Ibtisam Mara'ana-Menuhin (, ) is an

Israeli Arab The Arab citizens of Israel form the country's largest ethnic minority. Their community mainly consists of former Palestinian Citizenship Order 1925, Mandatory Palestine citizens (and their descendants) who continued to inhabit the territory ...

politician, film director, and producer. She was a member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

for the Labor Party from 2021 to 2022. Upon her election, she made history as the first Knesset member in a mixed Jewish-Muslim relationship. Mara'ana was not reelected in the 2022 election.

Biography

Ibtisam Mara'ana was born in 1975 in Fureidis, a Muslim Arab village in northern Israel. She attended film school at Givat Haviva. In 2000 she initiated a film and television program at her former high school in Fureidis. In June 2014, Mara'ana married Boaz Menuhin, a Jewish Israeli man.Alona Ferber, ''When the Palestinian National Poet Fell in Love With a Jew'', in Haaretz, 4 June 201

/ref> The couple has a daughter. The marriage was sealed in Tel Aviv in a non-religious ceremony, and is therefore not officially recognised in Israel,

Film and teaching career

In 2003 Mara'ana founded Ibtisam Films, to produce documentaries that investigate the borders and boundaries of Palestinian and Israeli society, with a focus on women and minorities. Her work explores gender, class, racism, and collective and individual identity. Her films show the plight of Arab-Palestinians living as a minority within Israel, while, at the same time, critique deep-rooted practices within Arab-Palestinian society. Her work has been screened on television and at festivals worldwide. Mara'ana teaches at various educational institutions, including the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. As a feminist activist, she appears at universities and conferences as a public speaker, and has published numerous articles in Israeli newspapers. In 2009, the Israeli newspaper ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

'' named Mara'ana as one of the 10 most influential women in Israel. In 2011

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

-Israeli Jamila "Maya" Fares, the sister of Angelina Fares, the subject of Mara’ana's ''

Lady Kul El Arab ''Lady Kul El-Arab'' is a 2008 Israeli documentary directed by Ibtisam Mara'ana which tells the story of Doaa "Angelina" Fares, a Druze model who entered the Miss Israel beauty contest in 2007. This caused some resentment from Israel's Druze co ...

'' documentary, was murdered in an honour killing. In response to the murder, Mara'ana created a foundation to support Arab women fleeing gender-based violence in Israel.

Political career

Prior to the 2009 Knesset elections Mara'ana was placed twelfth on the Meretz list. However, she withdrew her candidacy shortly before the elections after Meretz expressed support for

Operation Cast Lead Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

in Gaza.

Knesset

In January 2021, Mara'ana ran in the

Israeli Labor Party The Israeli Labor Party (), commonly known in Israel as HaAvoda (), was a Social democracy, social democratic political party in Israel. The party was established in 1968 by a merger of Mapai, Ahdut HaAvoda and Rafi (political party), Rafi. Unt ...

primaries, and placed seventh on the party's list for the March 2021 elections. On 17 February Mara'ana was disqualified from running in the election by the

Central Elections Committee The Israeli Central Elections Committee (, ''Va'adet HaBehirot HaMerkazit'') is the body charged under the Knesset Elections Law of 1969 to carry out the elections for the upcoming Knesset. The committee is composed of Knesset members (and deleg ...

by a 16–15 vote, with two abstentions, citing anti-Zionist remarks, as well as her public refusal in 2012 to observe the

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...

siren – she later apologized for the latter. The disqualification was subsequently repealed by the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. She was subsequently elected to the Knesset as the Labor Party won seven seats, becoming the first Knesset member in a mixed Jewish-Muslim relationship.MK Mara'ana-Menuhin calls to recognize shared Palestinian-Jewish trauma
The Jerusalem Post, 27 April 2021 Mara'ana received the 8th slot on Labor's

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

list, but was not elected as the party won just 4 seats.

