Shirley Pinto of Yamina was sworn in as a Knesset member on Wednesday morning, becoming the first deaf member of the Israeli parliament.
Pinto’s party leader, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, made a point of attending her swearing-in. She was embraced by many MKs after she took the oath.
“This is one of the most exciting moments for me personally and for the State of Israel,” Bennett said. “Shirley proves with her actions that anything is possible.”
Pinto told reporters at the Knesset that she was emotional about being sworn in to the parliament, which she called a dream come true.
She said she would advance bills requiring health fund clinics and bomb shelters to be handicapped accessible.
She will be helped by a sign language interpreter in the Knesset. A system of flashing lights will be installed in her office to alert her to vote, because she cannot hear voting alarms.
A staunch advocate for empowering people with disabilities, Pinto has cultivated a successful career supporting people with disabilities in general and deaf people in particular.
As the daughter of two deaf parents and the wife of a deaf husband, Pinto has seen firsthand the barriers to accessibility for those who rely on sign language. She has served as a lecturer at Bar-Ilan University’s sign language interpreting program and a volunteer as the Ramat Gan Municipality’s adviser on disability affairs.
“I promise to do everything in order to be your faithful messenger,” Pinto tweeted.
The Ruderman Family Foundation, where Shirley used to work, praised her on becoming an MK.
“We’re delighted to see Shirley Pinto enter the halls of power and be a force of positive change,” said Jay Ruderman, the foundation’s president. “I’m confident she will be a strong voice for inclusion and accessibility for those with disabilities. I applaud Yamina and the new government for warmly welcoming her. Shirley will join [Energy Minister] Karin Elharrar, the first Israeli minister with disabilities. I know both Shirley and Karin will work to improve the inclusion of 20% of the Israeli population – people with disabilities.”
Pinto replaced Religious Services Minister Matan Kahana, who resigned in accordance with the Norwegian Law. The law enables ministers to resign their Knesset seats to allow the next candidate on their party lists to take their place. Any minister who subsequently leaves the cabinet automatically reverts to becoming an MK and displaces the person for whom they made way.
In Blue and White, Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata, Science and Technology Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen and Culture and Sport Minister Chili Tropper resigned their Knesset seats. They were replaced by Mofid Mari, a Druze activist and former mayor of Hurfeish, a Druze village in the Upper Galilee; Cape Town-raised former MK Ruth Wasserman Lande and veteran environmentalist Alon Tal.
In Meretz, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz and Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg resigned. They were replaced by former MK Michal Rozin and former Tel Aviv city councilwoman Gaby Lasky, a controversial human-rights lawyer who often represents Palestinians in cases against the IDF.
In New Hope, Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel and Construction and Housing Minister Ze’ev Elkin quit in favor of former MK Zvi Hauser and Eilat Mayor Meir Yitzhak Halevy, who is the first-ever MK who lived his entire life in Eilat. [Former MK Shaul Mofaz was raised there.]
In Yesh Atid, Economy Minister Orna Barbivai and Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov resigned to be replaced by Tania Mazarsky, the deputy mayor and director of Leumit Health Services Medical Centers in Karmiel, and Beersheba city councilwoman Yasmin Sax Fridman, whom Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid called authentic representatives of the periphery.
Yisrael Beytenu ministers Avigdor Liberman, Oded Forer and Hamed Amar quit the Knesset on Monday morning. Their replacements are Tel Aviv University School of Government head Yossi Shein, attorney Limor Magen Telem and Elina Bardach-Yalov.
In Labor, Public Security Minister Omer Barlev will quit next week. Haifa City Councilwoman Naama Lazimi will enter the Knesset in his place.
Likud MK Galit Distal Atbaryan told the plenum following the swearing-in that the Norwegian Law wasted public funds.