Shulamit Aloni, Founder of Ratz & Meretz, 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 Knesset 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, Yesh Din (There is Law), established in March 2005 to provide legal representation for Palestinians suffering from the arbitrary dictates of the occupation authorities. Born in Tel Aviv, she was a member of the Hashomer Hatzair socialist Zionist youth movement and the Palmach. 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 Mapam and Shinui) known as Meretz, winning 12 seats at the head of its joint electoral list, becoming Yitzhak Rabin’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 Israel 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 Israel Prize 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 leader of the left-wing Meretz party, died. .