Published: 10 March 2020
Last updated: 4 March 2024
A FEMALE MUSLIM LAWMAKER from Israel's Arab minority is set to become the first in parliament to wear a hijab, or head scarf, after Arab parties won their largest ever showing in this week's election.
Iman Yassin Khatib, 55, won a place on the Joint List coalition's slate of 15 seats in the 120-member Knesset.
The party draws most of its votes from Israel's 21% Arab minority - who are Palestinian by heritage but Israeli by citizenship.
The mother of four served as the manager of a community centre in the Galilee village of Yafat an-Nasreh on the outskirts of Nazareth, the city where Jesus grew up, before entering national politics.
"There is no way (the hijab) won't capture people's attention. But what's more important is what is inside: the ability and potential to advance our community," said Khatib.
FULL STORY ‘Look beyond the veil,' says Israel's first hijab-wearing lawmaker (Jerusalem Post)
Photo: Iman Yassin Khatib in a radio interview (Reuters)
