Shulamit Aloni ( he, שולמית אלוני; 29 December 1928 – 24 January 2014) was an Israeli politician. She founded the Ratz party, was leader of the Meretz party,

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

from 1988 to 1990, and served as Minister of Education from 1992 to 1993. In 2000, she won the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

Biography

Early life

Shulamit Adler was born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. Her mother was a seamstress and her father was a carpenter, both descended from Polish rabbinical families. The family migrated to

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

when she was a child, and Aloni grew up in Tel Aviv. She was sent to

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

while her parents served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. As a youth she was a member of the socialist Zionist

Hashomer Hatzair Hashomer Hatzair ( he, הַשׁוֹמֵר הַצָעִיר, , ''The Young Guard'') is a Labor Zionist, secular Jewish youth movement founded in 1913 in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary, and it was also the name of the group ...

youth movement and the

Palmach The Palmach (Hebrew: , acronym for , ''Plugot Maḥatz'', "Strike Companies") was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of the British Mandate for Palestine. The Palmach ...

. During the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...

, she was involved in military struggles for the Old City of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and was captured by

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

ian forces. Following the establishment of the state of Israel, she worked with child refugees and helped establish a school for immigrant children. She taught in a school while studying law. After her marriage in 1952 to Reuven Aloni, the founder of

Israel Lands Administration The Israel Land Administration (ILA; he, מנהל מקרקעי ישראל, Minhal Mekarka'ei Yisra'el; ar, مديرية أراضي اسرائيل) is an Israeli government authority responsible for managing land in Israel which is in the public d ...

, she moved to

Kfar Shmaryahu Kfar Shmaryahu ( he, כְּפַר שְׁמַרְיָהוּ, ar, كفار شمرياهو) is a local council in Israel, within the Tel Aviv District. History Kfar Shmaryahu was founded in May 1937, during the Fifth Aliyah. The founding members ...

. Aloni joined

Mapai Mapai ( he, מַפָּא"י, an acronym for , ''Mifleget Poalei Eretz Yisrael'', lit. "Workers' Party of the Land of Israel") was a democratic socialist political party in Israel, and was the dominant force in Israeli politics until its merger in ...

in 1959. She also worked as an attorney and hosted a radio show ''Outside Working Hours'' that dealt with

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

and

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

. She also wrote columns for several newspapers.

Political career

Shulamit Aloni and Ze'ev Sherf in the Knesset

In 1965, Aloni was elected to the Knesset on the list of the

Alignment Alignment may refer to: Archaeology * Alignment (archaeology), a co-linear arrangement of features or structures with external landmarks * Stone alignment, a linear arrangement of upright, parallel megalithic standing stones Biology * Structu ...

, an alliance of Mapai and

Ahdut HaAvoda Ahdut HaAvoda ( he, אַחְדוּת הַעֲבוֹדָה, lit. ''Labour Unity'') was the name used by a series of political parties. Ahdut HaAvoda in its first incarnation was led by David Ben-Gurion. It was first established during the period ...

, and subsequently founded the Israel Consumers Council, which she chaired for four years. She left the Alignment in 1973 and established the Citizens Rights Movement, which became known as Ratz. The party advocated

electoral reform Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems which alters how public desires are expressed in election results. That can include reforms of: * Voting systems, such as proportional representation, a two-round system (runoff voting), instant-ru ...

, separation of religion and state and human rights and won three seats in the 1973 Knesset elections. Ratz initially joined the Alignment-led government with Aloni as

Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

but she resigned immediately in protest at the appointment of

Yitzhak Rafael Yitzhak Rafael ( he, יצחק רפאל, 5 July 1914 – 3 August 1999) was an Israeli politician. He served as Deputy Minister of Health in the 1960s and Minister of Religions in the mid-1970s. Biography Yitzhak Rafael was born in Sasiv in Gali ...

as Minister of Religions. Ratz briefly became

Ya'ad – Civil Rights Movement Ya'ad – Civil Rights Movement ( he, יעד – תנועה לזכויות האזרח, ''Ya'ad – Tenoa'a LaZkhuyot HaEzrah''), commonly known as just Ya'ad, was a short-lived political party in Israel. It is not related to the other party by the ...

when independent MK Aryeh Eliav joined the party, but returned to its original status soon after. Throughout the 1970s Aloni attempted to create a dialogue with

Palestinians Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

in hopes of achieving a lasting peace settlement. During the

1982 Lebanon War The 1982 Lebanon War, dubbed Operation Peace for Galilee ( he, מבצע שלום הגליל, or מבצע של"ג ''Mivtsa Shlom HaGalil'' or ''Mivtsa Sheleg'') by the Israeli government, later known in Israel as the Lebanon War or the First L ...

she established the International Center for Peace in the Middle East. In the run-up to the 1984 elections, Ratz aligned with

