Lo Nivcharot, Lo Bocharot
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Lo Nivcharot, Lo Bocharot (Hebrew: לא נבחרות, לא בוחרות, lit., Not elected, won't vote) is a Haredi feminist movement in Israel. The movement is also known as LoNiLoBo or Nivcharot (Hebrew: feminine form of "elected").
The movement started as a Facebook page launched by Esty Shushan in October 2012,[1] to protest the exclusion of Haredi women from Haredi political parties and from the Haredi public sphere in general.[2] The Facebook page called upon Haredi women and men to refrain from voting to parties that exclude women, i. e., Shas and United Torah Judaism.
The protest was extensively covered by various media outlets, but was received with intense criticism by mainstream Haredi public figures.
Historical background
The struggle for women's suffrage in Israel started in 1918, following the Balfour Declaration, when the women of the Yishuv (the pre-state Jewish community) sought to take on an active role in public institutions – as voters and representatives.[3] The women's wishes were met with harsh resistance. At the heart of the struggle stood the question of whether women are indeed entitled to vote and run for office. The counter-campaign was primarily conducted by the members of the old Yishuv in Jerusalem, Haredi communities and even the Mizrahi movement. After a prolonged struggle, women in Israel received the right to vote and run for office.
However, in the years that passed, Haredi women remained excluded from the public and political arenas. It was assumed that they do not wish to demand political representation for women, or to run for office and represent the public. The Haredi parties – Agudat Yisrael, and later on Shas and United Torah Judaism – have never included women on their candidate lists for the general and municipal elections.
Protest
In October 2012, a few months ahead of the elections for the
Following this protest, pioneering attempts were made by Haredi women to run for municipal posts in the municipal elections that were held in October 2013.[5] One of the most prominent attempts was the women's party Ir V'em, headed by Michal Zernowitski, in El'ad.[6]
The protest campaign continued during the elections for the
Nivcharot executed various public actions, such as posting
Reactions
Despite the extensive and positive coverage garnered by the protest movement in the general media, it was received with harsh criticism by the Haredi mainstream. For example, in a video lecture published on
The women of Nivcharot have even received various threats, including a declaration made by Mordechai Bloy, number 48 on United Torah Judaism's Knesset candidate list, who wrote in an internal pamphlet that "any woman who comes near a party that is not guided by the leading rabbis – will receive no
Contrary to this criticism, Yitzhak Ravitz, the chairman of Degel HaTorah party in Beitar Illit, stated in January 2015 that if an halachic permission is granted, there appears to be no reason why women cannot conduct parliamentary work as well. His statement raised a public storm, and he wrote a clarification letter in which he emphasized that according to Halacha, women are prohibited from serving as public representatives. In addition, ahead of the elections for the 20th Knesset, the Chairman of Shas, Aryeh Deri, announced – in a joint press conference with Adina Bar Shalom – the establishment of a "women's council" that will advise the party and will be headed by Bar Shalom and Yaffa Deri.[11]
After the 2015 elections
In 2015, Lo Nivcharot, Lo Bocharot was registered as an association under the name Nivcharot.[12] The movement states that its goal is the inclusion of women in existing Haredi political institutions, and it opposes the establishment of women-only parties.
Further reading
Sylvie Fogiel-Bijaoui, "The Struggle for Women's Suffrage in Israel: 1917–1926", in: Pioneers and Homemakers: Jewish Women in Prestate Israeli Society, edited by D. S. Bernstein. Albany, NY: 1992.
External links
- Nivcharot's website
- Nivcharot's Facebook page (Hebrew)
- No voice no vote | Esty Shushan | TEDxJerusalem
- Two ultra-Orthodox feminists challenge Israel's political landscape | By Ruth Eglash Washington Post
References
- ^ Nathan Jeffay, "Israeli elections: Charedi women refuse to vote", The Jewish Chronicle, 10 January 2013.
- ^ Ben Lynfield, "Israel elections: Women confront final taboo by calling for shake-up of male-dominated Knesset", The Independent, 5 January 2015.
- ^ Hanna Herzog, "Politics in the Yishuv and Israel", Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia, Jewish Women's Archive, 1 March 2009.
- ^ Tia Goldenberg, "Israel's ultra-Orthodox mull bigger role for women", Associated Press, 26 December 2014.
- ^ Miriam Krule, "Ultra-Orthodox Women in Israel Launch Their Own Political Party", Slate, 21 January 2015.
- ^ Emily Harris, "Ultra-Orthodox Israeli Women Lose Election, Vow To Return", NPR, 23 October 2013.
- ^ Alisa Odenheimer, "Haredi 'Superwomen' Demand Place With Men in Israeli Parliament", Bloomberg, 6 January 2015.
- ^ Allison Kaplan Sommer, "Israel's First-Ever Ultra-Orthodox Women's Party Makes Bold Debut", Haaretz, 20 January 2015.
- ^ Rabbi Mordechai Neugroschel, "About the demand of 'Haredi' women to be represented in the Knesset" (Hebrew), Youtube, 19 December 2014.
- ^ More on Bloy's objections, see: Ben Lynfield, "Israel elections 101: Women demand spots on ultra-Orthodox party lists", Christian Science Monitor, 16 January 2015.
- ^ Kobi Nachshoni, "Ovadia Yosef's daughter: Shas is my home, I won't run for Knesset", Ynet, 14 December 2014.
- ^ Nivcharot's page on GuideStar, an online registry of Israeli associations.