A faction that campaigned for full rights for women in Jewish communal affairs emerged the winner in the quadrennial elections of the Amsterdam Ashkenazic Community Council held here yesterday.
There were 83 candidates representing four electoral lists competing for the 30 seats on the Council. The Democratic Progressive list, headed by Hans Evers, polled 1,981 of the 3,000 votes cast to win 13 seats. The three other factions won eight, five and four seats respectively.
Evers’ campaign on behalf of women’s rights in both voting and running the community was considered the decisive factor in the Democratic Progressive victory. His wife, Bloeme Evers, chairperson of Deborah, a Jewish women’s organization, has been advocating a greater role for women for years.
The Amsterdam Ashkenazic Community Council is the only Jewish community in Holland that elects its members by democratic ballot. It also appoints most of the members of The Netherlands National Ashkenazic Council. Most of the candidates in yesterday’s elections were people born after World War II.
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