Jerusalem deputy mayor forms political party led by women

JERUSALEM—Ometz Lev, a new movement in Israel launched and headed by current Deputy Mayor Naomi Tsur, is a political initiative led by the women of Jerusalem. The party will participate in the upcoming Jerusalem municipal elections on Oct. 22, vying for seats on the city council. According to recent estimates, Ometz Lev is geared to win four mandates on the 31-seat city council.

Tsur and her fellow party members are leading a revolutionary movement for the championing of female leadership in a city that has gained a reputation for the exclusion of women. “Our uniqueness is not that we are a party with a women’s agenda, but rather, we are a group of women leaders who will serve all the people of this great city. Our diverse members have incredible records of pushing the bounds, and we are thrilled to bring our collective experience together for the sake of Jerusalem,” said Tsur.

The Ometz Lev party list’s top 10 members, eight of whom are women, come from across Israel’s wide religious and cultural divides. Alongside Naomi Tsur, an environmental leader and Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem since 2008, party members include Massada Porat, the first ultra- orthodox woman to ever run for city council; Yaffa Sahalo, the first Ethiopian woman to be realistically placed on a list running for the city council; Susan Silverman, a Reform rabbi and progressive local leader; and Yossi “Captain Sunshine” Abramowitz, one of the world’s leading solar innovators.

Ometz Lev’s platform sets four primary goals for the City of Jerusalem:

• Female leadership—increase representation of women in leadership roles, to properly reflect female population percentage.

• Government transparency and public participation—maintain openness of municipal committees to all residents and engage public in policy planning.

• Environmental responsibility and sustainability—help create and sustain local green jobs, green small businesses and green industries—including ecotourism initiatives. Secular-religious cooperation—promote understanding and collaboration among local religious and secular communities.

Ometz Lev aims to serve as a positive example of female leadership for the entire State of Israel, and the wider Middle East, a region notorious for gender inequality and abuse against women. “Women constitute half of the population and should be so represented in leadership positions. We call on Jerusalem voters to take pride in this revolution and to join it. We are geared to win four seats, but with growing local enthusiasm and nationwide backing, we are ready to surprise,” added Tsur.