Carmel Shama-Hacohen ( he, כרמל שאמה הכהן, born 16 August 1973) is an Israeli lawyer and politician. He served as a member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

for

Likud Likud ( he, הַלִּיכּוּד, HaLikud, The Consolidation), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement, is a major centre-right to right-wing political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon ...

in two spells between 2009 and 2014, before becoming Israel's envoy to the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

and the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

. In 2018 he was elected mayor of

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan ( he, רָמַת גַּן or , ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv and part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. It is home to one of the world's major diamond exchanges, and many ...

Early life

Born in

, Shama gained a law degree from the

Interdisciplinary Center Reichman University ( he, אוניברסיטת רייכמן) is Israel's only private university, located in Herzliya, Tel Aviv District. It was founded in 1994 as the IDC Herzliya private college, before being rebranded in 2021. It receives no ...

Herzliya Herzliya ( ; he, הֶרְצְלִיָּה ; ar, هرتسليا, Hirtsiliyā) is an affluent city in the central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it h ...

, and is also a certified

estate agent An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting, or management of properties and other buildings. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent. Estate agents are mainly engaged i ...

. In 2010 he added 'Hacohen' as appendage to his surname to emphasise his Jewishness after many people had mistakenly taken him for a

Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...

Political career

A former chairman of the Likud youth council, in 2002 Shama became chairman of the party's Ramat Gan branch. The following year was elected onto the city council, where he held the environment portfolio. He was also a member of the city's audit commission, where he triggered a police investigation into mayor

Zvi Bar Zvi Bar, ( he, צבי בר; born October 8, 1935 in Kfar Yona) is a retired Israeli military officer, police official, and politician. After serving in a variety of military and police command positions, Bar served as the fourth mayor of the Israe ...

over property deals. For the

2009 Knesset elections 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

Shama won twenty-fifth place on the Likud list, the place reserved for youth candidates. He entered the Knesset as the party won 27 seats. Prior to the 2013 elections Shama was placed 32nd on the joint Likud

Yisrael Beiteinu Yisrael Beiteinu ( he, יִשְׂרָאֵל בֵּיתֵנוּ, russian: Наш Дом Израиль, lit. ''Israel Our Home'') is a secularist, nationalist right-wing political party in Israel. The party's base was originally secular Russia ...

list, losing his seat as the alliance won only 31 seats. Although he returned to the Knesset in June 2014 as a replacement for

Reuven Rivlin Reuven "Ruvi" Rivlin ( he, רְאוּבֵן "רוּבִי" רִיבְלִין ; born 9 September 1939) is an Israeli politician and lawyer who served as the tenth president of Israel between 2014 and 2021. He is a member of the Likud party. Riv ...

after he was elected President, Shama resigned on 6 August 2014 after becoming Israel's envoy to the

and the

. He was replaced in the Knesset by

Alex Miller Alex Miller (born 4 July 1949) is a Scottish football manager and former player. As a player, he had a 15-year career with Rangers, winning several trophies. As a manager, he won the 1991–92 Scottish League Cup with Hibernian. He subsequen ...

. In the 2018 municipal elections, Shama was elected mayor of Ramat Gan, unseating incumbent Yisrael Zinger.After Nail-biting Race, Moshe Leon Elected Mayor of Jerusalem
Haaretz, 14 November 2018 Camal is considered a relatively independent voice within the broader Likud movement, and is a frequent critic of the Likud. He criticized many decisions of the coalition emerging after the 2022 elections and Netanyahu (who he claims to have lost his judgment due to his legal needs). He promised to protect LGBT people in Ramat Gan also from his party's votes if required as Mayor.

Personal life

Shama is married to Vered with three sons and a daughter, and lives in

Ramat Ef'al Ramat Ef'al ( he, רָמַת אֶפְעַל) is a neighborhood of Ramat Gan in central Israel. Previously part of Ef'al Regional Council, in 2007 it was transferred to the municipality of Ramat Gan together with Kfar Azar. History Ef'al was pla ...

References

External links

*
Carmel Shama
on the OECD website 1973 births People from Ramat Gan Reichman University alumni Israeli lawyers Living people Likud politicians Members of the 18th Knesset (2009–2013) Members of the 19th Knesset (2013–2015) Mayors of Ramat Gan {{Israel-politician-stub