. His statements of the kind that "The parliament works without opposition too..." also contributed to the image of an arrogant and aggressive governance. A later report in March by the Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists criticized the Hungarian government for improper political influence in the media, as the country's public service broadcaster teetered close to bankruptcy. Numerous

masks: Orbán Orbán


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 political scandals during 2001 led to a de facto, if not actual, breakup of the coalition that held power in Budapest. A bribery scandal in February triggered a wave of allegations and several prosecutions against the Independent Smallholders' Party.The affair resulted in the ousting of József Torgyán from both the FKGP presidency and the top post in the Ministry of Agriculture. The FKGP disintegrated and more than a dozen of its MPs joined the government faction. Economy
Orbán's economic policy was aimed at cutting taxes and social insurance contributions over four years, while reducing inflation and unemployment. Among the new government's first measures was to abolish university tuition fees and reintroduce universal maternity benefits. The government announced its intention to continue the Socialist–Liberal stabilization program and pledged to narrow the budget deficit, which had grown to 4.5% of GDP. The previous Cabinet had almost completed the privatization of government-run industries and had launched a comprehensive pension reform. However, the Socialists had avoided two major socioeconomic issues—reform of health care and agriculture, these remained to be tackled by <mask>'s government.Economic successes included a drop in inflation from 15% in 1998 to 10.0% in 1999, 9.8% in 2000 and 7.8% in 2001. GDP growth rates were fairly steady: 4.4% in 1999, 5.2% in 2000, and 3.8% in 2001. The fiscal deficit fell from 3.9% in 1999, to 3.5% in 2000 and 3.4% in 2001 and the ratio of the national debt decreased to 54% of GDP. Under the <mask> cabinet, there were realistic hopes that Hungary would be able to join the Eurozone by 2009. However, negotiations for entry into the European Union slowed in the fall of 1999, after the EU included six more countries


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 (in addition to the original six) in the accession discussions. <mask> repeatedly criticized the EU for its delay. <mask> also came under criticism for pushing through an unprecedented two-year budget and for failing to curb inflation, which only dropped a half point, from 10% in 1999 to 9.5% in 2000, despite the tight monetary policy of the Central Bank.However, investments continued to grow. Foreign policy
In March 1999, after Russian objections were overruled, Hungary joined NATO along with the Czech Republic and Poland. The Hungarian membership to NATO demanded its involvement in Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's Kosovo crisis and modernization of its army. NATO membership also gave a blow to the economy because of a trade embargo imposed on Yugoslavia. Hungary attracted international media attention in 1999 for passing the "status law" concerning estimated three-million ethnic Hungarian minorities in neighbouring Romania, Slovakia, Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia and Ukraine. The law aimed to provide education, health benefits and employment rights to those, and was said to heal the negative effects of the disastrous 1920 Trianon Treaty. Governments in neighbouring states, particularly Romania, claimed to be insulted by the law, which they saw as an interference in their domestic affairs.The proponents of the status law countered that several of the countries criticizing the law themselves have similar constructs to provide benefits for their own minorities. Romania acquiesced after amendments following a December 2001 agreement between <mask> and Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Năstase; Slovakia accepted the law after further concessions made by the new government after the 2002 elections. Leader of the Opposition (2002–2010)

The level of

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texts: public support for political parties generally stagnated, even with general elections coming in 2002. Fidesz and the main opposition Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) ran neck and neck in the opinion polls for most of the year, both attracting about 26% of the electorate. According to a September 2001 poll by the Gallup organization, however, support for a joint Fidesz – Hungarian Democratic Forum party list would run up to 33% of the voters, with the Socialists drawing 28% and other opposition parties 3% each. Meanwhile, public support for the FKGP plunged from 14% in 1998 to 1% in 2001. As many as 40% of the voters remained undecided, however.Although the Socialists had picked their candidate for prime minister—former finance minister Péter Medgyessy—the opposition largely remained unable to increase its political support. The dark horse of the election was the radical nationalist Hungarian Justice and Life Party (MIÉP), with its leader, István Csurka's radical rhetoric. MIÉP could not be ruled out as the key to a new term for <mask> and his party, should they be forced into a coalition after the 2002 elections. The elections of 2002 were the most heated Hungary had experienced in more than a decade, and an unprecedented cultural-political division formed in the country. In the event, <mask>'s group lost the April parliamentary elections to the opposition Hungarian Socialist Party, which set up a coalition with its longtime ally, the liberal Alliance of Free Democrats. Turnout was a record-high 70.5%. Beyond these parties, only deputies of the Hungarian Democratic Forum made it into the National Assembly.The populist Independent Smallholders' Party and the right Hungarian Justice and Life Party lost all their seats. Thus, the number of political


texts: parties in the new assembly was reduced from six to four. MIÉP challenged the government's legitimacy, demanded a recount, complained of election fraud, and generally kept the country in election mode until the October municipal elections. The socialist-controlled Central Elections Committee ruled that a recount was unnecessary, a position supported by observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, whose only substantive criticism of the election conduct was that the state television carried a consistent bias in favour of Fidesz. <mask> received the Freedom Award of the American Enterprise Institute and the New Atlantic Initiative (2001), the Polak Award (2001), the Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit (2001), the "Förderpreis Soziale Marktwirtschaft" (Price for the Social Market Economy, 2002) and the Mérite Européen prize (2004). In April 2004, he received the Papal Grand Cross of the Order of St. Gregory the Great. In the 2004 European Parliament election, the ruling Hungarian Socialist Party was heavily defeated by the opposition conservative Fidesz.Fidesz gained 47.4% of the vote and 12 of Hungary's 24 seats. <mask> was the Fidesz candidate for the parliamentary election in 2006. Fidesz and its new-old candidate failed again to gain a majority in this election, which initially put <mask>'s future political career as the leader of Fidesz in question. However, after fighting with Socialist-Liberal coalition, <mask>'s position solidified again, and he was elected president of Fidesz yet again for another term in May 2007. On 17 September 2006, an audio recording surfaced from a closed-door Hungarian Socialist Party meeting, which was held on 26 May 2006, in which Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány gave an


texts:
 obscenity-laden speech. The leak ignited mass protests. On 1 November, <mask> and his party announced their plans to stage several large-scale demonstrations across Hungary on the anniversary of the Soviet suppression of the 1956 Revolution.The events were intended to serve as a memorial to the victims of the Soviet invasion and a protest against police brutality during the 23 October unrest in Budapest. Planned events included a candlelight vigil march across Budapest. However, the demonstrations were small and petered out by the end of the year. A new round of demonstrations expected in the spring of 2007 did not materialize. On 1 October 2006, Fidesz won the municipal elections, which counterbalanced the MSZP-led government's power to some extent. Fidesz won 15 of 23 mayoralties in Hungary's largest cities—although it narrowly lost Budapest to the Liberal Party—and majorities in 18 of 20 regional assemblies. On 9 March 2008, a national referendum took place on revoking government reforms which introduced doctor fees per visit and medical fees paid per number of days spent in hospital as well as tuition fees in higher education.Fidesz initiated the referendum against the ruling MSZP. The procedure for the referendum started on 23 October 2006, when <mask> announced they would hand in seven questions to the National Electorate Office, three of which (on abolishing copayments, daily fees and college tuition fees) were officially approved on 17 December 2007 and called on 24 January 2008. The referendum passed, a significant victory for Fidesz. In the 2009 European Parliament election, Fidesz won by a large margin, garnering 56.36% of votes and 14 of Hungary's 22 seats. Second premiership (2010–present)

During the 2010 parliamentary elections, <mask>'s


texts: party won 52.73% of the popular vote, with a two-thirds majority of seats, which gave <mask> enough authority to change the Constitution. As a result, <mask>'s government drafted and passed a new constitution in 2011. Among other changes, it includes support for traditional values, nationalism, references to Christianity, and a controversial electoral reform, which lowered the number of seats in the Parliament of Hungary from 386 to 199.The new constitution entered into force on 1 January 2012 and was later amended further. In his second term as prime minister, he garnered controversy for his statements against liberal democracy, for proposing an "internet tax", and for his perceived corruption. His second premiership has seen numerous protests against his government, including one in Budapest in November 2014 against the proposed "internet tax". In terms of domestic legislation, <mask>'s government implemented a flat tax on personal income. This tax is set at 16%. <mask> has called his government "pragmatic", citing restrictions on early retirement in the police force and military, making welfare more transparent, and a central banking law that "gives Hungary more independence from the European Central Bank". After the 2014 parliamentary election, Fidesz won a majority, garnering 133 of the 199 seats in the National Assembly.While he won a large majority, he garnered 44.54% of the national vote, down from 52.73% in 2010. During the 2015 European migrant crisis, <mask> ordered the erection of the Hungary–Serbia barrier to block entry of illegal immigrants so that Hungary could register all the migrants arriving from Serbia, which is the country's responsibility under the Dublin Regulation, a European Union law. Under <mask>, Hungary took numerous


