Voters across Israel choose new mayors and city councilors in local elections Tuesday. In one small town, a handful of ultra-Orthodox Jewish women are defying the norms of their community by running for office.
On a recent day, children mob two women in skirts, stockings and purple T-shirts in a neighborhood park in El'ad, or Forever God. The women are candidates for town council. As part of their get-the-word-out campaign, they're blowing up balloons for kids.
"I've been thinking about this for a year. I think it's crucial that women be represented on the town council," Michal Chernovitsky, the 33-year-old leader of the five female candidates running. "Because there are just men now, a lot of issues get lost."
Their slogan is "Mothers for El'ad." The town is young, just 13 years old. It was built specifically as a strict religious community, and the town spends extra money on synagogues and other religious institutions. No one is allowed to drive here on the Sabbath, and few residents have TV or the Internet.
We invite our users to read the complete article published October 22 2013
Voters across Israel choose new mayors and city councilors in local elections Tuesday. In one small town, a handful of ultra-Orthodox Jewish women are defying the norms of their community by running for office.
On a recent day, children mob two women in skirts, stockings and purple T-shirts in a neighborhood park in El'ad, or Forever God. The women are candidates for town council. As part of their get-the-word-out campaign, they're blowing up balloons for kids.
"I've been thinking about this for a year. I think it's crucial that women be represented on the town council," Michal Chernovitsky, the 33-year-old leader of the five female candidates running. "Because there are just men now, a lot of issues get lost."
Their slogan is "Mothers for El'ad." The town is young, just 13 years old. It was built specifically as a strict religious community, and the town spends extra money on synagogues and other religious institutions. No one is allowed to drive here on the Sabbath, and few residents have TV or the Internet.
We invite our users to read the complete article published October 22 2013