Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Israeli MK Hotolevy Heads Off Arab MK Zouabi Over Flotillas
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Tzipi Hotovely (Hebrew: ציפי חוטובלי, born 2 December 1978) is an Israeli politician, lawyer, and a doctorate student at the Faculty of Law in Tel Aviv University. She has been featured as a panelist on Channel 10 program "Moetzet HaHakhamim" (Council of the Wise), written columns for Maariv, and currently serves as a member of the Knesset as a self-described "religious rightwinger" for the Likud party. At the age of 32, she is the Knesset's youngest current member. She regularly campaigns for improved women's rights, and serves as the head of the Knesset Committee on the Status of Women. She is described as the "ideological voice" of the Likud Party.
Early life
Hotovely's parents immigrated to Israel from Georgia. She was born and grew up in Rehovot and graduated from the 'Bnot Akiva' ulpanit (a national-religious high school for girls) in Tel Aviv. She subsequently served two years with the IDF as an instructor in Beit HaRav Kook in Jerusalem and for the Jewish Agency in Atlanta.
She completed her Bachelor's and Master's degrees at Bar-Ilan University, graduating with honors. Upon completion of her academic studies she interned in the law office of Ram Caspi in Tel Aviv, specializing in Corporate Law, and became a certified lawyer in 2003. Between 2003 and 2005 she served as the editor of Bar-Ilan's Journal of Law, and later chose to continue her academic career, beginning her studies for a doctorate at Tel Aviv University. During her studies she was active in the World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS), and represented the organization at a student conference in South Africa. She was also the representative of the World Bnei Akiva movement in Paris. She has a higher education in Judaism, having studied at the Bruria Seminary in Jerusalem, and the Girl's Seminary at Bar-Ilan University.