Army widows group shunned minorities — report

An organization of Israeli army widows blacklisted minorities, one member charged. Nava Shoham, a critic of the longtime leadership of the Israel Defense Forces’ Widows and Orphans group, uncovered a list of 600 blacklisted widows, Ha’aretz reported Friday. The list includes several critics of the leadership, but its bulk is comprised of Bedouin and Druse widows. Shoham says the list was compiled by Pnina Cohen, a former chairwoman of the group and one of its founding members, but Cohen denies there is any such blacklist. The groups helps widows obtain pensions and provides them with benefits, including discounted holidays. Shoham helped bring to light budget mismanagement at the organization.