Shirley Pinto Becomes Israel 1st Deaf Member of Parliament
Yamina Party’s Shirley Pinto will become Israel’s first deaf member of parliament.
Yamina Party’s Shirley Pinto (32) is all set to become the first Deaf Member of Parliament in Israel. Pinto lives in Ramat Gan, and is married to Michael Kadosh, a Deaf man. She is fluent in the Israeli Sign Language, and is one of the founders of The Israeli Center for Deaf Studies. She even served in the Israeli Air Force. Pinto was born to Deaf parents, and raised in the Krayot. Her mother is Deaf and blind. She saw firsthand the barriers to accessibility for those who rely on sign language. Since then, she has served as a lecturer at Bar-Ilan University’s Sign Language Interpreting program and a volunteer as Ramat Gan Municipality’s adviser on disability affairs. She was also cast in the TV documentary series “Mushlamim” (“Perfect”) on people with disabilities.
In May 2015, she came to India and stayed at the Indore deaf bilingual academy (IDBA) for a month. She loved the students/teachers signing at IDBA. Volunteered. She is very energetic and strong. Taught empowering games to deaf students here. Took lectures. Pinto is a staunch advocate for empowering people with disabilities, Pinto has cultivated a career supporting those with disabilities in general and deaf people in particular. Tweeted Pinto upon her joining the new government: “I promise to do everything in order to be your faithful messenger.”
