Aida Touma-Suleiman
Aida Touma-Suleiman | |
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Faction represented in the Knesset | |
2015–2019 | Joint List |
2019 | Hadash |
2019–2022 | Joint List |
2022– | Hadash |
Personal details | |
Born | Nazareth, Israel | 16 July 1964
Aida Touma-Suleiman (
Biography
Aida Touma-Suleiman was born in
Touma-Suleiman lives in
Political career
Political causes
Touma-Suleiman founded the Arab feminist group Women Against Violence in 1992, and has been its CEO since its foundation. She joined the
Unsuccessful runs for Knesset seat
Aida Touma-Suleiman repeatedly campaigned on the Hadash list for a seat in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset: in 1992 (placed 47th; Hadash won three seats), 1996 (36th on Hadash-Balad list; the alliance won five seats), 1999 (28th on Hadash list, again not sufficient),[5] 2009 (fifth on Hadash list, the party won four seats). After contesting the second place on the party's list for the 2013 elections against the incumbent Hana Sweid, a victory for Sweid meant that she was placed 98th on the party's list.[6]
Knesset member (2015-)
Election
Prior to the
Head of Women's Status Committee
In June 2015, she was elected to head the Knesset's Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality. Suleiman was appointed to this position through a unanimous vote. She has attended hearings of the committee since 1992. Suleiman noted that she is planning for cooperative efforts with the Ministry for Social Equality head, Gila Gamliel (Likud), who is also responsible for gender equality.[4]
Against "honor crimes"
Touma-Suleiman has reported that the subject of honor killing was a taboo among Arabs in Israel until protests in the 1990s by the Israeli Palestinian feminist women’s groups Al-Fanar and al-Badeel forced open discussion in the Arab population. Although there reportedly exist safe houses for women and girls at risk, the Israel police and other authorities have not always utilized such shelters. [9]
On Arab world and Israel
In an interview with an American Jewish student newspaper in 2016, Suleiman explained that she condemned
COVID-19
In 2020, after being reelected to the Knesset during the COVID-19 pandemic, Touma-Suleiman tweeted a video of a disinfection of a West Bank checkpoint with the commentary, "Another atrocity by the occupation under the cover of the coronavirus — the IDF is spraying Palestinians at the Qalqilya checkpoint with an unknown substance. Everyone agrees the spraying method is not effective in the fight against the virus. The horrors being committed under the cover of the crisis can't be ignored." The video actually showed Palestinian Authority employees disinfecting the Palestinian side of the checkpoint to combat coronavirus. Yamina MK Naftali Bennett responded to the tweet with his own tweet calling Touma-Suleiman "a liar, anti-Semitic and contemptible." Touma-Suleiman deleted the tweet and claimed she had been "misled." She added, "At least I have the courage and the integrity to admit mistakes. You continue to callously lie even when the truth is clear."[13]
On Arabic-speaking LGBTQ Israelis
In July 2020 Touma-Suleiman expressed support for the
References
- ^ a b Prince-Gibson, Eetta (16 November 2017). "No Patience for Patriarchy".
- ^ a b Knesset votes in first-ever Arab committee chair The Times of Israel, 3 June 2015
- ^ עאידה תומא סלימאן מחויבת לנשים החלשות. ושדיילות אל-על יחכו Haaretz, 11 July 2015 (in Hebrew)
- ^ a b First female Arab Israeli lawmaker to head Knesset committee Al Arabiya News, 5 June 2015
- ^ Hadash Israel Democracy Institute
- ^ Hadash Archived 2016-03-10 at the Wayback Machine Israel Democracy Institute (in Hebrew)
- ^ Joint List list Central Elections Committee
- ^ Final Unofficial* results of the Elections for the Twentieth Knesset Central Elections Committee
- ^ Touma-Sliman, Aida (2005). "Culture, National Minority and the State: Working against the 'Crime of Family Honour' within the Palestinian Community in Israel" (PDF). Women Against Violence (Israel wavo org). Retrieved 10 August 2021.
- ^ When MKs attempt to speak English Ynetnews, 27 March 2016
- ^ Halevi, Dalit (23 September 2019). "Arab MK: Netanyahu prevents Palestinian state". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ Keller-Lynn, Carrie (15 November 2023). "Knesset sanctions 2 Arab MKs for 'denying' Oct. 7 atrocities, alleging IDF war crimes". The Times of Israel.
- ^ "Arab MK accuses IDF of 'atrocity' for spraying Palestinians, then backtracks". The Times of Israel. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ Sajrawi, Vera (2020-07-10). "Tahini boycott row over Arab Israeli LGBTQ rights". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
External links
- Aida Touma-Suleiman on the Knesset website