MK Haneen Zoabi, Palestinian citizen of Israel and the first Palestinian woman to be elected to Israel's Knesset on an Arab party's list, will present a public talk titled "Unrecognized, Unequal: The Status of Palestinian Citizens of Israel" at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 29, 2015, in Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall. Zoabi will discuss her political career advocating against the current Israeli system and representing the voices of the “marginalized Palestinian minority”.

Representing the Balad party, Zoabi won in both the 2009 and 2013 legislative elections. Zoabi opposes the two-state solution and is an advocate for one state with equal rights, shared by both Jews and Palestinian Arabs. She believes that the West should recognize Hamas as a legitimate Palestinian organization and engage in negotiations and communications. She has come under fire and faced considerable backlash for her statements defending Hamas and what has been perceived to be anti-Israeli actions. 

In May 2010, Zoabi was arrested for her participation in the “Gaza Freedom Flotilla,” in which she and other leaders in the Palestinian community in Israel participated in a Gaza-bound flotilla to break the Israeli-imposed naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. Israeli troops raided the ship, and the ensuing battle resulted in nine deaths. Zoabi was subsequently accused of engaging in a "premeditated act of treason” and betraying the State of Israel. In July 2010, the Israeli Knesset voted to strip Zoabi of parliamentary privileges.

The Balad party is now part of the Joint List, a coalition of four Arab parties that garnered 13 Knesset seats in the March 2015 election.

This event is co-sponsored with the Woodrow Wilson School, the Princeton Committee on Palestine and the Alliance of Jewish Progressives at Princeton University. 

MK Zoabi’s tour is being organized by The Palestinian American Community Center of New Jersey and New York. The Palestinian American Community Center ("PACC") is non-profit, nonsectarian community organization dedicated to unite, serve and empower the Palestinian American community in the New Jersey/New York metropolitan area.

NOTE: ALL MEDIA MUST REGISTER AT brhuber@princeton.edu PRIOR TO EVENT. UNAUTHORIZED VIDEO AND/OR AUDIO TAPING PROHIBITED.