texts: actions to combat illegal immigration and reduce refugee levels. In May 2020, the European Court of Justice ruled against Hungary's policy of migrants transit zones, which <mask> subsequently abolished while also making the country's asylum rules stricter. <mask> questioned Nord Stream II, a new Russia–Germany natural gas pipeline. He said he wants to hear a "reasonable argument why South Stream was bad and Nord Stream is not". "South Stream" refers to the Balkan pipeline cancelled by Russia in December 2014 after obstacles from the EU.Since 2017, Hungary's relations with Ukraine rapidly deteriorated over the issue of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine. <mask> and his cabinet ministers repeatedly criticized Ukraine's 2017 education law, which makes Ukrainian the only language of education in state schools, and threatened to block further Ukraine's EU and NATO integration until it is modified or repealed. In July 2018, <mask> travelled to Turkey to attend the inauguration ceremony of re-elected Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In October 2018, <mask> said after talks with President Erdoğan in Budapest that "A stable Turkish government and a stable Turkey are a precondition for Hungary not to be endangered in any way due to overland migration." In April 2019, <mask> attended China's Belt and Road forum in Beijing, where he met the Chinese President Xi Jinping. In June 2019, <mask> met Myanmar’s State Counsellor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. They discussed bilateral ties and illegal migration.On 30 March 2020, the Hungarian parliament voted 137 to 53 in favor of passing legislation that would create a state of emergency without a time limit, grant the Prime Minister the ability to rule by decree, the suspension of by-elections, and

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 possibly prison sentences for spreading fake news and sanctions for leaving quarantine. Two and a half months later, on 16 June 2020, the Hungarian parliament passed a bill that ended the state of emergency effective 19 June. However, on the same day the parliament passed a new law removing the requirement of parliamentary approval for future "medical" states of emergencies, allowing the government to declare them by decree. In 2021, the parliament transferred control of 11 state universities to foundations led by allies of Orbán. The Mathias Corvinus Collegium, a residential college, received an influx of government funds and assets equal to about 1% of Hungary's gross domestic product, reportedly as part of a mission to train future right-wing intellectuals. Due to a combination of unfavourable conditions, which involved soaring demand of natural gas, its diminished supply from Russia and Norway to the European markets, and less power generation by renewable energy sources such as wind, water and solar energy, Europe faced steep increases in energy prices in 2021. In October 2021, Orbán blamed a record-breaking surge in energy prices on the European Commission's Green Deal plans.Amidst the 2021-2022 Ukraine crisis <mask> was the first EU leader to meet with Vladimir Putin in Moscow in a visit which he called "a peacekeeping mission". They also discussed Russian gas export to Hungary. Anti-LGBT policies
Since his election as prime minister in 2010, <mask> has led initiatives and laws to hinder human rights of LGBT+ people, regarding those as "not compatible with Christian values." In 2020, <mask>'s government ended legal recognition of transgender people, receiving widespread criticism both in Hungary and abroad. In 2021 his party proposed legislation


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 to censor any "LGBT+ positive content" in movies, books or public advertisements and to severely restrict sex education in school forbidding any information thought to "encourage gender change or homosexuality". The law has been likened to Russia's restriction on "homosexual propaganda." German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen harshly criticized the law, while a letter from sixteen EU leaders including Pedro Sánchez and Mario Draghi warned against “threats against fundamental rights and in particular the principle of non-discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation”.His anti-LGBT+ positions came under more scrutiny after the revelation that one of the European deputies of his party, József Szájer, had participated in a gay sex party in Brussels, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic quarantine restrictions. Szájer was one of the major architects behind the 2011 Constitution of Hungary. This new constitution has been criticized by Human Rights Watch for being discriminatory towards the LGBT+ community. Hungary's ascension to the Organization of Turkic States

Since 2014 Hungary has had observer status at the General Assembly of Turkic-speaking States, and in 2017 it submitted an application for accession to the International Turkic Academy. During the 6th Summit of Turkic Council, <mask> said that Hungary is seeking even closer cooperation with the Turkic Council. In 2018, Hungary obtained its observer status in the council. In 2021, <mask> mentioned that the Hungarian and Turkic peoples share a historical and cultural heritage "reaching back many long centuries".He also pointed out that the Hungarian people are "proud of this heritage, and "were also proud when their opponents in Europe mocked them as


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 barbarian Huns and Attila's people". Nationalistic and racist views
In his 2018 speech at the meeting of the Association of Cities with County Rights, <mask> said We must state that we do not want to be diverse and do not want to be mixed: we do not want our own colour, traditions and national culture to be mixed with those of others. We do not want this. We do not want that at all. We do not want to be a diverse country. In his 2021 speech, <mask> said “The challenge with Bosnia is how to integrate a country with 2 million Muslims”. Bosnian leaders responded with calling for <mask>'s visit to Sarajevo to be cancelled.The head of the country's Islamic Community, Husein Kavazović, characterized his statement “xenophobic and racist”. Views and public image

<mask>'s blend of soft Euroscepticism, populism, and national conservatism has seen him compared to politicians and political parties as diverse as Jarosław Kaczyński's Law and Justice, Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia, Matteo Salvini's League, Marine Le Pen's National Rally, Donald Trump, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Vladimir Putin. Orbán has sought to make Hungary an "ideological center for ... an international conservative movement." According to Politico, Orbán's political philosophy "echoes the resentments of what were once the peasant and working classes" by promoting an "uncompromising defense of national sovereignty and a transparent distrust of Europe's ruling establishments". Orbán had a close relationship with the former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, having known him for decades. He is described as "one of Mr Netanyahu's closest allies in Europe." Orbán received personal advice on economic reforms from Netanyahu, while the latter was Finance Minister of Israel (2003–2005).In


texts: February 2019, Netanyahu thanked <mask> for "deciding to extend the embassy of Hungary in Israel to Jerusalem". <mask> is seen as having laid out his political views most concretely in a widely cited 2014 public address at Băile Tușnad (known in Hungary as the Tusnádfürdői beszéd, or "Tusnádfürdő speech"). In the address, <mask> repudiated the classical liberal theory of the state as a free association of atomistic individuals, arguing for the use of the state as the means of organizing, invigorating, or even constructing the national community. Although this kind of state respects traditionally liberal concepts like civic rights, it is properly called "illiberal" because it views the community, and not the individual, as the basic political unit. In practice, <mask> claimed, such a state should promote national self-sufficiency, national sovereignty, familialism, full employment and the preservation of cultural heritage, and cited countries such as Turkey, India, Singapore, Russia, and China as models. <mask>'s second and third premierships have been the subject of significant international controversy, and reception of his political views is mixed. The 2011 constitutional changes enacted under his leadership were, in particular, accused of centralizing legislative and executive power, curbing civil liberties, restricting freedom of speech, and weakening the Constitutional Court and judiciary.For these reasons, critics have described him as "irredentist," "right-wing populist," "authoritarian," "autocratic," "Putinist," as a "strongman," and as a "dictator." Other commentators, however, noted that the European migrant crisis, coupled with continued Islamist terrorism in the European Union, have popularized <mask>'s nationalist, protectionist policies


texts: among European conservative leaders. "Once ostracized" by Europe's political elite, writes Politico, <mask> "is now the talisman of Europe's mainstream right." As other Visegrád Group leaders, Orbán opposes any compulsory EU long-term quota on redistribution of migrants. He wrote in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: "Europe's response is madness. We must acknowledge that the European Union's misguided immigration policy is responsible for this situation." He also demanded an official EU list of "safe countries" to which migrants can be returned.According to <mask>, Turkey should be considered a safe third country. <mask> has promoted the Great Replacement conspiracy theory. Le Journal du Dimanche reported on <mask>'s explicit adoption of the conspiracy theory, after he claimed; "if we let tens of millions of migrants travel to Europe from Africa and the Middle East... the young people of Western Europe will know the day when they will be in a minority in their own country." During a press conference in January 2019, <mask> praised Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro, saying that currently "the most apt definition of modern Christian democracy can be found in Brazil, not in Europe." Despite the anti-immigration rhetoric from <mask>, it has been reported that Hungary has actually increased immigration of foreign workers into the country. Donald Trump's former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, once called Orbán "Trump before Trump." As stated by The Guardian, the "Hungarian government doubled family spending between 2010 and 2019," intending to achieve "a lasting turn in demographic processes by 2030."<mask> has espoused an anti-immigration platform, and has also advocated for increased investment into "Family First." <mask> has disregarded the European

