The Blogs: Farewell to the True Feminist

So now that the elections are done – here is my swan song for the 20^Th Knesset elections

If there is one MK I will shed tears that is not in the current Knesset, it would not be Shaul Mofaz who was a distinguished Chief of Staff or Zahava Galon who represents Meretz with undue integrity, nor Baruch Marzel and Itamar Ben Gvir who are constantly pulling the right.

I will shed tears for the biggest feminist that ever stood in the Knesset – Orit Struk

Struk suffered the wrath of the left at every turn, whether it was making fun of her tichel (head-cover) or branding her “extremist” due to where she lives or the snide remarks of her being the Matriarch of a large family (11 children) or her dedication to the defense of the Jewish People and her willingness to not only “talk the talk” but also put herself on the front-lines of the battle for continuing to bear presence in the oldest piece of land ever owned by a Jew.

She answered the public outcry over the lack of Human Rights oversight that exists in Judea and Samaria, bringing her to form an organization dedicated to defending the civil rights of ALL people regardless of them being Arab or not.

I was privileged to see her sitting in the Knesset Lunchroom on a regular basis – The regular one, not the VIP Lunchroom, something which can always tell you a bit about a person. She constantly held meetings there for the benefit of all that approached her. It should be noted that even though she was an MK she frequented the Egged bus line #160 from Hevron to Jerusalem on her days to the Knesset.

As opposed to other MKs who at times seemed to have very little understanding of what it meant to have a clear agenda for fear of their Party leaders (Yesh Atid is a prime example of such behavior). Struk fought to provide equal rights to women in the workplace in Judea and Samaria, laws that were opposed by Tzippi Livni and Yesh Atid for fear of the ramifications of imposing an equal rights Israeli law within that area.

She did not push herself into the media as most MKs do, she just did what she thought needed to be done.

In my humble opinion great feminists are not those who spout an agenda of what all women should do, rather those women who do what they want to do, not what “society” thinks they should do, whether it means staying at home and raising 11 children or building their career, or sometimes – both.

Orit Struk pushed for the rights of those who were oppressed and weak throughout her short term of less than 2 years. Knowing all she did before she was elected, I have no doubt she will continue her work from outside as well as inside the Knesset in the years to come.