Negative momentum mounts at Mizrachi
Published in The Australian Jewish News
December 24, 2020
An outpouring of disappointment and disdain has grown towards the Mizrachi Organisation following a decision to dump the only woman who sits on its executive in a secret ballot held late last month.
In 2019, longstanding Mizrachi member Keren Zelwer put herself forward to join the executive, acquiescing to a request that she be co-opted rather than contest a standing member. One year later, a secret ballot determining whether she would again be co-opted was organised unbeknown to her, ultimately resulting in her not being re-appointed.
In an email sent to the Mizrachi committee following the ballot, immediate past chair of Leibler Yavneh College and former Mizrachi executive member Avi Gilboa lambasted the executive for not only humiliating Zelwer, but “muffling any prospect of a sole female voice”.