Dalya Attar

Dalya Attar is a Democratic politician currently serving as a member of the Maryland State Senate, representing the 41st district. She has been in office since January 2025, following her tenure in the Maryland House of Delegates from 2019 to 2025. Attar is notable for being the first Orthodox Jewish woman elected to the Maryland General Assembly and the youngest member of the Maryland Senate as of her appointment.

Early life and career

Dalya Attar was born on October 17, 1990, in Baltimore, Maryland, as the fourth of six children in a family with a rich cultural heritage. Her father is of Iranian-Jewish descent, while her mother hails from a Moroccan-Jewish background. Raised in a Sephardi Orthodox Jewish household, Attar's early education took place at the Bais Yaakov School for Girls, a private institution in Baltimore that focuses on Jewish education for girls.

Attar pursued higher education at the University of Baltimore, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice in 2011. She continued her academic journey at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, obtaining her Juris Doctor degree in 2014. During her time at the University of Baltimore, Attar gained practical experience in the legal field by working as a paralegal for the law firm Greenspan, Hitzel & Schrader. After completing her studies, she transitioned to a role as a trial attorney at the same firm in 2015. That same year, she began serving as an assistant state's attorney in the Baltimore State's Attorney's Office, where she focused on prosecuting narcotics and firearms cases.

Attar's interest in criminal justice developed during her middle school years, while her engagement with politics began in high school. She has cited several influential figures as role models, including Joe Lieberman, Sarah Schenirer, and Karen Chaya Friedman, the first Orthodox Jewish woman to serve as a judge in Maryland. These influences shaped her understanding of the intersection between law, justice, and public service.

Legislative service

Attar's political career began to take shape when she announced her candidacy for the Maryland House of Delegates on June 9, 2017. Running in the Democratic primary for District 41, she focused her campaign on key issues such as economic development, educational improvement, and juvenile justice reform. In June 2018, Attar successfully won the Democratic primary, defeating incumbent delegates Angela Gibson and Bilal Ali.

She was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 9, 2019. During her time in the House, Attar made history as the first Orthodox Jewish individual elected to the Maryland General Assembly and became the highest-ranking Orthodox Jewish woman in American history. Her legislative work included serving on the Environment and Transportation Committee from 2019 to 2020, after which she became a member of the Ways and Means Committee until 2025.

In January 2025, following the resignation of state senator Jill P. Carter, Attar applied to fill the vacancy in the Maryland Senate. The Baltimore City Democratic Central Committee nominated her for the position, and she was subsequently appointed by Governor Wes Moore. Attar was sworn into the Senate on January 24, 2025, marking another milestone as the first Orthodox Jewish woman to serve in that chamber.

As she prepared for her first full election campaign in 2026, Attar ran alongside delegates Samuel I. Rosenberg and Sean Stinnett. She faced a primary challenge from state delegate Malcolm Ruff, who received support from prominent political figures, including the governor and the mayor of Baltimore. In June 2026, Attar sought to use confidential evidence related to an ongoing federal case against her in her campaign, but this request was denied by the court.

Policy focus and district

Throughout her legislative career, Attar has focused on various policy areas, particularly crime and education. In March 2019, she voted against a bill that would have allowed school resource officers to carry firearms in Baltimore schools, indicating her stance on school safety and policing. She supported legislation enabling Johns Hopkins University to establish its own private police force and introduced a bill during the 2020 legislative session that mandated incarceration for violent offenders with open warrants. Additionally, she advocated for a bill aimed at banning the suspension of driver's licenses due to unpaid parking tickets, reflecting her interest in criminal justice reform.

In January 2025, Attar proposed measures to expand access to "Grade A schools" as a strategy to address juvenile crime in Maryland, emphasizing her commitment to improving educational opportunities. Her focus on education extends to advocating for enhancements in public schools and supporting publicly funded scholarships for private school attendance.

Attar's political positions also include a notable stance on issues related to Israel. In the 2024 legislative session, she introduced a bill to remove Zainab Chaudry, the director of the Maryland chapter of the Council on American–Islamic Relations, from the state Commission on Hate Crime Response and Prevention. This action was taken in response to Chaudry's controversial social media posts, which compared Israel to Nazi Germany. The legislation aimed to replace her with representatives from the Muslim community, although it was later amended to exclude members from certain organizations.

As a member of the Maryland State Senate, Attar continues to navigate the complexities of her role while addressing the needs and concerns of her constituents in the 41st district. Her legislative journey reflects her commitment to public service and her engagement with the pressing issues facing her community and the state of Maryland.