Peace Now Peace Now ( he, שלום עכשיו ''Shalom Achshav'', ) is a non-governmental organization, liberal advocacy and activist group in Israel with the aim of promoting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Objectives/position ...

and the

Left Camp of Israel The Left Camp of Israel ( he, מחנה שמאל לישראל, ''Maḥaneh Smol LeYisrael'') was a Israeli left-wing politics, left-wing List of political parties in Israel, political party in Israel. It was also known as Sheli ( he, של"י), an ...

to increase its size in the Knesset to five seats. In 1992, she led Ratz into an alliance with

Shinui Shinui ( he, שִׁינּוּי, lit. ''Change'') was a Zionist, secular, and anti-clerical free market liberal party and political movement in Israel. The party twice became the third-largest in the Knesset, but both occasions were followed by a ...

and

Mapam Mapam ( he, מַפָּ״ם, an acronym for , ) was a left-wing political party in Israel. The party is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party. History Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the kibbutz-based Hashomer Hatz ...

to form the new Meretz party, which won 12 seats under her leadership in the elections that year. Aloni became Minister of Education under

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; he, יִצְחָק רַבִּין, ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77, and from 1992 until h ...

but was forced to resign after a year due to her outspoken statements on matters of religion. As Education Minister, she also criticized organized tours by Israeli high school pupils to

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

s on grounds that such visits were turning Israeli youth into aggressive, nationalistic xenophobes, claiming that students "march with unfurled flags, as if they've come to conquer Poland". She was reappointed Minister of Communications and

Science and Culture Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

. After the signing of the

Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993;

in 1993, Aloni expressed her sentiments that the agreements were a positive turning point on an historic scale: "I feel like on the 29th of November he_date_of_the_United_Nations_Partition_Plan_for_Palestine.html" ;"title="United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine">he date of the United_Nations_Partition_Plan_for_Palestine">he_date_of_the_United_Nations_Partition_Plan_for_Palestine_we_did_not_know_then_what_we_were_heading_for,_but_we_knew_we_were_heading_for_great_days." After_the_Cave_of_the_Patriarchs_massacre.html" ;"title="United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine">United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine">he date of the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine we did not know then what we were heading for, but we knew we were heading for great days." After the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre">massacre of 29 Muslims in Hebron, West Bank on February 25, 1994, perpetrated by Baruch Goldstein, Aloni called for the expulsion of Israeli settlement, Jewish settlers from Hebron. After the 1996 Knesset election, in which Meretz lost three of its seats, Aloni was ousted from Meretz leadership, with

Yossi Sarid Yossi Sarid ( he, יוסי שריד‎; 24 October 1940 – 4 December 2015) was an Israeli politician and news commentator. He served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment, Ratz and Meretz between 1974 and 2006. A former Minister of ...

being elected to succeed her as leader of Meretz. She then retired from politics.

Last years

In a 2002 interview with American journalist

Amy Goodman Amy Goodman (born April 13, 1957) is an American broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter, and author. Her investigative journalism career includes coverage of the East Timor independence movement, Morocco's occupation ...

, Aloni said that charges of

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

are "a trick we use" to suppress

criticism of Israel Criticism of the Israeli government, often referred to simply as criticism of Israel, is a subject of journalistic and scholarly commentary and research within the scope of international relations theory, expressed in terms of political science. ...

coming from within the United States, while for criticism coming from Europe "we bring up the Holocaust." Citations of this quote are likely to be misleading if they imply Aloni intended these words to be taken literally, as a confession to a political strategy of a collective "we" in which she includes herself. The necessary context, that Aloni is in fact a left-wing critic of the Israeli political establishment, indicates that she is using the word 'we' in a sardonic way, consistent with bleak Jewish humour. The usage is similar to how American opponents to the War in Iraq might say 'We invaded Iraq to take their oil'. Aloni was a board member of

Yesh Din Yesh Din: Volunteers for Human Rights ( he, יש דין) is an Israeli organization working in Israel and in the West Bank. The organization was founded in 2005 by a group of women who previously worked with the organization Machsom Watch. The p ...

, an organisation founded in 2005 which focuses on human rights in the occupied

Palestinian territories The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. The I ...

Personal life

With her husband, Reuven Aloni, she had three sons: * Dror Aloni – later mayor of

and head of

Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium The Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium ( he, הַגִּימְנַסְיָה הָעִבְרִית הֶרְצְלִיָּה, ''HaGymnasia HaIvrit Herzliya'', Also known as ''Gymnasia Herzliya''), originally known as HaGymnasia HaIvrit (lit. Hebrew High Scho ...

