First female Arab Knesset member to head Israeli diplomatic mission

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has appointed Knesset member Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi of Meretz as Israel’s new consul general to Shanghai in a milestone for women. Zoabi will be the first Arab woman to be appointed to one of Israel’s top diplomatic posts.

Zoabi thanked Lapid, saying, “It is an enormous privilege to be the first Arab woman to serve in such a senior diplomatic position. I am glad to have a chance to contribute to the important mission of promoting economic, commercial and cultural cooperation with one of Israel’s most important partners anywhere, from the consulate general in Shanghai, one of the major nerve centers of the global economy.”