National Unity (Blue and White)Opposition · 8
Pnina Tamano-Shata
פנינה תמנו-שטה
MK (National Unity); chairs Knesset Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality; former Minister of Aliyah and Integration
Ethiopian-born lawyer airlifted to Israel as a toddler in Operation Moses (1984); first Ethiopian-born woman elected to the Knesset and first Ethiopian-born Israeli cabinet minister; granddaughter of a prominent Beta Israel spiritual leader.
Positions and record
- Brought to Israel at age 3 via Operation Moses, the IDF/Mossad airlift that rescued nearly 7,000 Ethiopian Jews
- Became Israel's first Ethiopian-born female MK in 2013 and first Ethiopian-born cabinet minister in 2020
- Served as Minister of Aliyah and Integration (2020-22), advancing Israel's mission of Jewish ingathering
- Led Operation Tzur Israel, completing the aliyah of long-waiting Ethiopian Jews, and oversaw the emergency aliyah of tens of thousands of Jews from Ukraine and Russia after the February 2022 invasion
- Long-time champion of Ethiopian-Israeli integration and against racism toward the community
- Continues to serve in the 25th Knesset with the National Unity Party in opposition
Cite this page
Pnina Tamano-Shata, The State of Israel. https://thestateofisrael.com/mk/pnina-tamano-shata