masks: Orbán Orbán Orbán Orbán Orbán Orbán Orbán Orbán


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 Union's attempts to promote integration as a key solution to population distribution problems in Europe. He has also supported investments into the country's low birth rates. <mask> has tapped into the "great replacement theory" which emulates a nativist approach to rejecting foreign immigration out of fear of replacement by immigrants. He has stated that "If Europe is not going to be populated by Europeans in the future and we take this as given, then we are speaking about an exchange of populations, to replace the population of Europeans with others." The Guardian stated that "This year the Hungarian government introduced a 10 million forint (£27,000) interest-free loan for families, which does not have to be paid back if the couple has three children." In July 2020, <mask> expressed that he still expects arguments over linking of disbursement of funds of the European Union to rule-of-law criteria but remarked in a state radio interview that they "didn't win the war, we (they) won an important battle."In August 2020, <mask> whilst speaking at an event to inaugurate a monument commemorating the Treaty of Trianon, said Central European nations should come together to preserve their Christian roots as western Europe experiments with same-sex families, immigration and atheism. In January 2022 Donald Trump endorsed <mask> in the 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election saying in a statement that he “truly loves his Country and wants safety for his people,” while also touting his hard-line immigration policies. Criticism
<mask>'s critics have included domestic and foreign leaders (including former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and the Presidents of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso, and Jean-Claude


texts:
 Juncker), intergovernmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations. He has been accused of pursuing anti-democratic reforms; attacking the human rights of the LGBT community; reducing the independence of Hungary's press, judiciary and central bank; amending Hungary's constitution to prevent amendments to Fidesz-backed legislation; and of cronyism and nepotism. Pork Barrel spending
He was accused of pork barrel politics for building a 4,000-seat stadium in the village in which he grew up, Felcsút, at a distance of some  from his country house. Economic cronyism
A 2019 New York Times investigation revealed how Orban leased plots of farm land to politically connected individuals and supporters of his and his party, thereby channeling dispropotionate amounts of the EU's agricultural subsidies Hungary receives every year into the pockets of cronies. Opposition to European integration
Some opposition parties and critics also consider <mask> an opponent of European integration.In 2000, opposition parties MSZP and SZDSZ and the left-wing press presented <mask>'s comment that "there's life outside the EU" as proof of his anti-Europeanism and sympathies with the radical right. In the same press conference, <mask> clarified that "[w]e're trying to make the accession fast because it may boost the growth of Hungary's economy." Migrant Crisis
Hungarian-American business magnate and political activist George Soros criticized <mask>'s handling of the European migrant crisis in 2015, saying: "His plan treats the protection of national borders as the objective and the refugees as an obstacle. Our plan treats the protection of refugees as the objective and national borders as the obstacle." The <mask> government began to attack Soros and his NGOs in early


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 2017, particularly for his support for more open immigration. In July 2017, the Israeli ambassador in Hungary joined Jewish groups and others in denouncing a billboard campaign backed by the government. <mask>'s critics claimed it "evokes memories of the Nazi posters during the Second World War".The ambassador stated that the campaign "evokes sad memories but also sows hatred and fear", an apparent reference to the Holocaust. Hours later, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a "clarification", denouncing Soros, stating that he "continuously undermines Israel's democratically elected governments" and funded organizations "that defame the Jewish state and seek to deny it the right to defend itself". The clarification came a few days before an official visit to Hungary by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The anti-Soros messages became key elements of the government's communication and campaign since then, which, among others, also targeted the Central European University (CEU). Orban has been criticized for engineering the 2015 European migrant crisis for his own political gain. Specifically, he has been accused of mistreating migrants within Hungary and later sending many to Western Europe in an effort to stoke far-right sympathies in Western European countries. Democratic backsliding
Following a decade of Fidesz–KDNP rule led by Orbán, Freedom House's Nations in Transit 2020 report reclassified Hungary from a democracy to a transitional or hybrid regime.Personal life

<mask> married jurist Anikó Lévai in 1986; the couple have five children. Their eldest daughter, Ráhel, is married to entrepreneur , whose company, Elios, was accused of receiving unfair advantages when winning public tenders. (see )  <mask>'s son, Gáspár, is a retired


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 footballer, who played for Ferenc Puskás Football Academy in 2014. He is also the founder of a religious community called Felház. <mask> has three younger daughters (Sára, Róza, Flóra) and three granddaughters (Ráhel's children Aliz and Anna Adél; Sára's daughter Johanna). <mask> is a member of the Calvinist Hungarian Reformed Church, while his wife and their five children are Roman Catholic. Football interests
<mask> is very fond of sports, especially of football; he was a signed player of the FC Felcsút, and as a result he also appears in Football Manager 2006.<mask> has played football from his early childhood. He was a professional player with FC Felcsút. After ending his football career, he became one of the main financiers of the Hungarian football and his hometown's club, Felcsút FC, later renamed the Ferenc Puskás Football Academy. He had a prominent role in the foundation of Puskás Akadémia in Felcsút, creating one of the most modern training facilities for young Hungarian footballers. He played an important role in establishing the annually organised international youth cup, the Puskás Cup, at Pancho Aréna, which he also helped build, in his hometown of Felcsút. His only son, Gáspár, learned and trained there. <mask> is said to watch as many as six games a day.His first trip abroad as prime minister in 1998 was to the World Cup final in Paris; according to inside sources, he has not missed a World Cup or Champions League final since. Then FIFA president Sepp Blatter visited the facilities at the Puskás Academy in 2009. Blatter, together with the widow of Ferenc Puskás, as well as <mask>, founder of the academy, announced the creation of the new FIFA Puskás Award during that visit. He played the minor role of a footballer in the Hungarian


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 family film Szegény Dzsoni és Árnika (1983). See also
 First Orbán Government
 Second Orbán Government
 Third Orbán Government
 Fourth Orbán Government
 Orbanomics

References

Bibliography

 Fabry, Adam. "Neoliberalism, crisis and authoritarian–ethnicist reaction: The ascendancy of the Orbán regime." Competition & Change 23.2 (2019): 165–191.online

 Metz, Rudolf, and Daniel Oross. "Strong Personalities’ Impact on Hungarian Party Politics: <mask> and Gábor Vona." in Party Leaders in Eastern Europe (Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2020) pp. 145–170. Rydliński, Bartosz. "<mask>–First among Illiberals? Hungarian and Polish Steps towards Populist Democracy."Online Journal Modelling the New Europe 26 (2018): 95–107. online
 Szikra D. "Democracy and welfare in hard times: the social policy of the Orban Government in Hungary between 2010 and 2014" Journal of European Social Policy (2014)  24(5): 486–500. Szilágyi, Anna, and András Bozóki. "Playing it again in post-communism: the revolutionary rhetoric of <mask> in Hungary." Advances in the History of Rhetoric 18.sup1 (2015): S153–S166. online
 Toomey, Michael. "History, nationalism and democracy: myth and narrative in <mask>’s ‘illiberal Hungary’."New Perspectives. Interdisciplinary Journal of Central & East European Politics and International Relations 26.1 (2018): 87–108 online. Further reading
 Hollós, János – Kondor, Katalin: Szerda reggel – Rádiós beszélgetések Orbán Viktor miniszterelnökkel, 1998. szeptember – 2000. december;
 Hollós, János – Kondor, Katalin: Szerda reggel – Rádiós beszélgetések Orbán Viktor miniszterelnökkel, 2001–2002;
 A történelem főutcáján – Magyarország 1998–2002, Orbán <mask> miniszterelnök beszédei és beszédrészletei, Magyar Egyetemi Kiadó;
 20 év – Beszédek, írások, interjúk,

masks:
Viktor Orbán
Viktor Orbán
Viktor Orbán
Viktor Orbán
Viktor


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 1986–2006, Heti Válasz Kiadó,
 Egy az ország. Helikon Könyvkiadó, Budapest, 2007. (translated into Polish as Ojczyzna jest jedna in 2009). Rengéshullámok. Helikon Könyvkiadó, Budapest, 2010.Janke, Igor: Hajrá, magyarok! – Az <mask> Viktor-sztori egy lengyel újságíró szemével Rézbong Kiadó, 2013. (, ). External links

 News from the BBC (2002)
 Hungarian PM puts football first – BBC
 Orbán in 1989

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Members of the Fourth Orbán Government
1963 births
Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford
Critics of Islamism
Critics of multiculturalism
Conservatism in Hungary
Eötvös Loránd University alumni
European People's Party politicians
Fidesz politicians
Hungarian anti-communists
Hungarian Calvinist and Reformed Christians
Hungarian footballers
Hungarian lawyers
Hungarian sportsperson-politicians
Living people
Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1990–1994)
Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1994–1998)
Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (1998–2002)
Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (2002–2006)
Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (2006–2010)
Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (2010–2014)
Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (2014–2018)
Members of the National Assembly of Hungary (2018–2022)
People from Székesfehérvár
Prime Ministers of Hungary
Association footballers not categorized by position
Hungarian national


