Shulamit Aloni | Israeli lawmaker, 85
Shulamit Aloni, 85, an Israeli legislator who championed civil rights and was fiercely critical of Israel's treatment of Palestinians, died Jan. 24. Meretz, the party she helped found and led, announced her death on its website without stating a cause of death.
Shulamit Aloni, 85, an Israeli legislator who championed civil rights and was fiercely critical of Israel's treatment of Palestinians, died Jan. 24. Meretz, the party she helped found and led, announced her death on its website without stating a cause of death.
Ms. Aloni was born in Tel Aviv and fought in the 1948 war that led to Israel's creation. First elected to Israel's parliament, the Knesset, in 1965, she served for 28 years and held a number of cabinet posts.
An audacious speaker and one of the few women to openly challenge the nation's rabbis, she fought for civil liberties, women's rights, and a separation of church and state. Her boisterous crusade for secular rights was perceived as offensive by some ultra-Orthodox.
Ms. Aloni was recognized for her devotion to civil liberties in 2000, when she was awarded the Israel Prize, the country's highest distinction. - AP