Newly elected Israeli MP Iman al-Khatib, greeting supporters in Nazareth, shook hands with women but tapped her heart with her right hand for men. The gestures signalled the Muslim identity of the woman who is about to become Israel’s first hijab-wearing MP and part of a group of Arab women poised to expand their voice in Israel’s male-dominated politics. All major parties in the Jewish state are led by men, with women making up only 25 percent of lawmakers in the Knesset, or parliament.