* Nimrod Aloni – an education philosopher *

Udi Aloni Udi Aloni ( he, אודי אלוני; born December 10, 1959) is an Israeli American filmmaker, writer, visual artist and political activist whose works focus on the interrelationships between art, theory, and action. Biography Udi Aloni is the ...

– a film director, writer and artist Reuven Aloni died in 1988. File:Shulamit Aloni as a young girl.jpeg, Young Shulamit in the 1940s. File:Shulamit Aloni with her mother.jpg, Shulamit Aloni as a young woman with her mother. File:Shulamit Aloni with Reuven Aloni.jpeg, Shulamit and Reuven Aloni in the 1980s. File:Shulamit Aloni.jpg, Aloni in 2002 at a

demonstration. File:Shulamit Aloni with 3 of her grandchildren.jpg, Aloni with grandchildren in the 2000s.

Shulamit Aloni Prize

In 2018, the Shulamit Aloni Prize was established. The prize is awarded by the Shulamit Aloni Foundation, a non-profit organization created by a group of Aloni's family members and leading media and cultural professionals for this purpose. The prize, which bears a monetary award, is bestowed to its recipients each year in the Jaffa Theater (aka The Arab-Hebrew Theater), to creators of cultural works (theater, film, poetry and prose) in both

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

whose work promotes

. Inaugural prize recipients included Rana Abu Fraihah (Arabic Culture Prize), Renana Raz (Hebrew Culture Prize) and

Sami Michael Sami Michael ( he, סמי מיכאל, ar, سامي ميخائيل; born August 15, 1926) is an Israeli author, having migrated from Iraq to Israel at the age of 23. Since 2001, Michael has been the President of The Association for Civil Rights ...

(Lifetime Achievement Prize). Additional prize recipients include Ayat Abou Shmeiss for Arabic Culture, and

Achinoam Nini Achinoam Nini ( he, אחינועם ניני, Aẖinóʿam Nini; born ), also known professionally as Noa (), is an Israeli singer-songwriter, percussionist, poet, composer, and human rights activist working internationally. She is accompanied by ...

for Lifetime Achievement.

Awards and recognition

*In 1994, received an honorary PhD in Humanities from

Hebrew Union College Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. *In 1994, received an honorary PhD of Law from Kon-Kuk University. *In 1998, Aloni received a special lifetime award of the

Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award The Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award is an award made annually by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel to "an individual or NGO that has made a unique contribution to the advancement of human rights in Israel". The award was established in ...

by the

Association for Civil Rights in Israel The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) (Hebrew: ; Arabic: ) was created in 1972 as an independent, non-partisan not-for-profit organization with the mission of protecting human rights and civil rights in Israel and the territories u ...

. *In 1999, received an honorary PhD of Philosophy from the Weitzman Institute of Science. *In 2000, she received the

, for her lifetime achievements and special contribution to society and the State of Israel.

Published works

* ''The Citizen and His Country'', 1958 *''Children's Rights in Israel'',1964 (Hebrew) *''The Arrangement - From a State of Law to a State of Religion, on Relations Between State and Religion'', 1970 (Hebrew) *''Women as Human Beings'', 1976 (Hebrew) *"Up the down escalator" in '' Sisterhood Is Global: The International Women's Movement Anthology'', ed.

Robin Morgan Robin Morgan (born January 29, 1941) is an American poet, writer, activist, journalist, lecturer and former child actor. Since the early 1960s, she has been a key radical feminist member of the American Women's Movement, and a leader in the ...

, 1984. *''Democracy in Shackles'' (''Demokratia be'azikim''), ''Am Oved'' *''Israel: Democracy or Ethnocracy?'' published in 2008

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aloni, Shulamit 1928 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Israeli lawyers 20th-century Israeli military personnel 20th-century Israeli women politicians Alignment (Israel) politicians Asian democratic socialists Hashomer Hatzair members Israel Prize for lifetime achievement & special contribution to society recipients Israel Prize women recipients Israeli activists Israeli female military personnel Israeli Jews Israeli Labor Party politicians Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Israeli prisoners of war Israeli schoolteachers Israeli women activists Israeli women lawyers Israeli women's rights activists Jewish Israeli politicians Jewish military personnel Jewish socialists Jewish women politicians Leaders of the Opposition (Israel) Members of the 6th Knesset (1965–1969) Members of the 8th Knesset (1974–1977) Members of the 9th Knesset (1977–1981) Members of the 10th Knesset (1981–1984) Members of the 11th Knesset (1984–1988) Members of the 12th Knesset (1988–1992) Members of the 13th Knesset (1992–1996) Meretz leaders Ministers of Communications of Israel Ministers of Culture of Israel Ministers of Education of Israel Palmach members Politicians from Tel Aviv Ratz (political party) politicians Women government ministers of Israel Women members of the Knesset Ya'ad – Civil Rights Movement politicians Zionists