Tali Fahima (, ; born 8 February 1976) is an Israeli of Algerian Jewish origin and pro-Palestinian activist who was convicted for her contacts with Zakaria Zubeidi,

Jenin Jenin ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and is the capital of the Jenin Governorate. It is a hub for the surrounding towns. Jenin came under Israeli occupied territories, Israeli occupation in 1967, and was put under the administra ...

chief of the

Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades () are a Fatah-aligned coalition of Palestinian armed groups in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Created in 2000 amidst the Second Intifada, the Brigades previously operated as the official armed wing of the F ...

, an armed faction close to

Fatah Fatah ( ; ), formally the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (), is a Palestinian nationalist and Arab socialist political party. It is the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...

. In June 2010, she converted to Islam at a mosque in

Umm al-Fahm Umm al-Fahm ( , ''Umm al-Faḥm''; ''Um el-Faḥem'') is a city located northwest of Jenin in the Haifa District of Israel. In its population was , nearly all of whom are Palestinian citizens of Israel. The city is situated on the Umm al-Fahm ...

Early life

Fahima was born in

Kiryat Gat Kiryat Gat () also spelled Qiryat Gat, is a city in the Southern District of Israel. It lies south of Tel Aviv, north of Beersheba, and west southwest of Jerusalem. In it had a population of . The city hosts one of the most advanced semicondu ...

, a development town in Israel, to a family of Algerian Jewish origin. She was one of three daughters born to Sarah Lahiani and Shimon Fahima. After her parents divorced, Fahima and her sisters were raised by their mother, who worked in a variety of jobs to support them.

Activism

After completing her mandatory military service, Fahima moved to Jaffa (

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

) and worked as a legal secretary. Until 2003 she was a

Likud Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...

supporter; she then read an interview in which Zubeidi described his transformation from peace activist to wanted terrorist; intrigued, she found Zubeidi's phone number, and spoke with him several times. When she learned that Zubeidi was at the top of Israel's list of intended assassinations, she decided to travel to Jenin and live in his home as a human shield. She became involved in the Palestinian children's project in Jenin which featured in the film '' Arna's Children'', along with Zubeidi before his imprisonment. She did not deny that she later met Zubeidi in

a number of times, but she denied any involvement in armed activities. In March 2004 she stated that she was prepared to act as a human shield to protect Zubeidi. On 8 August 2004, Fahima was arrested, interrogated by security officials for one month and then placed under

administrative detention Administrative detention is arrest and detention of individuals by the state without trial. A number of jurisdictions claim that it is done for security reasons. Many countries claim to use administrative detention as a means to combat terrorism ...

for three months. She was indicted in December 2004 and charged with "assistance to the enemy at time of war". On 23 December 2005 she pleaded guilty to some less serious charges, admitting to maintaining contacts with a foreign agent with the intention of harming state security. She also admitted to passing information to the enemy, and to violating a legal order forbidding the entry of Israelis into Palestinian Authority-controlled territory. The most serious charges, aiding an enemy in time of war, supporting a terrorist organization and possession of weapons against her were dropped. She received a three-year prison sentence and a suspended sentence that would go into effect if she violated any order forbidding entry into closed military zones, leaving less than one year of prison time left to serve. Her first request for early release was denied, the Parole Board ruling on 13 September 2006, that she "acted in an insolent and rude manner toward prison guards". She was released in early January 2007, a year earlier than her original sentence, for good conduct. She was banned from leaving the country, contacting foreign agents or entering the Palestinian-controlled areas in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. On 23 April 2007, Fahima participated in an alternative torch-lighting ceremony for Israeli Independence Day, where she lit a torch in honor of Zubeidi. In June 2008, Zubeidi, confined to Jenin as a condition of his amnesty agreement, requested permission to travel to Ramallah for an eye operation. Fahima denounced him as a "whore of the

Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; , (GSS); ), better known by the Hebrew acronyms, acronyms Shabak (; ; ) or Shin Bet (from the abbreviation of , "Security Service"), is Israel's internal Security agency, security service. Its motto is "''Magen ...

security service". Fahima lives in the Arab village

Ar'ara Ar'ara (, ; lit. "Juniper tree")Palmer, 1881p.144/ref> is an Arab town in the Wadi Ara region in northern Israel. It is located southwest of Umm al-Fahm just northwest of the Green Line, and is part of the Triangle. In , the population was . ...

in northern Israel, and works as a

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

teacher. In June 2010, she converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

at a mosque in

References

External links

"Israel jails Jewish woman for meeting Palestinian militant"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''
Leftist Tali Fahima converts to Islam
in

Yedioth Ahronoth (, ; lit. "Latest News") is an Israeli daily mass market newspaper published in Tel Aviv. Founded in 1939, is Israel's largest paid newspaper by sales and circulation and has been described as "undoubtedly the country's number-one paper."

"Interview with Tali Fahima"
from Oznik
Tali Fahima's video blog
on Flix, Tapuz
"Mizrahi Woman, Palestinian Fighter: The Public Discourse Surrounding the Struggle of Tali Fahima."
MA Tesis on "Kedma". {{DEFAULTSORT:Fahima, Tali 1976 births Living people Converts to Islam from Judaism Female prisoners and detainees Israeli female criminals Israeli Muslims Israeli people of Algerian-Jewish descent Israeli prisoners and detainees Israeli women activists Jewish Israeli anti-Zionists Jewish Israeli activists for Palestinian solidarity Jewish women activists People from Kiryat Gat People from Ar'ara Prisoners and detainees of Israel