ALIZA LAVIE
A WOMAN’S WORK
WIFE, MOTHER, PARLIAMENTARIAN, AUTHOR, JEW
- DR ALIZA LAVIE IS DOING IT ALL
TRACY ESSERS
was chosen. These practical changes, that create a more
open and equal community, are the types of initiatives
that I will continue to put forward in the Knesset.
Q: What are you most proud of?
I believe my greatest accomplishment so far has been
finding the right combination of career and family life. It
is a process to be able to find that balance.
Q: What are you grateful for?
I am thankful to be in a position that allows me to solve
problems. The most rewarding part of my job is knowing
that I helped even just one person.
BORN:
Kfar Saba, Israel
Educated: Bar-Ilan High School, Netanya as well as
Bnei Akiva youth movement.
National Service: Served in the IDF as a social worker.
Marital Status: Married to attorney Zuriel Lavie
Children: Four
City of residence: Netanya
Occupation: Teacher at Bar-Ilan University on Gender
and Mass Communication
Interesting Fact: Following their marriage in 1987, the
Lavies went on shlichut to Durban, South Africa on
behalf of Bnei Akiva.
Q: What made you decide to go into politics?
I have been a social activist for a long time. I felt that in
order to bring about the change I wanted, I had to do so
from a position that would allow it. That meant entering
the political arena.
Q: What’s changed about Israeli politics lately?
Israeli politics has become a lot more accessible in the
past years. With better technology and social media, the
public has more access to their government than ever
before. I think the Knesset has done a good job of opening
up meetings and committees to the public by inviting
people to participate, and by making resources available
online.
Q: What was the first bill you introduced?
The first bill that I brought about required that the
committee choosing the rabbinic councils for the state
include at least four women. This legislation thankfully
passed and a new committee, including four women,
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Q: What was your goal when writing A Jewish Woman’s
Prayer Book?
My goal with this book was to collect my research
together and provide the knowledge I had gained to
women and men around the Jewish community. I hoped
this book would show them a roadmap of how women
have continuously connected to their faith.
Q: How did the book come about?
It came to me as a series of answers that I was
looking for. I had a lot of questions about my own
personal standing as a Jewish woman in Israel, and how
we as women preserve our Judaism. I looked to the past
for answers about women creating their own prayers
and their own Judaism, even when they were not taught
Hebrew or active in the religious circle. My research
brought me to various prayers written by women with
unbelievable honesty in their own languages.
Q: What are the challenges facing religious women today?
Being modern and Orthodox and a woman present
inherent conflicts. The challenge is in finding the
balance between them.
Q: What’s your key to success?
I believe that a successful life comes from being able to find
a balance between opportunities and abilities. Anyone that
understands their strengths and uses them to their best
advantage can be a role model of success for others.
Q: What do you hope to achieve as a religious woman
in politics?
As a religious woman in politics, I hope to focus on what
is broken in the realm of religion and state. I think we
need to strengthen the unity of the Jewish people and
develop an understanding and respect among people of
all different religious beliefs. ■