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<mask> (born 1950) is an American businessperson and advocate. She is former director, former president, and founder of First Nations Development Institute and the founder of First Peoples Worldwide. Personal life
Born in Akron, Ohio, to a father of Swedish-American ancestry and of a mother who identified as being Cherokee, Adamson grew up in Akron and spent summers with her grandmother in Lumberton, North Carolina where she learned about the history and culture of Native Americans. She holds a master of science in economic development from the Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire, where she teaches a graduate course on indigenous economics. Career
After graduating from Firestone High School in Akron in 1967, she studied philosophy at the University of Akron and then took courses in law and economics at Piedmont College in Georgia. Adamson left college in 1970 to work on western reservations to help end the practice of removing Native American children from their homes and placing them in government or missionary-ran boarding schools in the hope of destroying their connections to their native languages and cultures. From 1972-1976, she was a member of the board of directors of Denver, Colorado's Coalition of Indian-Controlled School Boards, where she worked toward synthesizing and facilitating policy reform at the national level.The Coalition worked to "wrest control of Indian schools from the U.S. government and Christian religious groups that had been running them for more than 100 years." Her work contributed to the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975. In 1982, she became founder and president of First Nations Development Institute in Falmouth, Virginia to promote economic development by founding


texts: commercial enterprises on reservations. In 1986, she served as an adviser on rural development for the United Nations (UN) during their Decade of Women. She became the adviser for the UN's International Labor Organization International Indigenous Rights from 1988-1989. She has also served on the board of directors for the National Center for Enterprise Development and the Council on Foundations. In 1992, she became an adviser for the Catholic Conference's Campaign for Human Development.She has also served on the President's Council on Sustainable Development/Sustainable Communities Task Force. Her work led to the first microloan fund in the United States associated with a reservation, the first tribal investment model. This was a national movement for reservation land reform, and legislation on federal trust responsibility for Native Americans. <mask>'s international work created the Lumba Aboriginal Community Foundation in Australia. It enabled the Sans Tribe to secure its traditional homelands in Botswana, Namibia, and southern Africa. She launched a strategy (that includes Alcoa, Texaco, Rio Tinto, Merck, Ford, and Occidental) with investment criteria that protect the rights of indigenous peoples and has been adopted by a mutual fund, an index fund, and investment advisors. She established a scholarship program for native people at the Yale School of Organization and Management and at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.She convinced the World Bank to create the First Global Indigenous Peoples' Facility Fund to make small building grants. She was appointed by the Obama administration to serve a three year term on the U.S. Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Advisory Committee to increase


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 the transparency in the reporting on natural resource extraction. <mask> serves on the board of directors for the Calvert Social Investment Fund and the Calvert Small Cap Fund which are known for socially-responsible investing and co-founded a fund there. She is on the board and trustee for Tom's of Maine, Inc. She is on the boards of Corporation for Enterprise Development, The Bay Foundation, Josephine Bay Paul and C. Michael Paul Foundation, The Bridgespan Group, and First Voice International. She is a founding member of Native Americans in Philanthropy, Funders Who Fund Native Americans, and International Funders for Indigenous Peoples. She has been a member of the editorial boards of Indian Country Today, Native Americas, and for Akwe:kon Journal. In 2016, the Standing Rock Sioux asked her to develop and coordinate an investor engagement strategy to pressure the builders of the Dakota Access Pipeline to change the planned route which was to pass near a river used for potable water near their reservation.She was able to secure statements from ESG investors with over $1.7 trillion in invested assets requesting that the banks funding the pipeline support the tribe's request to reroute the pipeline. Her efforts helped to embolden activists who forced shareholder resolutions to require that the environmental and social risks were more adequately disclosed (including at Marathon Petroleum, Enbridge, and Wells Fargo) and encouraged over 500 NGOs to pressure the banks financing the pipeline with three major banks pulling out of the syndication (BNP Paribas, DNB ASA, and ING) and ten other banks supported strengthening the Equator Principles. Awards
In 1996, she was awarded the Robert W. Scrivner Award from the Council on


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 Foundations for grant-making and the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development's Jay Silverheels Award. Ms. magazine named her one of their seven "Women of the Year" in 1997. In 1998, Who Cares magazine named her one of the top 10 Social Entrepreneurs of the Year. In 2001 she was received the John W. Gardener Leadership Award. In 2004, she was Scwab's Outstanding Social Entrepreneur.In 2012, she was featured as one of the most influential women in America on PBS' MAKERS: Women Who Make America program. She writes a monthly column for Indian Country Today newspaper. When asked about her accomplishments in 2015, she said, "I come from a matrilineal society and having women be a source of power was there in my DNA." Publications
"Adapting the Evaluation Process to the Organizational Culture," a chapter in Evaluation with Power, 1997
"The Native American Credit Market: Opportunity Knocks, but Relationships Stay," RMA's Journal of Lending & Credit Risk Management, Fall 1997
"Can't Give It Away Fast Enough? Try This," Foundation News & Commentary, January/February 1998
The Color of Wealth – The Story behind the U.S. Racial Wealth Divide, June 2006

References

External links
Adamson on understanding sufficiency
Adamson's TEDMED profile
Biography at Learning to Give. Guide to the <mask>on papers at Smith College Special Collections

1950 births
Living people
American directors
American people of Cherokee descent
American people of Swedish descent
American women business executives
Southern New Hampshire University alumni
Southern New Hampshire University faculty
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American businesswomen
21st-century American businesswomen
21st-century American businesspeople
American


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<mask> (; 1437–1508), commonly referred to as Abarbanel (), also spelled Abravanel, Avravanel or Abrabanel, was a Portuguese Jewish statesman, philosopher, Bible commentator, and financier. Name
There is some debate over whether his last name should be pronounced <mask> or Abravanel. The traditional pronunciation is Abarbanel. Modern scholarly literature, since Graetz and Baer, has most commonly used Abravanel. However, his own son Judah insisted on Abarbanel, and Sefer HaTishbi by Elijah Levita, who was a nearby contemporary, twice vowels the name as Abarbinel (אַבַּרְבִּינֵאל). The name's etymology is uncertain. Some say it comes from "Ab Rabban El", meaning "father of the rabbis of God", which seems to favor the pronunciation "Abrabanel".Biography
<mask> was born in Lisbon, Portugal, into one of the oldest and most distinguished Iberian Jewish families. the Abravanel or Abarbanel family, had escaped the massacre in Castile in 1391. A student of the rabbi of Lisbon, Joseph Chaim, he became well versed in rabbinic literature and in the learning of his time, devoting his early years to the study of Jewish philosophy. <mask> is quoted as saying that he included Joseph ibn Shem-Tov as his mentor. At twenty years old, he wrote on the original form of the natural elements, on religious questions and prophecy. Together with his intellectual abilities, he showed a complete mastery of financial matters. This attracted the attention of King Afonso V of Portugal, who employed him as treasurer.He used his high position, and the great wealth

masks:
Isaac ben Judah Abarbanel
Abarbanel
Abarbanel
Abarbanel


texts: he had inherited from his father, to aid his co-religionists. When his patron Afonso captured the city of Arzila, in Morocco, the Jewish captives faced being sold as slaves. Abarbanel contributed largely to the funds needed to free them, and personally arranged for collections throughout Portugal. He also wrote to his learned and wealthy friend, Vitale (Yehiel) Nissim da Pisa, on behalf of the captives. After the death of Afonso he was obliged to relinquish his office, having been accused by King John II of connivance with the Duke of Braganza, who had been executed on the charge of conspiracy. <mask>, warned in time, saved himself by a hasty flight to Castile in 1483. His large fortune was confiscated by royal decree.At Toledo, his new home, he occupied himself at first with Biblical studies, and in the course of six months produced an extensive commentary on the books of Joshua, Judges, and Samuel. But shortly afterward he entered the service of the house of Castile. Together with his friend, the influential converso Don Abraham Senior, of Segovia, he undertook to farm the revenues and to supply provisions for the royal army, contracts that he carried out to the entire satisfaction of Queen Isabella I of Castile. During the Moorish war, Abarbanel advanced considerable sums of money to the king. When the Jews were ordered banished by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain with the Alhambra Decree, he did all in his power to induce the king to revoke the edict. He unsuccessfully offered the king 30,000 ducats ($68,400 nominal value). He


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 left Spain with his fellow Jews and went to Naples where, soon after, he entered the service of the king.For a short time he lived in peace undisturbed; but when the city was taken by the French, bereft of all his possessions, he followed the young king, Alfonso, in 1495, to Messina; then went to Corfu; and in 1496 settled in Monopoli, and lastly in 1503 settled in Venice, where his services were employed in negotiating a commercial treaty between Portugal and the Venetian republic. Several times during the mid-to-late 15th century, he personally spent large amounts of his personal fortunes to bribe the Catholic Monarchs to permit the Jews to remain in Spain. It is claimed that Abarbanel offered them 600,000 crowns for the revocation of the edict. It is said also that Ferdinand hesitated, but was prevented from accepting the offer by Tomás de Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor, who dashed into the royal presence and, throwing a crucifix down before the king and queen, asked whether, like Judas, they would betray their Lord for money. In the end, he managed only to get the date for the expulsion to be extended by two days. He died in Venice in 1508 and was buried in Padua next to its rabbi, Judah Minz. Owing to the destruction of the Jewish cemetery there during the Siege of Padua in 1509, his grave is now unknown.Claimed descendants of Abarbanel include Russian author Boris Pasternak, Brazilian media tycoon Silvio Santos. Works
Abarbanel wrote many works during his lifetime which are often categorized into three groups: exegesis,


