Born 1940 in Romania, Emmigrated to Israel in 1950.
Education:
B.A., Political Science and English Literature, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
M.A., English Literature, University of Montreal
M.A., Public Administration, Harvard University
Languages:
Hebrew, English, French, Rumanian, Italian, German and Portuguese.
Parliamentary Positions:
15th Knesset:
Chair: Ethics Committee
Chair: Israel-France Parliamentary Friendship League
Chair: Parliamentary Enquiry Committee into the Location and Restitution of the Assets of Holocaust Victims
Chair: Israel-Germany Parliamentary Friendship League
Chair: Israel-Portugal Parliamentary Friendship League
Member, Education and Culture Committee; State Control Committee; Committee on the Status of Women; Constitution, Law & Justice Committee; Finance Committee; Foreign Affairs & Defence Committee
16th Knesset:
Chair: Immigration, Absorption & Diaspora Affairs Committee
Chair: Parliamentary Enquiry Committee into the Location and Restitution of the Assets of Holocaust Victims
Member of the Committee on the Status of Women; Constitution, Law and Justice Committee; Committee on the Status of Women; Parliamentary Enquiry Committee on Corruption in the Government System
17th Knesset:
Deputy Speaker, Member of the House Committee; Constitution, Law and Justice Committee; Committee on Immigration, Absorption, and Diaspora Affairs; Foreign Affairs & Defence Committee
Chair: Lobby for Holocaust Survivors; Lobby for Jerusalem; Forum of the Jewish Nation
Chair: Israel-Portugal Parliamentary Friendship League
Chair: Israel-Germany Parliamentary Friendship League
Activity in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
MK Avital served in Israel's Foreign Ministry from 1960. She served as Chancellor in Montreal; Press and Cultural Attaché in Brussels; Minister-Counselor in Paris; Consul in Boston; Ambassador in Lisbon and Consul General in New York.
Her positions at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Jerusalem included:
Deputy Director of Information (1979-1981)
Director of Training Division (1984-1986)
Deputy Director General for Information, Media Communication and Culture (1986-1988)
Deputy Director General of the Foreign Ministry in charge of European Affairs (1997-1999)
Public Activity and Board Membership:
Member of the Secretariat of the Na'amat Women's Organization
Member of the Board, The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra
Member of the Board, The Schechter Institute
Awards:
Honorary Doctorate, College of New Rochelle, USA
Honorary Doctorate, Wellesley College, USA
Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur, France
Cavaliere del' Ordine al Merito de la Republica, Italy