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Home , Israel Prize, Meretz, Ratz (political party), Shinui, Shulamit Aloni

Shulamit Aloni, Founder of & , Dies at 85

Shulamit Aloni, 1928 – 2014, Z”L

We announce with sadness the passing of a dear friend. Shulamit Aloni was a leading progressive politician, a member of the from 1965 until her retirement from party politics at the end of 1996, but she remained an outspoken advocate for progressive causes. For example, she served on the board of the Israeli NGO, (There is Law), established in March 2005 to provide legal representation for suffering from the arbitrary dictates of the occupation authorities.

Born in , she was a member of the Hashomer Hatzair socialist Zionist youth movement and the . Early in her career, she worked as an attorney and as the host of a radio show advocating for women’s rights and human rights in general. She was first elected as a Labor Member of Knesset in 1965, but split to form Ratz, the Citizens’ Rights Movement, in 1973. In 1992, she led Ratz into the new bloc of three dovish parties (with and ) known as Meretz, winning 12 seats at the head of its joint electoral list, becoming ’s main coalition partner. She served in the Rabin cabinet as education minister and later as minister of communications, science and culture.

Shula had a special relationship with our organization. It was as a result of meeting her nearly 25 years ago, that Harold Shapiro was inspired to help create the American Friends of CRM, a support group for her Ratz party, which merged in 1997 with Americans for Progressive to form Meretz USA, now Partners for Progressive Israel. She also gave of her time, more than once in her retirement, to meet with our visiting “Israel Symposium” delegations. We encourage our readers to share reflections and remembrances about Shula, as comments here (but please understand that comments do not post immediately, as we check for spam and incivility). In the coming days, we may provide you with more on her momentous life and times. In the meantime, you may wish to read the following articles, linked below, from Haaretz and JTA:

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/1.570350

Shulamit Aloni, former minister and staunch civil rights supporter, dies at 85; Aloni, an laureate, was born in Tel Aviv and first elected to Knesset in 1965.

Former Israeli education minister Shulamit Aloni dies Shulamit Aloni, a former Israeli minister and of the left-wing Meretz party, died.