{Reposted with permission from Baltimore Jewish Life; All photos courtesy of the author, Sharon Altshul}
With a week left until Israelis go to the polls to vote for the next Knesset, TV ads, posters and parlor meetings are popping up everywhere.
Besides the major Israeli political parties, this time the Arab parties are uniting as one voting bloc, though they can split right after the new Knesset meets. Also, there are new, very diverse interest groups, such at the Breslovers and Green, as in marijuana, party.
For the first time in history, religious women have formed a political party, called בזכותן, B’Zehuton, In Their Merit. The four haredi women running for office are Ruth Culian, Noa Erez, Tami Bilui, and Gila Yashar.
The religious women’s party aims to be a voice for women and their platform is one of social issues, education, religion, women’s health issues, motherhood, life as single parent, and helping those suffering from abuse.
With almost no budget, B’Zehuton has a small dedicated group of volunteers working on the campaign, TV ad, and informational events. At a meeting this week, in a private home in the Aronna neighborhood of Yerushalyim, not all the volunteers wanted their photos taken.
In the haredi world, these women are taking a very bold step forward, out of the shadows.
Ruth Colion, received a law degree, and now wants to use her knowledge to help other religious women to better their lives. It will be interesting to see how B’Zehuton does in this election and how it will impact in the future.
Photo Caption: The religious women’s party aims to be a voice for women and their platform is one of social issues, education, religion, women’s health issues, motherhood, life as single parent, and helping those suffering from abuse. (Photo Credit: Sharon Altshul for BJLife)