Carmel Shama

{{Short description|Israeli lawyer and politician}} {{Infobox officeholder |image = כרמל שאמה הכהן.jpg |caption = Shama in 2012 |birth_date = {{birth date and age|1973|8|16|df=y}} |birth_place = [[Ramat Gan]], [[Israel]] |death_date = |death_place = |office1 = Faction represented in the [[Knesset]] |subterm1 = 2009–2013 |suboffice1 = [[Likud]] |subterm2 = 2014 |suboffice2 = [[Likud]] |}}

'''Carmel Shama-Hacohen''' ({{langx|he|כרמל שאמה הכהן}}; born 16 August 1973) is an Israeli lawyer and politician. He served as a member of the [[Knesset]] for [[Likud]] in two spells between 2009 and 2014, before becoming Israel's envoy to the [[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development|OECD]], [[UNESCO]] and the [[Council of Europe]]. In 2018 he was elected mayor of [[Ramat Gan]].

==Early life== Born in [[Ramat Gan]], Shama gained a law degree from the [[Interdisciplinary Center]] in [[Herzliya]] and is also a certified [[estate agent]]. In 2010 he added 'Hacohen' as appendage to his surname to emphasise his Jewishness after many people had mistakenly taken him for a [[Druze]].<ref>{{cite news |title=How European Zionism Has Corrupted 'Jewish Arabs' |url=https://www.haaretz.com/1.5139166 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801005520/https://www.haaretz.com/1.5139166 |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 1, 2018 |work=Haaretz |date=14 November 2010 |language=en}}</ref>

==Political career== A former chairman of the [[Likud youth]] council, in 2002 Shama became chairman of the party's Ramat Gan branch. The following year was elected onto the city council, where he held the environment portfolio. He was also a member of the city's audit commission, where he triggered a police investigation into mayor [[Zvi Bar]] over property deals.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/business/zvi-bar-tried-to-buy-me-charges-mk-carmel-shama-1.358519 |author1=Shlomit Tzur |author2=Zvi Zrahiya |title=Zvi Bar tried to buy me, charges MK Carmel Shama |work=[[Haaretz]] |date=April 28, 2011 |access-date=December 20, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214213103/http://www.haaretz.com/business/zvi-bar-tried-to-buy-me-charges-mk-carmel-shama-1.358519 |archive-date=February 14, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> For the [[2009 Israeli legislative election|2009 Knesset elections]] Shama won twenty-fifth place on the Likud list, the place reserved for youth candidates.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1233304701575&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter|title=On the cusp|work=[[The Jerusalem Post]]|date=February 5, 2009|accessdate=April 15, 2009|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120530185739/http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1233304701575&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/Printer|archive-date=2012-05-30|url-status=dead}}</ref> He entered the Knesset as the party won 27 seats.

Prior to the [[2013 Israeli legislative election|2013 elections]] Shama was placed 32nd on the joint Likud [[Yisrael Beiteinu]] list,<ref>[http://www.bechirot.gov.il/elections19/heb/list/List.aspx?ListId=119 Likud Yisrael Beiteinu] Central Elections Committee</ref> losing his seat as the alliance won only 31 seats. Although he returned to the Knesset in June 2014 as a replacement for [[Reuven Rivlin]] after he was [[2014 Israeli presidential election|elected President]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Likuds-Shama-Hacohen-replaces-Rivlin-in-Knesset-355885 |title=Likud's Shama-Hacohen replaces Rivlin in Knesset |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=June 10, 2014 |accessdate=June 11, 2014 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611164146/http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Likuds-Shama-Hacohen-replaces-Rivlin-in-Knesset-355885 |archivedate=June 11, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> Shama resigned on 6 August 2014 after becoming Israel's envoy to the [[OECD]], [[UNESCO]] and the [[Council of Europe]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/yisrael-beytenu-mk-to-replace-likud-lawmaker-in-knesset-shakeup/ |author=Joshua Davidovich |title=Yisrael Beytenu MK replaces Likud lawmaker in Knesset shakeup |work=[[The Times of Israel]] |date=August 6, 2014 |accessdate=August 7, 2014 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811014300/http://www.timesofisrael.com/yisrael-beytenu-mk-to-replace-likud-lawmaker-in-knesset-shakeup/ |archivedate=August 11, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> He was replaced in the Knesset by [[Alex Miller (Israeli politician)|Alex Miller]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Knesset website |accessdate=August 7, 2014 |url=https://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/eng/MKIndex_Current_eng.asp?view=5 |title=Replacements Among Knesset Members |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819084012/https://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/eng/MKIndex_Current_eng.asp?view=5 |archivedate=August 19, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the [[2018 Israeli municipal elections|2018 municipal elections]] Shama was elected mayor of Ramat Gan, unseating incumbent [[Yisrael Zinger]].<ref>[https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2018-11-14/ty-article/.premium/moshe-leon-elected-mayor-of-jerusalem-in-runoff-elections/0000017f-db48-df62-a9ff-dfdfa1e10000 After Nail-biting Race, Moshe Leon Elected Mayor of Jerusalem] Haaretz, 14 November 2018</ref>

==Personal life== Shama is married to Vered. He has three sons and a daughter, and lives in [[Ramat Ef'al]].

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{MKlink|id=829}} *[http://www.oecd.org/israel/israel-ambassador.htm Carmel Shama] on the OECD website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shama, Carmel}} [[Category:1973 births]] [[Category:People from Ramat Gan]] [[Category:Reichman University alumni]] [[Category:Israeli lawyers]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Likud politicians]] [[Category:Members of the 18th Knesset (2009–2013)]] [[Category:Members of the 19th Knesset (2013–2015)]] [[Category:Mayors of Ramat Gan]]