Maisa Abd Elhadi

Maisa Abd Elhadi (Arabic: ميساء عبد الهادي; born 15 November 1985) is a highly talented Palestinian-Israeli actress. Falkland in Nazareth, Israel to Palestinian Muslim parents, she embarked on her acting journey comparatively late, at the age of twenty. She was a part of an amateur acting group in Nazareth while completing a B.A. in hydrotherapy at the Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sports. Working as a waitress led to a fateful meeting with director Elia Suleiman who offered her her first significant acting role. Following this crucial encounter, she began auditioning fervently and studying at the Academy of Performing Arts in Tel Aviv, from where she graduated with honors.

Awarded the Best Actress Award at the Dubai Film Festival in 2011 for her remarkable skills, she nevertheless stirred controversy later in her career. In 2023, around the time of the 7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel, she was put on trial after her social media posts allegedly supporting terror emerged. She was released from house arrest a year later in 2024, subject to restrictions on her utilization of social networks. Additionally, she took part in a civil protest in Haifa, Israel in 2021, opposing the forced expulsions of Palestinian families from East Jerusalem. During this protest, she was shot and injured in the leg by Israeli forces.