Filmography

*''Paradise Lost'' (2003). Mara'ana traces the hidden history of her village, Fureidis, investigating issues of national identity and womanhood within traditional Arab village life. *''Al-Jiser'' (2004), a look into the lives of residents of the Jisr az-Zarqa village in Israel who face poverty and discrimination. The film focuses on the struggle of a group of young single women who are determined to bring social change to their village. *''Badal'' (2006). A Badal marriage refers to the custom of a brother and sister from one family marrying a sister and brother from another family. Divorce on the part of one couple means the other couple must also divorce. The film follows a family during the process of arranging such a marriage. It portrays the lives of Palestinian women in Israel: their struggles in being a part of their traditional society vs. the quest to maintain their full rights as women and citizens of a Jewish state. *''Three Times Divorced'' (2007) is about a Palestinian woman from the Gaza Strip who marries an Arab Bedouin from Israel. After bearing six children, her husband divorces her and maintains custody of the children, while the woman, whose residency status in Israel becomes uncertain, is left with nothing. *'' Lady Kul El-Arab'' (2008). Angelina Fares, a young woman from the Druze village of

Sajur Sajur (; ) is a Druze town ( local council) in the Galilee region of northern Israel, with an area of 3,000 dunams (3 km2). It achieved recognition as an independent local council in 1992. In it had a population of . History Sajur is iden ...

in northern Israel and the country's first Druze model, becomes a finalist in the 2007

Miss Israel Miss Israel (also referred to as , , ) was a national beauty pageant in Israel. The pageant was founded in 1950, where the winners were sent to Miss Universe. History In the late 1920s, a "Esther, Queen Esther Beauty Pageant" was held in Tel Avi ...

beauty pageant. Facing severe pressure and death threats from her village, Angelina must decide whether to go forward with her fashion world dreams, or to resign. The story follows Angelina's struggle to reconcile the traditions and values of her society with her bold efforts to choose her way in life. *''77 Steps'' (2010) documents the personal journey of the director who leaves her Arab-Muslim village to live in Tel Aviv. In an attempt to find an apartment in the city, she encounters discrimination and rejection by most landlords because of her Arab origins. She finally finds an apartment and meets her neighbor – Jonathan, a Jewish-Canadian and recent immigrant to Israel. A complicated love story develops. *'' Write down, I Am an Arab'' (2014) is a biographical documentary film about the national Palestinian poet

Mahmoud Darwish Mahmoud Darwish (; 13 March 1941 – 9 August 2008) was a Palestinians, Palestinian poet and author who was regarded as Palestine's national poet. In 1988 Darwish wrote the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, which was the formal declarat ...

. The movie covers

's love letters to his Jewish girlfriend from the past, Tamar Ben-Ami, his marriage with Rana Kabbani, his first wife, and his part in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The movie contains interviews with Ahmad Darwish (Mahmoud's brother) and with his fellow poets and writers as well as with Samih al-Qasim, who was Mahmoud Darwish's friend.

Awards and recognition

In 2017, Mara'ana received an honorary degree from the British

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

References

External links

* *
Write Down, I Am an Arab: The Film About Mahmoud Darwish

Haaretz Article by Ibtisam Mara'ana "I Carry the Virus"Haaretz Article by Ibtisam Mara'ana "Gender Before Nationality"Lady Kul-el Arab at IDFANow Magazine ReviewBadal on LinkTVThree Times Divorced
on Women Make Movies
Three Times Divorced on Media Reviews Online

Haaretz Article by Ibtisam Mara'ana "I was once ashamed of my mother's power"Haaretz Article by Ibtisam Mara'ana "Yalla, intifada!"

Al Jazeera "Palestinian Filmmaker wins at HotDocs"

Badal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mara'ana, Ibtisam 1975 births Living people Arab-Israeli film directors Israeli women film directors Israeli documentary film directors Women documentary filmmakers Israeli Labor Party politicians Members of the 24th Knesset (2021–2022) Women members of the Knesset Arab members of the Knesset Arab Israeli anti-racism activists Israeli anti-racism activists Israeli Muslims Muslim anti-racism activists Arab women People from Haifa District