Haneen Zoabi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Haneen Zoabi
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Haneen Zoabi in 2012
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| Member of the Knesset | |
| In office 24 February 2009 – 30 March 2019 |
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| Succeeded by | Ofer Cassif |
| Constituency | Joint List |
| Faction represented in the Knesset | |
| 2009–2015 | Balad |
| 2015–2019 | Joint List |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 May 1969 Nazareth, Israel |
| Nationality | Palestinian-Israeli |
| Political party | Balad |
| Education | University of Haifa, Hebrew University of Jerusalem |
| Occupation | Politician |
Haneen Zoabi (Arabic: حنين زعبي, Hebrew: חנין זועבי; born 23 May 1969) is a Palestinian-Israeli politician. She made history as the first Arab woman elected to Israel's parliament, the Knesset, on an Arab party's list. She served as a member of the Knesset for the Balad party from 2009 to 2019.
Contents
About Haneen Zoabi
Early Life and Education
Haneen Zoabi was born in Nazareth, a city in Israel. She grew up in a Muslim family. She went to the University of Haifa where she studied philosophy and psychology. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree there. Later, she received a Master of Arts degree in communications from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Zoabi was the first Arab citizen in Israel to complete studies in media. She also helped start the first media classes in Arab schools. Before becoming a politician, she worked as a mathematics teacher. She also served as a school inspector for the Israeli Ministry of Education.
Family Connections
Haneen Zoabi comes from a family with a history in politics. She is related to Seif el-Din el-Zoubi, who was a mayor of Nazareth. He also served as a member of the Knesset for many years. Another relative, Abd el-Aziz el-Zoubi, was a Deputy Health Minister. He was the first Arab member of an Israeli government.
Haneen Zoabi's Political Journey
Joining Balad and Early Elections
Haneen Zoabi joined the Balad political party in 2001. In 2003, she helped create an organization called I'lam. This group was a media center for Arab Palestinians in Israel. She was its general director until she left to focus on her political career.
Zoabi first ran for the Knesset in 2006. However, her position on the party's list was too low to win a seat. For the 2009 elections, she was placed third on the Balad list. When the party won three seats, she entered the Knesset. This made her the first Arab woman to represent an Arab party in the Knesset.
Challenges to Her Candidacy
Before the January 2013 elections, some people tried to stop Zoabi from running. They argued that she had spoken against the State of Israel. The Central Elections Committee voted to disqualify her. However, Israel's highest court, the Supreme Court, overturned this decision. A panel of nine judges voted to allow her to run.
Zoabi faced a similar challenge before the March 2015 elections. Again, the Central Elections Committee voted to disqualify her. But the Supreme Court once more overturned this ruling. She was able to run and was re-elected. Zoabi decided to retire from national politics before the April 2019 elections.
Haneen Zoabi's Political Ideas
Views on Israel and Palestine
Haneen Zoabi sees herself as a Palestinian. She believes that the idea of Israel as a "Jewish state" is unfair. Instead, she supports the idea of a single state where both Jews and Palestinian Arabs live together. In this state, everyone would have full and equal rights.
She has said that a "two-state solution" (where there would be separate Israeli and Palestinian states) seems unrealistic. She believes that a single state with full equality for all groups is a more practical solution. She also thinks that rejecting the idea of a "Jewish state" is important for equality.
Views on Regional Politics
Zoabi believes that Western countries should talk with Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip. She thinks that the international community should not label Palestinian groups as illegitimate. She has stated that no one should tell the Palestinian people whom to choose as their government.
She has also shared her thoughts on Iran. She suggested that the Middle East needs a balance to Israel's nuclear weapons. She believes that the Israeli army is a greater danger than a potential Iranian nuclear weapon. She also felt that Iran had a positive influence on Palestinian issues.
National Anthem and Service
At her swearing-in ceremony in 2009, Haneen Zoabi left the Knesset hall. She did this before the singing of "Hatikva", Israel's national anthem. She later explained that the anthem does not represent her. She said she preferred to leave rather than be a hypocrite.
Zoabi and her Balad party also do not support any form of national service for Arab citizens of Israel.
Involvement in the Gaza Flotilla
On 31 May 2010, Haneen Zoabi was part of the Gaza flotilla. This was a group of ships trying to break the blockade on Gaza. She was on board the ship called the MV Mavi Marmara. Violence broke out when Israeli soldiers boarded the ship. Zoabi was arrested and held for a short time.
After her release, Zoabi called the Israeli action a "pirate military operation." She asked for an international investigation into the events. She also questioned why the Israeli government had not released photos and videos from the passengers. These might have shown more about what happened.
During a speech in the Knesset, she was interrupted by other lawmakers. Some members shouted at her. Because of her participation, some politicians wanted to remove her parliamentary rights. A Knesset committee voted to recommend taking away her immunity. However, the Knesset Speaker, Reuven Rivlin, stopped this from happening. He believed it was important to protect her rights as a member of parliament.
Later, the full Knesset voted to remove some of Zoabi's privileges. These included the right to a diplomatic passport and financial help for legal issues. She also lost the right to visit countries without diplomatic ties to Israel. She was also stopped from participating in some Knesset discussions and votes. However, in 2011, the case against her was closed.
Knesset Suspension
In June 2014, after the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers, Zoabi made comments about the event. She said that it was not strange for people living under occupation to take such actions. Many Israeli public figures criticized her words.
Because of her comments, an investigation was started against her. In July 2014, Zoabi was suspended from the Knesset for six months. During this time, she could not speak in the Knesset or its committees. Her appeal to the Supreme Court to overturn the suspension was rejected.
In February 2016, Zoabi and two other Arab Israeli Knesset members met with the families of Palestinian attackers. The goal was to help release the bodies of the attackers for burial. For this meeting, the Knesset's Ethics Committee suspended her and the other two members for four months.
Images for kids
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Haneen Zoabi in 2012
See also
- List of Arab members of the Knesset
- Women in Arab societies
