May Golan ( he, מַאי גּוֹלָן, born 3 May 1986) is an Israeli politician and political activist.
She was elected to 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 Sha ...
in the
2022 elections. She was formerly the CEO of the NGO Hebrew City, and also worked as a campaigner against
illegal immigration.
[Israeli Trump Supporter: 'People Have the Right to Protect Homes, Borders'](_blank)
21 Jun, Fox News Insider["I stepped over child drug addicts and prostitutes stacked in the stairwell, but no such fear in south Tel Aviv. We were conquered. Eritreans are permitted to rape, that is their culture"](_blank)
Dror Feuer, 18 January 2014, 12:28, Globes
A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model globe of ...
Biography
May Flora Golan Badra was born in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...
,
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
to a
Mizrahi Jewish
Mizrahi Jews ( he, יהודי המִזְרָח), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () or ''Mizrachi'' () and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are a grouping of Jewish communities comprising those who remained i ...
family. She is the child of a single
Orthodox Jewish
Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...
mother who made
Aliyah from
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
as a 3-year-old girl as part of
Operation Ezra and Nehemiah
From 1951 to 1952, Operation Ezra and Nehemiah airlifted between 120,000 and 130,000 Iraqi Jews to Israel via Iran and Cyprus. The massive emigration of Iraqi Jews was among the most climactic events of the Jewish exodus from the Muslim World.
...
. She grew up near the old central bus station in South Tel Aviv.
She still lives today in South Tel Aviv, with her mother, previously on Mount Zion Street and today in
Kfar Shalem.
At the age of 9, Golan was interviewed with her mother as part of a
Channel One report on poverty in Israel. They were living on social security in a low-class neighborhood in South Tel Aviv.
[May Golan is not willing to let leftists decide who is entitled to human rights](_blank)
Haaretz, 17 January 2014, Hilo Glazer Following the broadcast, May was contacted by
Gila Almagor
Gila Almagor Agmon ( he, גילה אלמגור אגמון; born Gila Alexandrowitz; July 22, 1939) is an Israeli actress, film star, and author. In Israel, she is known as "queen of the Israeli cinema and theatre".
Biography
Gila Alexandrowitz (A ...
and her Wish Foundation charity. Identified as a child with potential, she was invited to attend Ironi Dalet High School, located in North Tel Aviv, a higher socioeconomic neighborhood. There she was bullied for her background.
Political career
Golan became politically active in 2011, campaigning to raise awareness about the impact of undocumented immigrants from Africa on south Tel Aviv. She became a highly recognisable face in the campaign against the presence of undocumented immigrants in Tel Aviv.
In 2013, she established the organization "Hebrew city", which stood for election to the Tel Aviv city council, but was disqualified for technical reasons.
In the
2013 Israeli legislative election
Early elections for the nineteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 22 January 2013. Public debate over the Tal Law had nearly led to early elections in 2012, but they were aborted at the last moment after Kadima briefly joined the government. T ...
, she was placed at the 10th place candidate for the
Otzma Leyisrael
Otzma Yehudit ( he, עָצְמָה יְהוּדִית, , Jewish Strength', or 'Jewish Power) is a far-right political party in Israel, which has been referred to as Kahanist and anti-Arab. It was originally formed as Otzma LeYisrael (; lit., ''S ...
party, however the party won no seats. In the 2015
elections for the 20th Knesset, she was placed 32nd as a candidate for the Likud party, which ultimately went on to receive the highest number of votes.
In April 2023, prime minister of Israel
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...
nominated May Golan as a consul general to New York. Her nomination was criticized by Israelis and Americans, due to her self-identification as a "proud racist" and her comments about
African refugees in Israel
African or Africans may refer to:
* Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa:
** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa
*** Ethn ...
, including calls to expel them.
Media career
May Golan has been a frequent guest on political panels on television channels in Israel. She has also been interviewed by international media organizations, such as the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.
In 2014, she was chosen as one of the 66 women to be aware of, by the newspaper Haaretz.
In 2015, she was selected as 'Woman of the Year' in the social field by Israel's
.
When she was accused of racism at protest rallies in her early days as an activist, she was quoted as saying: “I’m proud to be racist.”