Tivona Shneider

Tivona Limor Shneider (Alstern: טבעונה לימור שניידר, born 21 Septem 1549 ) is an Eretzoran politician and right-wing activist who currently serves as the country's Minister of Culture and Sport, as well as a Senator for Ofakim. A member of the right-wing Kadima bloc and the Otzma Alsterenit party, Shneider has made a name for herself as one of the country's fiercest proponents of Alstereni settlement of the Yarv Valley, where she has resided since finishing university. Shneider was raised in an Orthodox household in Kiryat Zahav, a wealthy suburb of Ayalon, where she attended an exclusively female state-religious school. She attended the Asher Katz University in Ayalon, where she obtained a degree in Law, before moving to Goudadam, Goldecia where she studied International Law.

Upon finishing her studies, Shneider worked as a lawyer in Goudadam for two years before returning home and becoming involved in politics. She was approached by Rachel Singer to join her new bloc, Kadima. Shneider was placed fourth on Ofakim's Kadima list and was subsequently elected to the Senate. Having made a name for herself during her first term, Shneider was placed first on Ofakim's list for the 1584 election and was reelected to the Senate when the bloc won 12 seats in the state. She was appointed as Minister of Culture and Sport by Prime Minister Yohana Mizrachi when her party entered the governing coalition.

Shneider practices Orthodox Alsterenism, though is not viewed as part of the "religious right", having frequently voted alongside her secular colleagues in favour of legislation aimed to weaken the Orthodox monopoly over civil matters, such as marriage and divorce. She met with representatives of her party's own LGBT faction during her initial term, where she made a vow to be an ally and defend LGBT rights in the Senate. One of the country's most controversial figures, Shneider has been accused of racism against the country's Belay minority a number of times, referring to Belay children as "infiltrators" as recent as 1582. She has opposed all proposed concessions to the country's Belay minority, including formal recognition of their native language and the introduction of Belay-speaking schools. Her policies have thus earned her the title of "security hawk".

Early Life

Born 21 Septem 1549 in Kiryat Zahav, Silesia, a wealthy suburb of Ayalon, to Avraham Shneider, a chemical engineer, and Avital Epstein, a housewife. She is of mixed Goldecian and Nentsian origin, with all grandparents hailing from Goldecia except her maternal grandmother, who was born in Poltsebsk, Nentsia. She was raised in an Alstern-speaking household, though could speak Goldecian from a young age in order to communicate with her paternal grandparents, who, despite having lived in Eretzora for many years, struggled to converse in even basic Alstern.

Personal Life

Kfar Natan - where Minister Shneider resides.

Shneider lives in the small town of Kfar Natan, close to the border with Belayzelmya, in the Yarv Valley, a region Beloyzemli claims as its own. She married Or Michaeli, a Severyan-Eretzoran architect, in 1577 and the couple have two children: Hadara and Idan. As an Orthodox Alsterenist, Shneider has had no previous relationships. Shneider has five siblings: three sisters and two brothers. Only two of her siblings self-identify as Orthodox, with the others identifying as secular. Her older brother, David, is openly gay and lives with his partner in Kiryat Shlosha. She is active in her local community, running a recycling initiative and an equestrian centre for children.

Despite identifying as an Orthodox Alsterenist and being a married woman, Shneider does not cover her hair, believing that her attire is modest enough, which has led to more traditional Alsterenists accuse her of not being "genuine". She frequently volunteers for a nonprofit organisation raising money for small Alstereni communities in the Yarv Valley. Shneider speaks fluent Goldecian and Sniatyn as well as her native Alstern.