Pnina Tamano-Shata | |
|---|---|
פְּנִינָה תַּמֶנוֹ־שֶׁטֶה | |
.jpg) Tamano-Shata in 2020 | |
| Ministerial roles | |
| 2020–2022 | Minister of Immigrant Absorption |
| Faction represented in theKnesset | |
| 2013–2015 | Yesh Atid |
| 2018–2019 | Yesh Atid |
| 2019–2021 | Blue and White |
| 2022– | National Unity |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1981-11-01)1 November 1981 (age 43) Wuzaba,Gondar,Ethiopia |
Pnina Tamano-Shata (Hebrew:פְּנִינָה תַּמֶנוֹ־שֶׁטֶה; born 1 November 1981) is an Israeli lawyer, journalist, and politician. The firstEthiopia-born woman to enter theKnesset in 2013,[1] in 2020 she also became the first Ethiopia-born minister after being appointedMinister of Immigrant Absorption.[2]
Tamano-Shata was born in Wuzaba, a village located near the city ofGondar in theAmhara Region of northernEthiopia. She is the granddaughter ofKahen Maharat Shata, a prominent spiritual leader ofEthiopian Jews.[3] Her family immigrated toIsrael when she was three during the evacuation of theEthiopian Jews fromSudan namedOperation Moses.[1] She, her four siblings, and her father Menashe were among almost 7,000 Ethiopian Jews airlifted out of the country byMossad to Israel between November 1984 and January 1985. Her mother Mazal and two sisters arrived in Israel in December 1985.[2][4]
She studied law atOno Academic College atKiryat Ono in theTel Aviv District, and became Deputy Chairman of the national Ethiopian Student Association.[5]
From 2007 to 2012 she worked as a reporter forChannel 1.[6]
Prior to the2013 Knesset elections Tamano-Shata joined the newYesh Atid party. Placed 14th on the party's list,[7] she became a Knesset member as the party won 19 seats. She was placed 13th on the party's list for the2015 elections,[8] but lost her seat as the party was reduced to 11 seats.
On 9 February 2018, she returned to the Knesset as a replacement forYa'akov Peri,[9] who had resigned following allegations that he had leaked information during a corruption investigation twenty years beforehand.[10] Prior to theApril 2019 elections, Yesh Atid became part of theBlue and White, with Tamano-Shata placed 24th on the alliance's list. She was re-elected as Blue and White won 35 seats. She was re-elected again in theSeptember 2019 elections. Following theMarch 2020 elections, she was appointed Minister of Aliyah and Integration, also known as Minister of Immigrant Absorption, becoming the first Ethiopia-born minister in the Israeli government.[2] She was officially sworn in on 17 May 2020.[11]
In June 2021 Tamano-Shata was awarded the Magen Begin Prize for Israeli Leadership.[12][13] After being re-appointed to her ministerial role following the2021 elections, she resigned from theKnesset under theNorwegian Law and was replaced byAlon Tal.
Media related toPnina Tamano-Shata at Wikimedia Commons
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