Emilie Moatti

Emilie Haya Moatti (אֵמִילִי חַיָּה מוּאָטִי, born 27 June 1980) is an Israeli activist, filmmaker, writer and politician. She was a member of the Knesset for the Israeli Labor Party from 2021 to 2022.

Early life and education
Moatti was born in Kfar Saba on 27 June 1980, the oldest of six children in a religious family of Tunisian-Jewish descent. After dropping out of high school to work, she began studying at the University of Paris in 2003.

Career
While in Paris she worked as a producer and became a spokeswoman for the Israeli Cinema Festival. She subsequently worked as a filmmaker and political commentator, writing for Haaretz.

She became involved in peace activism, serving as a director the Geneva Initiative. In 2014 she joined the board of WePower, a feminist group. In 2018 she won the Ministry of Education First Book Prize for her novel Blue Marks.

Knesset tenure
A member of the Labor Party, Moatti was placed fifteenth on the joint list of Labor, Meretz and Gesher for the 2020 Knesset elections, but the alliance won only seven seats. Prior to the 2021 elections she was placed third on the Labor Party list, and was elected to the Knesset as the party won seven seats.

During the constructive vote of no confidence to remove the Netanyahu government and install the Bennett-Lapid "change" coalition, Moatti's vote was crucial. She was unable to stand as a result of a spinal infection and had to be rushed back from hospital on a stretcher to cast her vote for the new government, which was ultimately installed by a 60–59 vote.

In 2021, Moatti became head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee’s Subcommittee on Foreign Policy and Public Diplomacy. For the 2022 elections, Moatti was placed sixth on the Labor list, and lost her seat as the party won only four seats.

Personal life
She is married to former ambassador Daniel Shek.