Gila Finkelstein

Gila Finkelstein was born in 1950 in Tel Aviv

Gila Finkelstein was born Gila Margil in Tel Aviv in 1950. Her father was the principal of the Yavetz school and her mother taught English. Her brother is the chemist Prof. Shlomo Margel.

She attended the Dizengoff religious state elementary school and Zeitlin High School in Tel Aviv. At Tel Aviv University she earned a BA in English and Israeli history and a teaching certificate. She later earned an MA in educational management.

She taught English for 32 years and later served as principal of Zeitlin High School. She also held roles in the Israel Teachers Union, the religious teachers organization in Tel Aviv and the Emunah women's movement.

In 2003 she entered the Knesset on the National Religious Party list and served as a Deputy Speaker. She worked mainly on social and education issues and opposed the disengagement plan. In 2006 she was tenth on the joint National Union and National Religious Party list, which won 9 seats, and she lost her seat.

In 2008 she became dean of the Givat Washington Academic College of Education, the first woman dean at a religious college. From 2010 to 2018 she sat on the advisory committee for senior civil service appointments. In 2022 she was named an honored citizen of Tel Aviv-Yafo.