A moderate religious party called Meimad was formally established here Wednesday. Its stated purpose is to combat extremist trends in the religious community, which the founders fear could jeopardize the Jewish character of Israel.
The party may break with the tradition of all other religious political factions, by including a woman on its list of Knesset candidates in the November elections.
The woman under consideration is Tova Lichtenstein, adviser to the minister of religion on the status of women. She is also a senior lecturer in social work at Bar-Ilan University.
The Meimad party is headed by Rabbi Yehuda Amital, principal of the prestigious Har Etzion yeshiva. His co-principal, Rabbi Aaron Lichtenstein, is the husband of Tova Lichtenstein.
The new party has yet to draw up its election list. Amital confirmed Thursday that he doesn’t intend to run for election to the Knesset himself.
“I am not cut out for it,” he told the army radio in an interview.
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