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 philosophy, and apologetics. His philosophy dealt with the sciences and how the general field relates to the Jewish religion and traditions, and his  apologetics defends the idea of the Messiah in Judaism while criticizing the Christian version. Abarbanel's exegetic writings were different from the usual biblical commentaries because he took social and political issues of the times into consideration. He believed that mere commentary was not enough, but that the actual lives of the Jewish people must be deliberated on as well when discussing such an important topic as the Bible. He also took the time to include an introduction concerning the character of each book he commented on, as well as its date of composition, and the intention of the original author, in order to make the works more accessible to the average reader. Exegesis

Abarbanel composed commentaries on the Torah and Nevi'im.These were published in three works: "Perush" (Commentary) on the Torah (Venice, 1579); "Perush" on the Earlier Prophets (Pesaro, 1511? ); "Perush" on the Later Prophets (Pesaro, 1520?). His commentaries are divided into chapters, each of which is preceded by a list of questions or difficulties that he sets out to explain over the course of the chapter. Not only did this make it easier for scholars to find the answers they were looking for, but these lists of difficulties aided the average student in studying <mask>'s work. In his commentary on the Torah, these questions have no fixed number, sometimes amounting to over 40, but in his commentary to


texts: the Prophets he limits himself to six. Abarbanel rarely forayed into the world of grammatical or philological investigation in the vein of Abraham ibn Ezra or David Kimhi before him, instead focusing on a content-based investigation of the Scripture at hand. Occasionally <mask> digresses from the subject under discussion, particularly in his commentary on the Torah.His style and presentation is prolix and often repetitive. Some of his interpretations derive from homilies delivered in the synagogue. He vehemently fought the extreme rationalism of philosophical interpretation as well as interpretations based on philosophical allegory. At the same time he himself had recourse, especially in his commentary on the Torah, to numerous interpretations based on philosophy. His opposition to philosophical allegory must also be ascribed to the conditions of his time, the fear of undermining the unquestioning faith of the simple Jew, and the danger to Jewish survival in exile. This also explains <mask>'s faith in the Messianic concepts of Judaism, as well as his need to make his work accessible to all Jews instead of writing merely for the scholars of his time. Although his commentary often differed from kabbalistic interpretations, <mask> nonetheless believed that the Torah had a hidden meaning in addition to its overt significance, and thus he interpreted passages in the Torah in various ways.His commentary to Deuteronomy 25:5 demonstrates both his knowledge and endorsement of kabbalists and kabbalistic understanding of Scripture. Side by

masks: Abarbanel Abarbanel Abarbanel


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 side with philosophical concepts (entitled "the analytical way," "the scientific," or "the method of wisdom") he gives "the way of the Torah," i.e., the moral and religious tenets to be derived from the text. He quoted extensively from the Midrash, but allowed himself to criticize his source when, in his view, it did not accord with the literal meaning of the text. He explains, "I shall not refrain from pointing to the weakness inherent in their statements where they are homiletical in nature and are not accepted by them as authoritative" (Introduction to Joshua). Overall, Abarbanel's exegetical writings are notable for the following three distinctions:

 His comparison of the social structure of society in biblical times with that of the European society in his day (for example, in dealing with the institution of monarchy, I Samuel 8). He had wide recourse to historical interpretation, particularly in his commentaries to the Major and Minor Prophets and to the Book of Daniel, but in numerous instances his interpretations are anachronistic (for example, Judges 18). Preoccupation with Christian exegesis and exegetes.He generally disputed their christological interpretations, especially those of Jerome. But he did not hesitate to borrow from them when their interpretation seemed correct to him. "Indeed I regard their words in this matter to be more acceptable than those of the rabbis to which I have referred" (I Kings 8, reply to the sixth question). His introductions to the books of the prophets, which are much more comprehensive


texts: than those of his predecessors. In them he deals with the content of the books, the division of the material, their authors and the time of their compilation, and also drew comparisons between the method and style of the various prophets. His investigations are made in the spirit of medieval scholasticism. He may consequently be considered as a pioneer of the modern science of Bible propædeutics.However, the major characteristic that separated Abarbanel from his predecessors was his unflagging commitment toward using the Scripture as a means of elucidating the status quo of his surrounding Jewish community; as a historical scholar, Abarbanel was able to contemporize the lessons of the historical eras described in the Scripture and apply them successfully in his explanations of modern Jewish living. <mask>, who had himself taken part in the politics of the great powers of the day, believed that mere consideration of the literary elements of Scripture was insufficient, and that the political and social life of the characters in the Tanakh must also be taken into account. Due to the overall excellence and exhaustiveness of Abarbanel's exegetical literature, he was looked to as a beacon for later Christian scholarship, which often included the tasks of translating and condensing his works. His exegetical writings are set against a richly conceived backdrop of the Jewish historical and sociocultural experience, and it is often implied that his exegesis was sculpted with the purpose of giving hope to the Jews of Spain that the arrival of


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 the Messiah was imminent in their days. This idea distinguished him from many other philosophers of the age, who did not rely as heavily on Messianic concepts. Philosophy

Abarbanel's Jewish predecessors in the realm of philosophy did not receive the same tolerance at his hands as the Christians did. Men like <mask>, Shem-Tov ibn Falaquera, Gersonides, Moses ben Joshua, and others, were denounced by Abarbanel as infidels and misleading guides for assuming a comparatively liberal standpoint in religio-philosophical questions.<mask> was essentially an opponent of philosophy, despite his authority on the subject, because his entire understanding of the Jewish religion was based on God's revelation in Jewish history. A characteristic instance of his vacillation is afforded by his most important religious work, the Rosh Amanah (The Pinnacle of Faith) (Amsterdam, 1505), whose title derives from Song of Songs 4:8. This work, devoted to the championship of the Maimonidean 13 articles of belief against the attacks of Hasdai Crescas and Joseph Albo, ends with the statement that Maimonides compiled these articles merely in accordance with the fashion of other nations, which set up axioms or fundamental principles for their science. However, he holds that Judaism has nothing in common with human science; that the teachings of the Torah are revelations from God, and therefore are all of equal value; that among them are neither principles nor corollaries from principles. Abarbanel agrees with and supports some of Maimonides' ideas; however he

masks:
Isaac Albalag
Abarbanel


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 assails Maimonides' conception that the prophetic visions were the creations of imagination. Abarbanel will not hear of this explanation, even for the bat kol of the Talmud, which, according to him, was an actual voice made audible by God — a miracle, in fact. In like manner, Abarbanel exceeded all his predecessors in combating Maimonides' theory of the "Heavenly Chariot" in Ezekiel.Apologetics

<mask> felt deeply the hopelessness and despair which possessed Spanish Jews in the years following their expulsion from Spain, and set himself, therefore, to champion and strengthen their Messianic belief. With this aim he wrote the following three works:
 "The Wellsprings of Salvation" (, Maʿyānei haYəshuʿāh, 1496), which is a commentary on the Book of Daniel;
 "The Salvation of His Anointed" (, Yəshuʿot Meshiho, 1497), an interpretation of rabbinic literature about the Messiah; and
 "Announcing Salvation" (, 1498), a commentary on the messianic prophecies in the prophetical books. These three books are considered the separate parts of a larger work entitled Tower of Salvation (, Migdāl Yəshuʿot). The first work is in the form of a commentary upon Daniel, in which he controverts both the Christian exposition of and the Jewish rationalistic approach to this book. Curiously enough, in opposition to the Talmud and all later rabbinical tradition, he counts Daniel among the prophets, coinciding therein—but therein only—with the current Christian interpretation. He is impelled to this by the fact that Daniel furnishes the foundation for his


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 Messianic theory. The remainder of his commentary is devoted to an exhaustive and caustic criticism of the Christian exposition.The second work is probably unique in being an exposition of the doctrine concerning the Messiah according to the traditional testimony of Talmud and Midrash. His third apologetic work contains a collection of Messianic passages of the Bible and their interpretations, in the course of which Abarbanel criticizes the Christian interpretation of these passages. Other works

Other works by Abarbanel include:
 "The Crown of the Ancients" (Ateret Zkenim)
 "The Pinnacle of Faith" (Rosh Amanah)
 "Inheritance of the Fathers" (Nachlat Avot)
 "The Forms of the Elements" (Tzurot Hayesodot)
 "New Heavens" (Shamayim Hadashim)
 "Deeds of God" (Mifalot Elohim)
 "Passover Offering" (Zevach Pesach)

