Galit Distel-Atbaryan ( he, גַּלִּית דִּיסְטֶל־אַטְבַּרְיָאן, born 10 January 1971) is an Israeli writer and politician. She is currently a member of the Knesset 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 Shar ...
.
Biography
Distel-Atbaryan was born in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
to
Iranian Jewish immigrants and served in the
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...
. She has an MA in Philosophy from
Hebrew University
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public university, public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein ...
and had a clothing store named "My Sister" in the Modi'in-Shilat industrial zone.
She published her first novel, ''And If They Told You'', in 2009 and her second, ''Peacock in the Stairwell'', in 2014,
for which she was nominated for the 2015
Sapir Prize. She subsequently became a right-wing political commentator,
known for her forthright and controversial views and support for Prime Minister
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 ...
.
[
Distel-Atbaryan was selected by Netanyahu for the tenth place on the Likud list for the 2021 elections,][ and was elected to the Knesset as Likud won thirty seats. Ahead of the 2022 elections, she was given the twentieth spot.
In August 2021, Distel-Atbaryan shared a video on Twitter that falsely suggested American President Joe Biden fell asleep during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet, resulting in her tweet being flagged with a Twitter warning of "manipulated media."
In May 2021, Galit Distel-Atbaryan claimed in an interview that “there is not such thing as ]autism
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
”, and shared how she “treated” her autistic son, by refusing him food and water until he talked. The comments caused a stir, and led to widespread criticism from autistic people and their families.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Distel-Etebaryan, Galit
1971 births
Living people
21st-century Israeli women politicians
Israeli writers
Jewish Israeli politicians
Likud politicians
Members of the 24th Knesset (2021–2022)
Members of the 25th Knesset (2022–)
People from Jerusalem
Women members of the Knesset
Government ministers of Israel