Rivka Ravitz
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Rivka Ravitz ( he, רבקה רביץ, born 1976) is an Israeli
Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...
political administrator. Since 1999, she has worked for Israeli politician
Reuven Rivlin Reuven "Ruvi" Rivlin ( he, רְאוּבֵן "רוּבִי" רִיבְלִין ; born 9 September 1939) is an Israeli politician and lawyer who served as the tenth president of Israel between 2014 and 2021. He is a member of the Likud party. Riv ...
, first as his bureau chief and campaign adviser, and, since his election as
President of Israel The president of the State of Israel ( he, נְשִׂיא מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Nesi Medinat Yisra'el, or he, נְשִׂיא הַמְדִינָה, Nesi HaMedina, President of the State) is the head of state of Israel. The posi ...
in 2014, as his chief of staff. She has received extensive media coverage for being a Haredi mother of 12 in a high-profile political position.


Early life and education

She was born in Israel in 1976 to American immigrant parents. She is the second of 10 siblings. She attended the
Beis Yaakov Bais Yaakov ( he, בית יעקב also Beis Yaakov, Beit Yaakov, Beth Jacob or Beys Yankev; lit., House fJacob) is a genericized name for full-time Haredi Jewish elementary and secondary schools for Jewish girls throughout the world. Bais Yaak ...
school system for elementary and high school, graduating with an English teaching certificate. Later, after several years of working for
Reuven Rivlin Reuven "Ruvi" Rivlin ( he, רְאוּבֵן "רוּבִי" רִיבְלִין ; born 9 September 1939) is an Israeli politician and lawyer who served as the tenth president of Israel between 2014 and 2021. He is a member of the Likud party. Riv ...
in the
Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
, she pursued a degree in
management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...
and
computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...
at the
Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel ( he, האוניברסיטה הפתוחה, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CH ...
. She then earned an
MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
at that institution, and, as of 2017, is working on a PhD in
public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...
at the
University of Haifa The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming Is ...
.


Career

After marrying at age 18, Ravitz began working part-time as a teacher. However, the pay was low – 700
shekels Shekel or sheqel ( akk, 𒅆𒅗𒇻 ''šiqlu'' or ''siqlu,'' he, שקל, plural he, שקלים or shekels, Phoenician: ) is an ancient Mesopotamian coin, usually of silver. A shekel was first a unit of weight—very roughly —and became c ...
per month – so when her father-in-law, Rabbi Avraham Ravitz, head of the Knesset Finance Committee, needed a parliamentary assistant, she applied for the job. Three years later, she was forced to leave Ravitz's employ due to a new law prohibiting government officials from hiring family members. She then began working as a parliamentary assistant to
Reuven Rivlin Reuven "Ruvi" Rivlin ( he, רְאוּבֵן "רוּבִי" רִיבְלִין ; born 9 September 1939) is an Israeli politician and lawyer who served as the tenth president of Israel between 2014 and 2021. He is a member of the Likud party. Riv ...
, another member of the Finance Committee, at a salary of 4,500 shekels per month. She went on to serve as his bureau chief, and managed many of his campaigns, including his successful campaigns for
Speaker of the Knesset The Speaker of the Knesset ( he, יוֹשֵׁב רֹאשׁ הכנסת, Yoshev Rosh HaKnesset, Chairman of the Knesset) is the presiding officer of the Knesset, the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Speaker also acts as Presiden ...
in 2003 and 2009, and his election as
President of Israel The president of the State of Israel ( he, נְשִׂיא מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Nesi Medinat Yisra'el, or he, נְשִׂיא הַמְדִינָה, Nesi HaMedina, President of the State) is the head of state of Israel. The posi ...
in 2014, whereupon she became his chief of staff. As chief of staff, Ravitz oversees Rivlin's entire staff, and schedules all his meetings and state visits, both in Israel and abroad. She also selects the gifts he gives on state visits. She oversees the hundreds of weekly letters issued from the president's office, including many that are translated into foreign languages. She accompanies Rivlin on most of his appearances at local events, as well as foreign visits to heads of state. Ravitz considers her high-profile position an opportunity to display her religious commitment and make a
Kiddush Hashem ''Kiddush HaShem'' ( he, קידוש השם "sanctification of the Name") is a precept of Judaism. In Rabbinic sources and modern parlance, it refers to private and communal conduct which reflect well, instead of poorly, on the Jewish people. Or ...
(sanctification of God's name). She wears modest clothing, and covers her hair with a
wig A wig is a head or hair accessory made from human hair, animal hair, or synthetic fiber. The word wig is short for periwig, which makes its earliest known appearance in the English language in William Shakespeare's ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona' ...
. She does not fraternize with male colleagues or participate in "staff-consolidation days", and refrains from shaking hands when greeting men, in keeping with
halakha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...
. During Rivlin's 2015 visit to the
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
, a photograph showing
Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
bowing to Ravitz while she remained erect led to media reports that the Haredi woman had refused to bow in greeting because Francis was wearing a
cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...
. Later news reports clarified that Ravitz had bowed to Francis first, in lieu of shaking hands, and he had responded with his own bow, having been informed beforehand of her religious sensitivities. In 2023, she clarified the story, saying the ambassador had forgotten to tell the Pope's office beforehand and indeed, the Pope had bowed to her. Traveling with the president, she observes the laws of
Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
and
kashrut (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
as well. During Rivlin's visit to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
towards the end of his term, President Biden kneeled before Ravitz upon hearing that she is a mother of 12 children.


Personal life

She married at the age of 18 to Yitzhak Ravitz, who, between 2014 and 2018 served as deputy mayor of
Beitar Illit Beitar Illit ( he, בֵּיתָר עִלִּית; officially Betar Illit; "Illit" is pronounced "ee-leet"; ar, بيتار عيليت) is an Haredi Jewish- Israeli settlement organized as a city council in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, sou ...
. The family moved in late 2018 to
Kiryat Ye'arim ( he, קִרְיַת יְעָרִים), also known as Telz-Stone, is an strictly Orthodox town in the Jerusalem District of Israel. It is located in the approximate area of an ancient place mentioned in the Bible, from which it takes its name. ...
(Telz-Stone), where her husband was
elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...
to the local council; in January 2019 he was elected as mayor in special elections held after the sudden death of the previous mayor. The couple has nine daughters and two sons. At home, Ravitz manages without a live-in housekeeper, but has cleaning help a few hours a week. She prepares meals the night before, and relies on her children to put away their own laundry. She receives time off from work on Fridays,
Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
, and
Jewish holidays Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...
. Despite her non-traditional career path for a Haredi woman, she and her husband maintain a strong religious home. They do not have internet access in the house, nor bring in any newspapers, secular or religious.


References


External links


“The Many Roles of Rivka Ravitz” (video)
i24news, April 21, 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ravitz, Rivka 1976 births Living people 21st-century Israeli women politicians Israeli Orthodox Jews Open University of Israel alumni Israeli people of American-Jewish descent People from Beitar Illit