Minister of Aliyah and Integration, MK Pnina Tamano Shata was born in Ethiopia in 1981 and moved to Israel in 1984 during “Operation Moses”. She began her public service in 2000, when she led an initiative to improve the situation of Ethiopian Jews in Israeli society, and among other things became a prominent voice against discrimination and advocating for equality.

In 2016, she was awarded the Unsung Hero Award for over a decade of activism in her role as a Member of Knesset. She was also a recipient of the IFCJ award for her leadership in changing policy regarding the reduction of social gaps in Israeli society. In addition, she was recognized as one of the top 100 influential Israelis by The Marker magazine and in 2021 received the Begin Award for Israeli Leadership on behalf of her work for disadvantaged populations in Israel.

With the formation of the 35th government, MK Tamano Shata was appointed Minister of Aliyah and Integration, becoming the first Ethiopian woman to serve as a minister in the Israeli government and subsequently in Israel’s 36th government. As part of her role as minister, she led a variety of unprecedented achievements, including the Olim Habayta operation which rescued over 55,000 Ukrainian and Russian Jews in response to the Russian invasion; Operation Tzur Israel which approved the emigration of 5,000 people in Ethiopian camps; the Aliyah of over 800 men and women from the Bnei Menashe community of India; the removal of significant barriers facing new medical professional Olim; the reform to expand eligibility for Hebrew language learning studios; and the establishment of
a support center for Olim in multiple languages. During the pandemic, she also launched an economic emergency program for new Olim.

During her two-and-a-half-year term, MK Tamano Shata was responsible for the Aliyah of 105,000 newcomers from around the world, a historic record in the last two decades of Israel’s history.

She is the proud mother of two children and lives in Petah Tikvah.