Assessment of his works

Race and slavery
Ironically, according to David Brion Davis, a Yale historian who specializes in slavery, Abarbanel played a pivotal role in providing the conceptual basis for black slavery: "[...] the great Jewish philosopher and statesman <mask> Abravanel, having seen many black slaves both in his native Portugal and in Spain, merged Aristotle's theory of natural slaves with the belief that the biblical Noah had cursed and condemned to slavery both his son Ham and his young grandson Canaan. Abravanel concluded that the servitude of animalistic black Africans should be perpetual." <mask>'s view on slavery, however, stood in direct contradiction to that of Rashi, who, citing an earlier Talmudic source,

masks:
Isaac ben
Abarbanel


texts: wrote that the heathen were never included in the sanction of possessing slaves as the children of Israel were permitted to do, for the Scripture says (Leviticus 25:44): "Of them you shall buy, etc. ", meaning, "Israel alone is permitted to buy from them [enslaved persons], but they are not permitted to buy [enslaved persons] from you, nor from one another." Scholars including Jonathan Schorsch and David M. Goldenberg point out Abarbanel's comments on the Book of Amos as indicating very humanistic sentiments: "[Abarbanel] responded with unconcealed anger to the comment of a tenth-century Karaite from Jerusalem, Yefet b. Ali, on the issue of Black [promiscuity].Yefet had interpreted a biblical verse (Amos 9:7) to refer to Black women as being 'promiscuous and therefore no one knows who his father is.' Abarbanel: 'I don't know who told Yefet this practice of promiscuity among Black women, which he mentions. But in the country of my birth [Portugal] I have seen many of these people and their women are loyal to their husbands unless they are prisoners and captive to their enemies. They are just like any other people.'" Schorsch argues that concerning <mask>'s views about the connection between slavery and the curse of Ham, Abarbanel was influenced by the writings of his contemporaries and predecessors, including Christian and Muslim writers, as well as the culture around him, and was hardly considered unique in his views. Abarbanel's commentary on Amos 9:7 and other writings, argues Schorsch, show the complexity of Abarbanel's views of


texts:
 Blacks. "Abarbanel's conflicting passages regarding Blacks were written at different times and addressed different realms of discourse, the one abstract myth, the other actual living Blacks."Schorsch shows how contemporary travel books described Ethiopians as barbarians, stealing each other's children to sell to Muslim foreigners. "Hence, the many statements that Ethiopians engaged in relations... with their siblings or parents. In this view, families, a cultured product, would not have been known to primitives who lived like animals. Yet Abarbanel dismissed all these derogatory notions when defending the behavior of actual Blacks living in Portugal." Alhambra Decree
The widely circulating <mask>'s response to the Alhambra Decree is a literary invention in a fictional work The Alhambra Decree by David Raphael; it bears no relation to <mask>'s actual thoughts and ideas. Legacy
The Synagogue <mask> Abravanel in Paris, France, was named in his memory. See also
Jewish commentaries on the Bible

References

Further reading

Bar Eitan, Zev (2012).Abravanel’s World of Torah: Series. Torah Renaissance Press. [http://arilipinski.com/pesach-haggadah-abravanel-comment-explained-by-ari-lipinski/ Elazar Ari Lipinski: Pesach - A holiday of questions. About the Haggadah-Commentary Zevach Pesach of Rabbi Isaak <mask> (1437–1508).] Published first in German in the official quarterly of the Organization of the Jewish Communities of Bavaria: Jüdisches Leben in Bayern. Mitteilungsblatt des Landesverbandes der Israelitischen Kultusgemeinden in Bayern.

masks:
Abarbanel
Abarbanel
Don Isaac
Abarbanel


texts:
 Pessach-Ausgabe = Nr.109, 2009, , S. 3–4. Sid Leiman: Abarbanel and the Censor . An article by Professor Sid Leiman regarding censorship of <mask>'s works and on the proper pronunciation of his name. External links
Short biography of <mask>
Abrabanel
Columbia Encyclopedia entry
Seder Hagadah shel Pesḥ Haggadot with commentary provided by <mask>, at the Leo Baeck Institute, New York

1437 births
1508 deaths
15th-century philosophers
15th-century Portuguese businesspeople
16th-century Portuguese Jews
Isaac
Bible commentators
Court Jews
Jewish philosophers
Jews expelled from Spain in 1492
15th-century Portuguese Jews
People from Lisbon
Portuguese rabbis
Portuguese refugees
Rishonim
16th-century Venetian businesspeople
15th-century Jewish biblical scholars
16th-century Jewish biblical

masks:
Abarbanel
Isaac Abravanel
Isaac Abarbanel


texts:
<mask> (2 February 191910 December 2012) was a Swiss soprano most admired for her interpretations of major heroines in operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Richard Strauss, and of German lieder. She was also described as “the most beautiful woman on the operatic stage”. Life and career

Early years
<mask> was born in Burgdorf, Switzerland to an Italian-Swiss father, <mask>, and a German mother, Margarete Mueller. She began studying singing at the age of 15 at the Zurich Conservatory, and her teachers included Margarete Haeser. She made her operatic debut in the title role of Puccini's Madama Butterfly at Solothurn-Biel Municipal Theater in 1940. She joined the ensemble of Zurich Municipal Opera House in 1943 (staying there until 1950) and sang various parts, from the Queen of the Night in Mozart's The Magic Flute to Dorabella in Così fan tutte. Later she sang Fiordiligi.She sang the part of Zdenka in the performance of Richard Strauss's Arabella at Zurich Municipal Opera House alongside Maria Cebotari's Arabella in 1946. Cebotari recognized her talent and introduced her at the Salzburg Festival in 1947, where she sang Zdenka again in a production starring Maria Reining and Hans Hotter. After the premiere performance, Strauss himself commented, "The little <mask> will one day be Arabella!" ("Die Kleine Della Casa wird eines Tages Arabella sein!"). That same year on 18 October, she made her debut at the Vienna State Opera House, singing the part of Nedda in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci. Soon she moved to Vienna and joined the ensemble of the Vienna State Opera House. In 1949, she made her debut at La Scala in Milan as Sophie in Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier and Marzelline in Beethoven's Fidelio.Victor de Sabata, the musical director of La Scala at that time, tried to persuade her to move to La Scala, but she chose to remain in Vienna. In 1944, she married Ernst Geiser from Langenthal. After the divorce in 1949, she married Yugoslavian-born journalist

masks:
Lisa Della Casa
Della Casa
Francesco Della Casa
Della Casa


texts:
 and violinist Dragan Debeljevic (1921-2014), with whom she had a daughter, Vesna. Mid-career
<mask> made her British debut singing the part of Countess Almaviva in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro at the Glyndebourne Festival. She went on to sing the title role in Arabella for the first time, at the Bavarian State Opera House in Munich in 1951. It became her signature role. She sang Eva in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Bayreuth Festival in 1952, in what proved to be her only appearance at Bayreuth.In 1953, <mask> sang Arabella in the Bavarian State Opera Company's performances at the London Royal Opera House, and sang the part of Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier for the first time, at the Salzburg Festival. On 20 November 1953, she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York (the Met) as the Countess Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro. Since her debut, she sang a total of 173 complete opera performances at the Met until her last performance there on 9 December 1967 as Countess Almaviva. Her repertoire at the Met was as follows:
 The Marriage of Figaro: Countess Almaviva (47 performances)
 Don Giovanni: Donna Elvira (34 performances)
 Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg: Eva (23 performances)
 Der Rosenkavalier: Die Feldmarschallin (17 performances) and Octavian (8 performances)
 Der Zigeunerbaron: Saffi (17 performances)
 Arabella: Arabella (16 performances)
 Ariadne auf Naxos: Ariadne (4 performances)
 Lohengrin: Elsa (4 performances)
 Madama Butterfly: Cio-Cio-San (2 performances)
 La bohème: Mimì (1 performance)

In 1955, she sang the part of the Marschallin in Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier for the first time; this was in a series of performances to celebrate the opening of the restored Vienna State Opera House. As a result, she had sung all three parts - the Marschallin, Octavian, Sophie - in Der Rosenkavalier as well as a single performance as Annina replacing an indisposed singer in Zurich. The Salzburg

masks:
Della Casa
Della Casa


texts:
 Festival was one of the most important venues in her career. She sang Ariadne in Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos and Donna Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni in 1954, (once again) Donna Elvira in 1956, Chrysothemis in Strauss's Elektra and Countess Almaviva in 1957 (she also gave a recital at the Festival in the same year which has been preserved as a recording) and Arabella in 1958.Colleague Inge Borkh stated emphatically: "She was THE Arabella!" ("Sie war DIE Arabella!)" <mask> sang Pamina in The Magic Flute in 1959. On 26 July 1960, the newly built Großes Festspielhaus in Salzburg opened with a performance of Der Rosenkavalier under Herbert von Karajan. She sang the part of the Marschallin in this performance with Sena Jurinac as Octavian and Hilde Güden as Sophie. Originally, Karajan and film director Paul Czinner planned to make a film of the performance and asked her to perform her role in the film, which she gladly accepted. But due to Walter Legge, well-known recording producer of EMI and husband of Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, <mask> was replaced by Schwarzkopf for the film (a reverse of the 1954 Salzburg Festival production of Mozart's Don Giovanni, where Schwarzkopf sang in the performances, but was replaced by <mask> for the film production).Shocked, although she sang the scheduled performances of the season (the Marschallin and Countess Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro), she would never sing there again. When asked several times subsequently to do so, she declined, replying: "No, sir, Salzburg für mich ist gestorben." ("No, sir, for me, Salzburg is dead.") She surprised her audiences by singing the title role in Salome at the Bavarian State Opera House in Munich in 1961. Colleague Inge Borkh said that <mask> was "very sexy ... because she did not seek to be so!" ("Sie war sehr sexy... unbewusst!")<ref>Interview with Inge Borkh in <mask> <mask>: Liebe einer Diva, Porträt der Sopranistin”, German documentary film, 2008.</ref>

