Carmen Elmakiyes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Carmen Elmakiyes Amos
כרמן אלמקייס עמוס |
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Elmakiyes in 2019
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| Born | February 17, 1979 Ashkelon, Israel
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| Nationality | Israeli |
| Occupation | Filmmaker, activist, medical clown |
| Political party | Gesher |
Carmen Elmakiyes Amos (Hebrew: כרמן אלמקייס עמוס; born February 17, 1979) is an Israeli social activist, a medical clown, and a filmmaker. She is known for starting the "Not Nice" social movement and the Tor Hazahav (Golden Age) political group, which focuses on issues important to Mizrahi communities. In April 2019, she ran for a seat in the Knesset, which is Israel's parliament, as a candidate for the Gesher party.
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Growing Up and Education
Carmen Elmakiyes Amos was born in Ashkelon, Israel. Her father, Michael Elmakiyes, was a Mizrahi social activist who cared deeply about his community. Her mother, Rina Amos, worked as a seamstress. Both of her parents moved to Israel from Morocco. Carmen grew up in a neighborhood in Ashkelon that faced many challenges.
When she was young, Carmen noticed that many Mizrahi students were sent to trade schools, while other students went to schools that prepared them for college. She decided to leave school at age 16 because she wanted a different path. Later, she studied on her own and passed her high school exams. She then went to Kinneret Academic College and earned a degree in film. She also learned to be a medical clown, which involves using humor to help people in hospitals.
When Carmen was 17, she moved to Tel Aviv. In 1994, she was near the Dizengoff Center when a bomb exploded. This event was very difficult for her, and it took her several years to recover from the experience. This event also meant she did not have to join the military.
Helping Her Community
Carmen Elmakiyes Amos started her work as an activist by joining the Ahoti – for Women in Israel movement, which supports Mizrahi women. She later became a project manager for the Libi BaMizrach Coalition, a group of over thirty organizations that focus on Mizrahi culture.
The "Not Nice" Movement
In 2011, Carmen helped start the "Not Nice" movement. This group works to bring attention to issues affecting Mizrahi communities, such as reducing differences between social classes, improving public housing, and fighting poverty. The group often holds protests and takes action to make their voices heard. The name "Not Nice" comes from a famous quote by former Prime Minister Golda Meir, who once used that phrase to describe the Black Panther social justice movement of the 1970s.
Because of her strong and determined way of protesting, Carmen is sometimes called "The Black Pantheress" by the media. She identifies with the original Israeli Black Panther movement, which fought for social justice.
Standing Up for Others
Carmen has been involved in many protests. In 2013, she was arrested during a protest against cuts to child support and other measures that affected poorer families. She later spoke in the Knesset about police actions towards female protesters.
She also worked to help residents of Giv'at Amal Bet in Tel Aviv who were facing eviction from their homes. She and other activists sometimes stayed in the homes to prevent people from being forced out. In 2015, she even stayed in an office building with a single mother who needed housing, demanding immediate help.
Carmen has also worked to expose problems in public housing. In 2016, she made short videos where women shared their experiences about issues they faced with housing agents. These videos helped bring attention to the problem.
In 2018, Carmen created an art exhibition called "Leviot" (lionesses). It featured portraits of women in the public housing system and shared their stories about the difficulties they faced. The exhibition aimed to show how important it is for officials to be responsible for their actions.
Carmen also works to document past injustices against the Mizrahi community. This includes the Yemenite Children Affair, where babies and toddlers from Yemeni and other Mizrahi immigrant families went missing in the 1950s. She also highlights "The Ringworm Affair," where many Mizrahi children were given harmful radiation treatments for ringworm, leading to serious health problems later.
In 2020, Carmen and Sapir Sluzker Amran started "Breaking Walls" (Shovrot Kirot). This organization helps people who are struggling financially, especially those affected by the COVID-19 crisis, by providing legal support and working for social and economic fairness.
Political Involvement
In 2016, Carmen helped create a political group called Tor Hazahav (the golden age). This group works to bring social and political issues affecting Mizrahi communities to the attention of lawmakers and ensure they have fair representation.
In January 2019, Carmen joined the Gesher political party. She was a candidate for the Knesset in the April 2019 elections, but the party did not get enough votes to enter parliament. When new elections were called, Gesher joined with the Labor party in August 2019. Carmen was placed high on their combined list of candidates.
Carmen was also a leader in the movement to help Yonathan Hilo, who was in prison. She also actively supports the "Free Avera" movement, which works to bring Avera Mengistu home from captivity. Activists like Carmen believe that the government and media have not paid enough attention to Mengistu's case because of his Ethiopian heritage, compared to other similar situations.
Media and Art Projects
Carmen Elmakiyes Amos has used media and art to share her messages and stories.
- In 2014, she appeared as a commentator on a TV show called "Hakol Kalul."
- She participated in a filmmaking program for women in 2014.
- In 2015, she was featured in "Nevi'im," a series of documentary films about Mizrahi social and political activists.
- A Dutch TV program made a film about activists from around the world, and Carmen was featured from Israel in 2015.
- In 2017, she contributed photo portraits to an art exhibit called "Nashim Bamerkhav" (Women in the space), which displayed art in public places in south Tel Aviv to represent the diverse women there.
- Her "Leviot" photo exhibition in 2018 showed portraits and stories of women in the public housing system.
- In 2019, she created "Al Tashlikheni" (do not discard me), a photo exhibition of Holocaust survivors in Israel, highlighting their living conditions.
Achievements and Recognition
Carmen's work has been recognized by various organizations.
- In 2017, she was featured in Time Out magazine as one of the "People Who Make Tel Aviv."
- In March 2018, Lady Globes magazine named her one of the 20 leading activists in Israel.
- In December 2020, Forbes magazine included Carmen and her partner from Breaking Walls, Sapir Sluzker Amran, on their "PowerWomen 2020" list of 50 influential women in Israel.
Personal Life
Carmen Elmakiyes Amos describes herself as Mizrahi, a woman, and religious. She believes that different parts of her identity become more important depending on the issue she is working on. She is in a long-term relationship and welcomed her daughter, Emmanuelle Renee, in December 2018.
