Nadia Hilou ( ar, ناديا حلو, he, נאדיה חילו‎; 5 July 1953 – 27 February 2015) was an

Arab-Israeli The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...

social worker and politician, who 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 the Labor Party between 2006 and 2009. She was the second female Israeli Arab MK after

Hussniya Jabara Hussniya Jabara ( ar, حسنية جبّارة, he, חוסניה ג'בארה; born 11 April 1958) is an Israeli former politician, who served as a member of the Knesset for Meretz between 1999 and 2003. She was the first female Israeli Arab to b ...

, and also the first female Christian MK.

Biography

Hilou was born in Jaffa, Israel, to Christian Arab parents. She studied at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

where she gained a BA in social work in 1976. She later returned to qualify for an MA in the same subject. In 1997, she became director of the Division for the Status of Women in the Union of local authorities, and in 2002 became deputy chairwoman of the

Na'amat Na'amat ( he, נעמת) is an Israeli and international women's organization affiliated with the Labour Zionist Movement. Na'amat was founded in 1921. Etymology Na'amat is an acronym for ''Nashim Ovdot U'Mitnadvot'' ( he, נשים עובדות ...

Women's Organisation. Hilou entered politics following the

assassination of Yitzhak Rabin The assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, the fifth prime minister of Israel, took place on 4 November 1995 (12 Marcheshvan 5756 on the Hebrew calendar) at 21:30, at the end of a rally in support of the Oslo Accords at the Kings of Israel Square i ...

in 1995. She joined the Labour Party, and ran in party primaries prior to the Knesset elections in 1996 and

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

; however, on both occasions she failed to finish high enough up the list to win a seat, and was criticised for not joining one of the Arab parties. However, in the run-up to the

2006 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2006. * Elections in 2006 * Electoral calendar 2006 * 2006 Acehnese regional election * 2006 American Samoan legislative election * 2006 Bahraini parliamentary election * 2006 Costa Rican president ...

Hilou won 15th place (a slot reserved for women) on Labour's list in the party's primaries. The party won 19 seats and Hilou took her place in the Knesset, relinquishing her previous positions. She served as chair of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. One of her first acts was to co-sponsor a successful bill strengthening laws against cyber sex with minors. She has also initiated legislation on compensating the relatives of murder victims. In 2007, she voiced a complaint about the treatment of her children at

Ben-Gurion Airport Ben Gurion International Airport, ; ar, مطار بن غوريون الدولي , commonly known by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the main international airport of Israel. Situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Lod, it is th ...

by security staff, saying that their treatment was "humiliating." She lost her seat in the

2009 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2009. * Electoral calendar 2009 * 2009 United Nations Security Council election Caribbean * 2009 Antiguan general election * 2009 Aruban general election * 2009 Caymanian constitutional referendu ...

. In 2013, her autobiography, titled ''The Pioneer from Ajami'', was published in Hebrew by HaKibbutz HaMeuhad Press. Hilou lived in Jaffa, and died in February 2015 from cancer. She was survived by a husband and four daughters, Natali, Cristina, Rola and Rena.Pioneering former M.K. dies at 61

Ynetnews Ynet (stylized as ynet) is one of the major Israeli news and general-content websites, and is the online outlet for the '' Yedioth Ahronot'' newspaper. However, most of Ynet's content is original work, published exclusively on the website and wri ...

, 27 February 2015

Bibliography

*''Poretzet HaDerekh MiAjami'' (''The Trailblazer from Ajami''), HaKibbutz HaMeuhad, 2013

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hilou, Nadia 1953 births 2015 deaths Place of death missing 21st-century Israeli women politicians Arab members of the Knesset Deaths from cancer in Israel Israeli Arab Christians Israeli autobiographers Israeli Labor Party politicians Israeli social workers Members of the 17th Knesset (2006–2009) People from Jaffa Politicians from Tel Aviv Tel Aviv University alumni Women autobiographers Women members of the Knesset

Biography

Bibliography

See also

References

External links