From this

masks:
Della Casa
Della Casa
Della Casa
Della Casa
Lisa Della
Casa


texts:
 time onward, she took few dramatic parts in Italian operas, succeeding notably as Desdemona in Verdi's Otello and the title role in Puccini's Tosca, but finally returned to lyric parts in Mozart and Richard Strauss operas. In 1964, when Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (now both her colleague and rival at the Vienna State Opera House) made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera of New York as the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier, <mask> sang Octavian. Anneliese Rothenberger and Rolf Gerard attested that, contrary to Bing's and the public's desire for scandal,  no hard feelings between the two sopranos were apparent during this period. Gerard, who was working at the time with famous Met director Rudolf Bing, called the latter a "publicity genius". Other significant roles were Cleopatra in Handel's [Julius Caesar], the Countess in Strauss's Capriccio, Ilia in Mozart's Idomeneo, and the female roles in Gottfried von Einem's Der Prozess. Later years
<mask> admitted she did not like the "music business", with its intrigues and vanities. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau said of her that after hearing a performance he was astonished and wanted to congratulate her, but she was still so involved in her role that she never heard his compliments.She smoked during her career, with defiance: "Why not?" ("Warum nicht?") In a 1963 BBC television interview conducted in English, when the soprano was in mid-career, she was asked if smoking were not bad for her health. She replied: "You know, while in Vienna, I went to a special singers' doctor [who told me] 'it is the singing which is more dangerous than the smoking', and I smoke longer than I sing." In the mid-1960s, her taste for the operatic stage began to decline and she gave fewer performances. In 1970, her daughter Vesna Debeljevic, then 20 years old, suffered an aneurysm, after which <mask> began to limit her engagements. Vesna had surgery and survived the operation, but with complications.<mask> devoted more time to her

masks:
Della Casa
Della Casa
Della Casa
Della Casa


texts:
 daughter's recovery, even buying a house in Spain where the family could gather undisturbed most of the year, and gave fewer and fewer performances until her final performance at the Wiener Staatsoper, as Arabella on 25 October 1973. In 1974, she announced her retirement, aged 55. She was considered to have been at the height of her career and left her fans bewildered: "no explanations, no comeback, no masterclasses, no interviews, no private appearances". Vesna spoke movingly of her mother's "unceasing, limitless love" ("eine Liebe ohne Ende"). <mask> died on 10 December 2012 in Münsterlingen, Switzerland. The Großes Festspielhaus flew a black flag on news of her death. Legacy
<mask> made several complete opera recordings mainly for the Decca label: her interpretations of Countess Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro (Erich Kleiber) and the title role in Arabella (by Sir Georg Solti) are regarded as among the finest recorded.She made the first commercial recording of Richard Strauss's Four Last Songs (Karl Böhm) in 1953 for Decca, and many classical music lovers claim this recording to be the greatest available. Her Elvira, sung to perhaps the greatest Don Giovanni of his time, Cesare Siepi, is available both on CD and DVD. She recorded a memorable Countess under the direction of Erich Leinsdorf at the Met, starring the American bass-baritone Giorgio Tozzi in the title role. As an interpreter of lieder, she often performed with the German pianist Sebastian Peschko and Hungarian Árpád Sándor. She made several appearances in the acclaimed US television edition of the Bell Telephone Hour and appeared regularly on Swiss television, giving interviews and performances, as well as participating in game shows. In October 2007 and November 2008, <mask>, members of her family and her colleagues agreed to be interviewed as part of a Liebe einer Diva (Loves of a Diva), a German documentary film by Thomas Voigt and Wolfgang Wunderlich about <mask>'s life and


texts:
 career. The film was last shown on 5 April 2010 on 3sat and has ample footage of <mask>'s career, as well as rare television footage.Decorations and awards
 Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class (1969)
 Gold Medal of the City of Vienna,
 Hans Reinhart Ring
 Golden Opera Medal
 Austrian and Bavarian Chamber Singer (Kammersängerin)
 Honorary member of the Vienna State Opera
 Commandeur of the Order of Arts and Letters (France, July 2012)

References

Sources

 <mask> <mask>: Liebe einer Diva, Porträt der Sopranistin, German documentary film by Thomas Voigt and  Wolfgang Wunderlich, producers Bavaria Media GmbH, BBC Motion Gallery, Sony BMG Music (Germany) GmbH, Wunderlich Medien GbR, United GmbH & Co. KG, Privatarchiv <mask> <mask>, 2008. This film is currently unavailable. <mask> <mask>: Von der Arabella zur Arabellissima, by Gunna Wendt & Monika Faltermeier-  Prestl, Huber, Zurich, Switzerland, 1 Oktober 2008
 Ich komm vom Theater nicht los ...: Erinnerungen und Einsichten by Inge Borkh, Books on Demand Gmbh, Stuttgart, 2002
 The Last Prima Donnas, by Lanfranco Rasponi, Alfred A Knopf, 1982;
 Ein Leben mit LISA DELLA CASA oder "In dem Schatten ihrer Locken"'', by Dragan Debeljevic, Atlantis Musikbuch-Verlag Zürich, 1975;

External links
 Cantabile subito blog page on <mask> <mask>
 Discography (Capon's Lists of Opera Recordings)
 Radio New Zealand tribute to <mask> <mask> by Roger Flury and Des Wilson. (58′48″; may be available to the end of 2013)
 "Das Direktorium der Salzburger Festspiele zum Tod von Kammersängerin Lisa Della Casa." Salzburg Festival Blog (German-language entry), 11 December 2012

1919 births
2012 deaths
People from Burgdorf, Switzerland
People from the canton of Bern
Swiss operatic sopranos
Swiss people of Italian descent
Österreichischer Kammersänger
Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class
Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
20th-century Swiss women opera

masks:
Della Casa
Lisa Della
Casa
Lisa Della
Casa
Lisa Della
Casa
Lisa Della
Casa
Lisa Della
Casa


texts:
<mask> (born June 9, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the NBA and the Chinese Basketball Association. <mask> was picked thirteenth overall in the 2004 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers on the heels of an eminent high school career playing for Abraham Lincoln in Brooklyn. He had committed to the University of Louisville during his senior year, but decided to turn professional instead. <mask> is the cousin of former NBA player Stephon Marbury. Early years
<mask> was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of <mask> and <mask>, a Vietnam War veteran who served as a Marine. Living in the Surfside Gardens projects in Brooklyn's Coney Island, he attended Abraham Lincoln High School, where he became one of the most highly lauded and coveted high school basketball prospects in the country. Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, <mask> was listed as the No.2 point guard and No. 6 player in the nation in 2004. Originally, he had committed to the University of Louisville and head coach Rick Pitino. However, he later had a change of mind and went pro instead, a decision precipitated by a fatal shooting that occurred at the apartment complex where his family lived. Professional career

