Galit Distel-Atbaryan

Galit Distel-Atbaryan (Hebrew: גַּלִּית דִּיסְטֶל־אַטְבַּרְיָאן, born 10 January 1971) is an Israeli writer and politician. She was a member of the Knesset for Likud and is currently Minister of Information.

Galit Distel-Atbaryan
Distel-Atbaryan in 2022
Ministerial roles
2022–Minister of Information
Faction represented in the Knesset
2021–2023Likud
Personal details
Born (1971-01-10) 10 January 1971
Jerusalem, Israel

Biography

Distel-Atbaryan was born in Jerusalem to Iranian Jewish immigrants and served in the Israeli Air Force. She studied for MA in Philosophy from Hebrew University and had a clothing store named "My Sister" in the Modi'in-Shilat industrial zone.[1][2]

Distel-Atbaryan lives in the settlement of Kfar HaOranim and has two children.[2]

Novels

She published her first novel, And If They Told You, in 2009 and her second, Peacock in the Stairwell, in 2014,[3] for which she was nominated for the 2015 Sapir Prize.[4] She subsequently became a right-wing political commentator,[2] known for her forthright and controversial views and support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.[3]

Politics

Distel-Atbaryan was selected by Netanyahu for the tenth place on the Likud list for the 2021 elections,[3][5] and was elected to the Knesset as Likud won thirty seats.[6] Ahead of the 2022 elections, she was given the twentieth spot.[7]

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."[8]

In May 2021, Galit Distel-Atbaryan claimed in an interview that “there is not such thing as autism”, 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.[9][10]

During the 2023 Israeli anti-judicial reform protests, after reservists from the 69 "Hammers" Squadron boycotted a training operation to protest the proposed judicial changes, Distel-Atbaryan wrote on Twitter that "[p]ilots who condition the security of the citizens on the results of the elections are narcissistic. I'm not interested in what they did for the country",[11] adding that they are "not patriots. Not the salt of the earth. Not Zionists. Not the best of our guys. Not wonderful people. Not the people of Israel."[12]

On March that year, Distal Atbaryan publicly argued that the left relies on foreign funding for its political activities and claimed that funding from foreign nations and actors, including Germany and Iran, was being used to finance protests in Israel. Germany's ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, expressed disappointment, taking issue with Distal Atbaryan's decision to associate Germany with Iran, a country that openly threatens to annihilate Israel.[13]

References
  1. "Galit Distel". Gesher Leadership Institute. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  2. "This is how I became sober: Galit Distel Atbrian overtakes on the right Israel today". The Limited Times. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  3. Wootliff, Raoul (4 February 2021). "Netanyahu recruits first-ever Muslim to Likud list, also adds firebrand novelist". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  4. Kissileff, Beth (26 January 2015). "Reuven Namdar Wins Israel's Sapir Prize for Literature". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  5. "Candidates list of Likud party". Central Elections Committee (in Hebrew). Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  6. "אודות הבחירות לכנסת ה-24". Israel Democracy Institute. Retrieved 2022-09-16.
  7. "הליכוד בהנהגת בנימין נתניהו לראשות הממשלה". Government of Israel.
  8. Fact checkers debunk MK’s claim that Biden fell asleep in Bennett meet The Times of Israel, 30 August 2021
  9. "סערה ברשת בעקבות דבריה של ח"כ דיסטל: "אין דבר כזה אוטיזם" - וואלה! חדשות". וואלה! (in Hebrew). 2022-05-25. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  10. ""אני אוטיסט - ואני קיים": דבריה של ח"כ דיסטל ממשיכים לעורר הדים - וואלה! חדשות". וואלה! (in Hebrew). 2022-05-26. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  11. "IDF chief warns Netanyahu that reservist protest refusals could spread in military". The Times of Israel. March 5, 2023.
  12. Bergman, Ronen; Kingsley, Patrick (March 6, 2023). "Protests Over Netanyahu's Judiciary Overhaul Spread to Israel's Military". The New York Times.
  13. Lis, Jonathan (9 February 2023). "German Envoy 'Disappointed' With Israeli Minister's Claim That Iran, Germany Fund Anti-government Protests". Haaretz. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
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