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First Hijab-wearing Lawmaker in Israel's Government Coalition

MK Iman al-Khatib Yassin (Asharq Al-Awsat)
MK Iman al-Khatib Yassin (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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First Hijab-wearing Lawmaker in Israel's Government Coalition

MK Iman al-Khatib Yassin (Asharq Al-Awsat)
MK Iman al-Khatib Yassin (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Member of Israeli Knesset Iman al-Khatib Yassin will replace lawmaker Saeed al-Kharumi who died earlier this week, becoming the first veiled woman in the ruling coalition in Israel.

According to the Knesset bylaws, Khatib will replace Kharumi. She is from Yafa of Nazareth and was elected to the Knesset in 2020. She became the first hijab-wearing member of the Israeli Knesset.

Kharumi, 49, died Tuesday night from a heart attack in southern Israel, according to his party.

The incident occurred after he had two long sessions with two Israeli ministers to approve plans for the rights of the Bedouin citizens in the Negev, which lasted until ten at night.

According to his assistant, Salah al-Qarnawi, he was pleased with the results of the meetings, which achieved several essential demands. He did not show any signs of illness.

Kharumi represented Raam, the United Arab Islamic Movement List, a member of the Israeli government coalition.

He disagreed with the movement's leader, Mansour Abbas, about some details of the government's program. He abstained in the confidence vote in June that brought the eight-party alliance to power.

Bennett, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, and other coalition leaders met and persuaded him to remain in the coalition government.

He was elected chairman of the Interior Committee, which is considered a committee with powers in municipal issues and responsible for all Israeli municipalities, both Jewish and Arab.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog and other Israeli officials offered their condolences to his family and community.

Herzog tweeted that he was in pain and shock after receiving the news of Kharumi's death.

"I am in pain and in shock from the early passing of my friend Saeed al-Kharumi," Herzog tweeted, adding that "throughout his career, Saeed was an enlightening and wise public servant who was an outstanding representative of the Bedouin community in the Negev."

He spent years serving the Negev issues as chairman of the Supreme Steering Committee of Negev Arabs chairman of the Shaqib al-Salam Council, a representative of the Islamic Movement and the United Arab List in Parliament, and Chairman of the Knesset's Interior Committee.

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Palestinian Student Remains Detained in Vermont with a Hearing Set for Next Week

Mohsen Mahdawi speaks at a protest on the Columbia University campus on November 9, 2023 in New York City. (Getty Images via AFP)
Mohsen Mahdawi speaks at a protest on the Columbia University campus on November 9, 2023 in New York City. (Getty Images via AFP)
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Palestinian Student Remains Detained in Vermont with a Hearing Set for Next Week

Mohsen Mahdawi speaks at a protest on the Columbia University campus on November 9, 2023 in New York City. (Getty Images via AFP)
Mohsen Mahdawi speaks at a protest on the Columbia University campus on November 9, 2023 in New York City. (Getty Images via AFP)

A large crowd of supporters and advocates gathered outside a Vermont courthouse Wednesday to support a Palestinian man who led protests against the war in Gaza as a student at Columbia University and was arrested during an interview about finalizing his US citizenship.

Mohsen Mahdawi, a legal permanent resident for 10 years, was arrested April 14 at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Colchester, Vermont, by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. He made an initial court appearance Wednesday during which a judge extended a temporary order keeping Mahdawi in Vermont and scheduled a hearing for next week.

Mahdawi’s lawyers say he was detained in retaliation for his speech advocating for Palestinian human rights.

“What the government provided thus far only establishes that the only basis they have to currently detaining him in the manner they did is his lawful speech,” attorney Luna Droubi said after the hearing. “We intend on being back in one week's time to free Mohsen."

In court documents, the government argues that Mahdawi's detention is a “constitutionally valid aspect of the deportation process” and that district courts are barred from hearing challenges to how and when such proceedings are begun.

“District courts play no role in that process. Consequently, this Court lacks jurisdiction over Petitioner’s claims, which are all, at bottom, challenges to removal proceedings,” wrote Michael Drescher, Vermont’s acting US attorney.

According to his lawyers, Mahdawi had attended his interview, answered questions and signed a document that he was willing to defend the US Constitution and laws of the nation.

“It was a trap,” his lawyers said.

They said masked ICE agents entered the interview room, shackled Mahdawi, and put him in a car. A judge later issued an order barring the government from removing him from the state or country.

“What we’re seeing here is unprecedented where they are so hellbent on detaining students from good universities in our country,” attorney Cyrus Mehta said. “These are not hardened criminals. These are people who have not been charged with any crime, they have also not been charged under any of the other deportation provisions of the Immigration Act.”

Mahdawi is still scheduled for a hearing date in immigration court in Louisiana on May 1, his attorneys said. His notice to appear says he is removable under the Immigration and Nationality Act because the Secretary of State has determined his presence and activities "would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences and would compromise a compelling US foreign policy interest.”

Last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the State Department was revoking visas held by visitors who were acting counter to national interests, including some who protested Israel’s war in Gaza and those who face criminal charges.

According to the court filing, Mahdawi was born in a refugee camp in the West Bank and moved to the United States in 2014. He recently completed coursework at Columbia and was expected to graduate in May before beginning a master’s degree program there in the fall.

As a student, Mahdawi was an outspoken critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and organized campus protests until March 2024.

US Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont, a Democrat, met with Mahdaw i on Monday at the prison and posted a video account of their conversation on X. Mahdawi said he was “in good hands." He said his work is centered on peacemaking and that his empathy extends beyond the Palestinian people to Jews and to the Israelis.

“I’m staying positive by reassuring myself in the ability of justice and the deep belief of democracy,” Mahdawi said in Welch’s video. “This is the reason I wanted to become a citizen of this country, because I believe in the principles of this country.”

Mahdawi's attorney read a statement from him outside the courthouse Wednesday in which he urged supporters to “stay positive and believe in the inevitability of justice.”

“This hearing is part of the system of democracy, it prevents a tyrant from having unchecked power,” he wrote. “I am in prison, but I am not imprisoned.”