Portland Trail Blazers (2004–2006)
<mask> was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the thirteenth overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft. On January 1, 2005, <mask> scored 14 points on five-for-eleven shooting, making four of five free throws to go with five rebounds and five assists with one turnover. In February 2005, interim coach Kevin Pritchard promoted <mask> to the team's starting lineup.<mask> notched 6.8 points and 3.3 assists per contest. The Blazers

masks:
Sebastian Telfair
Telfair
Telfair
Telfair
Erica Telfair
Otis Telfair
Telfair
Telfair
Telfair
Telfair
Telfair


texts:
 ultimately lost 23 of their final 28 games that season, finishing with the team's worst record since 1973–74. Under new head coach Nate McMillan, <mask> began the 2005–06 season as the starting point guard and was occasionally paired in the backcourt with another high school draftee taken in 2005, Martell Webster. <mask> improved upon his 2004–05 numbers; though his production was still seen  by many commentators as being somewhat below par for an NBA starting point guard. As a result, <mask> experienced increasing pressure from various local media. In December 2005, <mask> suffered a thumb injury and was replaced in the starting lineup by Steve Blake, who went on to have fewer turnovers and more assists. <mask> returned to the court on January 9, 2006, after having missed twelve games.Blake continued as the starting point guard with <mask> coming off the bench. Although the Trail Blazers had already been eliminated from playoff contention that season, <mask> scored the game-winning basket against the Houston Rockets on April 5, 2006. Boston Celtics (2006–2007)
On June 28, 2006, the Trail Blazers traded <mask>, along with center Theo Ratliff and a 2008 second-round pick, to the Boston Celtics for guard Dan Dickau, center–forward Raef LaFrentz, and the 7th overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft, Randy Foye, who was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 6th overall pick, Brandon Roy. <mask> wore number 30, as his traditional number 31 was retired by the Celtics. On April 24, 2007, Celtics managing partner Wyc Grousbeck announced that <mask>'s nameplate on his Celtics locker had been removed and did not expect him back for the 2007–08 season. Minnesota Timberwolves (2007–2009)
On

masks: Telfair Telfair Telfair Telfair Telfair Telfair Telfair Telfair Telfair Telfair


texts:
 July 31, 2007, the Celtics traded <mask>, along with Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, Theo Ratliff and two first-round draft picks, to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Garnett. He was given the # 3 jersey while with Minnesota, the same number that his cousin, Stephon Marbury wore while playing for that team.In the 2007–08 season, <mask> had his best season as a pro, averaging 9.3 points and 5.9 assists per game. <mask> also had a stretch of five games in which he had 40 assists and only four turnovers. He wore number 3 for the Timberwolves because the number 31 had been taken by shooting guard Ricky Davis. On July 22, 2008, the Minnesota Timberwolves re-signed <mask> to a three-year contract. Because the Timberwolves fired head coach Randy Wittman and replaced him with interim coach Kevin McHale, <mask> played for his sixth coach on his third NBA team in his fifth NBA season. He played in 75 games including 43 starts. Los Angeles Clippers (2009–2010)
On July 20, 2009, <mask> was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers along with Craig Smith and Mark Madsen in exchange for Quentin Richardson.Cleveland Cavaliers (2010)
On February 17, 2010, <mask> was traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Cleveland Cavaliers as part of a three-team, six-player trade that sent Antawn Jamison from the Washington Wizards to Cleveland, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, a 2010 first-round pick (which became Lazar Hayward) and the rights to Emir Preldžić from Cleveland to Washington, Drew Gooden from Washington to Los Angeles, and Al Thornton from Los Angeles to Washington. Return to Minnesota (2010–2011)
On July 26, 2010, <mask> was traded back to the Minnesota Timberwolves, along with Delonte West, for

masks: Telfair Telfair Telfair Telfair Telfair Telfair Telfair Telfair


texts:
 Ramon Sessions and Ryan Hollins. Phoenix Suns (2011–2013)
Right after the 2011 NBA lockout ended, <mask> signed with the Phoenix Suns in December 9, 2011. His contract had him initially staying for one year, but he received a team option to play for a second season in Phoenix. <mask> started for the Suns in a 91–87 victory against the Los Angeles Clippers. <mask> would score a season high 21 points in a 105–91 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. During the month of April in the shortened season, <mask> averaged an impressive 10.9 points and 3.6 assists on a .522 shooting percentage.In other months, he had averaged 4.7 points and 1.9 assists on a .358 shooting percentage. Toronto Raptors (2013)
On February 21, 2013, <mask> was traded to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Hamed Haddadi and a second-round draft pick. He became a free agent in the summer of 2013. Tianjin Ronggang (2013–2014)
In October 2013, <mask> signed a one-year deal with the Tianjin Ronggang of the Chinese Basketball Association. Oklahoma City Thunder (2014)
On July 15, 2014, <mask> signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder but was subsequently waived by them on November 26 of that year. Xinjiang Flying Tigers (2014–2015)
On December 2, 2014, <mask> Sturgeons (2016–2017)
On November 18, 2016, <mask> signed with the Fuijan Sturgeons.Legal issues
On October 16, 2006, <mask> had a chain, valued at $50,000, snatched from his possession outside Sean "Diddy" Combs's restaurant, Justin's. As it happened, rapper Fabolous was shot outside the same club shortly afterward. The following night, <mask> left a pre-season basketball game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden to observe a police lineup, but he did not

masks: Telfair Telfair Telfair Telfair Telfair Telfair Telfair Telfairn Telfair Telfair Telfair


texts: identify any of the potential suspects. <mask> and a friend, Al Eden Fuentes, were arrested early on April 20, 2007, and charged with felony possession of a weapon. The arrest was preceded by a traffic stop prompted when <mask> was spotted driving his 2006 Range Rover at  on the Bronx River Parkway, a  zone. <mask> was driving with a suspended Florida license. Furthermore, when police searched <mask>'s vehicle, they uncovered a loaded .45 caliber handgun under the passenger's seat.Both <mask> and Eden claimed to not have any knowledge of the firearm. Police had yet to determine the registration status of the handgun. In September 2008, <mask> pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon and received three years' probation. In October 2008, the NBA handed him a three-game suspension following the guilty plea. On June 11, 2017, <mask> and another man were arrested on weapons and marijuana-related charges during a traffic stop in Brooklyn. Police pulled them over for driving without headlights on and illegally parking. Inside the vehicle, officers spotted a lit joint, and a subsequent search yielded three loaded handguns, a semiautomatic rifle, a ballistics vest, and several bags of marijuana that were among suitcases, clothing, shoes, and furniture parts.<mask> was in New York at the time for what was supposed to have been only a matter of hours, being in between a move of residence, and for the opening of basketball courts at the Coney Island projects where he was raised. In April 2019, following a two-week trial, <mask> was found guilty of felonious weapons possession, On August 12, 2019, he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for the offense. The case is currently

masks: Telfair Telfair Telfair Telfair Telfair Telfair Telfair Sebastian Telfair


texts:
 on appeal. Reported by ESPN from an October 7, 2021 indictment, eighteen former NBA players, including <mask>, Jamario Moon, Glen Davis, Tony Allen and Darius Miles, were arrested on charges alleging they defrauded the league's health and welfare benefit plan out of about $4 million. According to the indictment, the former players engaged in a widespread scheme to defraud the plan by submitting false and fraudulent claims to get reimbursed for medical and dental expenses that were never actually incurred. Biographical coverage

<mask> is the subject of the book, The Jump: <mask> and the High-Stakes Business of High School Ball (), by Ian O'Connor as well as a documentary film by Jonathan Hock, Through the Fire; the latter follows <mask> through his final year in high school and accounts his decision to choose the NBA over college. <mask> is the cousin of Stephon Marbury, a former NBA and CBA star, and the half-brother of former NBA player Jamel Thomas.Attending Lincoln High School in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, <mask> was the school's all-time leading scorer until Lance Stephenson broke his record in 2009. <mask> was also named New York State Mr. Basketball following his outstanding senior season at Lincoln. His younger brother <mask>, who likewise featured in the documentary film, played basketball at Idaho State. Profile

1985 births
Living people
Abraham Lincoln High School (Brooklyn) alumni
African-American basketball players
American expatriate basketball people in China
American men's basketball players
21st-century African-American sportspeople
Basketball players from New York City
Boston Celtics players
Cleveland Cavaliers players
Fujian Sturgeons players
Los Angeles

masks:
Telfair
Telfair
Sebastian Telfair
Telfair
Telfair
Telfair
Telfair
Ethan Telfair


texts:
 Clippers players
McDonald's High School All-Americans
Minnesota Timberwolves players
National Basketball Association high school draftees
Oklahoma City Thunder players
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
Phoenix Suns players
Point guards
Portland Trail Blazers draft picks
Portland Trail Blazers players
Sportspeople from Brooklyn
Tianjin Pioneers players
Xinjiang Flying Tigers players
20th-century African-American


texts:
<mask>. (born October 24, 1990) is an American professional basketball player, who plays for the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for Louisville, leading the school to two Final Fours including a national championship his senior season. He was drafted by the Detroit Pistons, who selected him with the 56th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft. Early life and education
<mask> is of Samoan descent and grew up in a troubled Seattle neighborhood. His mother worked three jobs to try to support the family. His father was mostly absent, struggling with drug and alcohol addiction throughout Siva's childhood. The younger Siva successfully talked his father out of killing himself.<mask>, determined to escape the fate of other family members, plunged himself into sports. When he first tried out for youth football, he was too light to play, but managed to make weight. He soon developed a reputation as a relentlessly aggressive athlete in both football and basketball, and as a promising young prospect. <mask> also made it a point to avoid alcohol and drugs, and helped many other boys in his neighborhood avoid gang involvement, partially by persuading his mother to let them stay at her house on weekends. High school career
<mask> attended Franklin High School in Seattle. His freshman year he averaged 13.5 points helping Franklin win the 4A championship. As a senior

masks:
Peyton Robert Siva Jr
Siva
Siva
Siva
Siva