Tova Sanhadray
Encyclopedia
Tova Sanhedrai was an Israel
i politician who served as a member of the Knesset
for the National Religious Party
between 1959 and 1974.
in Galicia in the Austro-Hungarian Empire (today in Ukraine
), Sanhedrai became involved in Mizrachi
and Hapoel HaMizrachi
during her twenties, and helped establish Bnot Mizrachi. She also taught Hebrew.
She made aliyah
from Poland to Mandate Palestine in 1934 and initially lived in Tel Aviv
. In 1935 she helped estalish the Hapoel HaMizrachi Women Workers organisation, and the following year was elected its secretary general, heading the movement for the next fifty years. In the same year she married Rabbi Yisrael Sanhedrai. After his death in 1966, she later married Rabbi Kalman Goldreich.
Prior to the 1949 Knesset elections
, the ultra-Orthodox parties, Agudat Yisrael and Poalei Agudat Yisrael formed an alliance (named the United Religious Front
) with Mizrachi and Hapoel HaMizrachi, with the condition that no women would be on the alliance's list. In protest, Sanhedrai formed a new list, Working and Religious Women, which ran in the election. However, it won only 0.6% of the vote, failing to cross the 1% electoral threshold.
In elections in 1951
and 1955
Sanhedrai was given an unrealistic place on the Hapoel HaMizrachi and National Religious Party (NRP) lists. However, she entered the Knesset after the 1959 elections
, becoming the first woman to represent the NRP. She was re-elected in 1961
, 1965
and 1969
. In 1963 she was appointed Deputy Speaker, a role she retained until she lost her seat in the 1973 elections
.
She died in 1993 at the age of 86.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i politician who served as a member of the Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
for the National Religious Party
National Religious Party
The National Religious Party ) was a political party in Israel representing the religious Zionist movement. Formed in 1956, at the time of its dissolution in 2008, it was the second oldest surviving party in the country after Agudat Yisrael, and was part of every government coalition until 1992...
between 1959 and 1974.
Biography
Born in TernopilTernopil
Ternopil , is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical region of Galicia...
in Galicia in the Austro-Hungarian Empire (today in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
), Sanhedrai became involved in Mizrachi
Mizrachi (Religious Zionism)
The Mizrachi is the name of the religious Zionist organization founded in 1902 in Vilnius at a world conference of religious Zionists called by Rabbi Yitzchak Yaacov Reines. Bnei Akiva, which was founded in 1929, is the youth movement associated with Mizrachi...
and Hapoel HaMizrachi
Hapoel HaMizrachi
Hapoel HaMizrachi |Mizrachi]] Workers) was a political party and settlement movement in Israel and is one of the predecessors of the National Religious Party.-History:...
during her twenties, and helped establish Bnot Mizrachi. She also taught Hebrew.
She made aliyah
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
from Poland to Mandate Palestine in 1934 and initially lived in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
. In 1935 she helped estalish the Hapoel HaMizrachi Women Workers organisation, and the following year was elected its secretary general, heading the movement for the next fifty years. In the same year she married Rabbi Yisrael Sanhedrai. After his death in 1966, she later married Rabbi Kalman Goldreich.
Prior to the 1949 Knesset elections
Israeli legislative election, 1949
Elections for the Constituent Assembly were held in newly independent Israel on 25 January 1949. Voter turnout was 86.9%. Two days after its first meeting on 14 February 1949, legislators voted to change the name of the body to the Knesset...
, the ultra-Orthodox parties, Agudat Yisrael and Poalei Agudat Yisrael formed an alliance (named the United Religious Front
United Religious Front
The United Religious Front was a political alliance of the four major religious parties in Israel, as well as the Union of Religious Independents, formed to fight the 1949 elections.-History:...
) with Mizrachi and Hapoel HaMizrachi, with the condition that no women would be on the alliance's list. In protest, Sanhedrai formed a new list, Working and Religious Women, which ran in the election. However, it won only 0.6% of the vote, failing to cross the 1% electoral threshold.
In elections in 1951
Israeli legislative election, 1951
Elections for the second Knesset were held in Israel on 30 July 1951. Voter turnout was 75.1%.-Results:¹ Rostam Bastuni, Avraham Berman and Moshe Sneh left Mapam and set up the Left Faction. Bastuni later returned to Mapam whilst Berman and Sneh joined Maki. Hannah Lamdan and David Livschitz left...
and 1955
Israeli legislative election, 1955
Elections for the third Knesset were held in Israel on 26 July 1955. Voter turnout was 82.8%.-Results:Mapai retained its plurality in the Knesset, although its share of the vote dropped by 5.1 and its share of seats dropped from 47 to 40...
Sanhedrai was given an unrealistic place on the Hapoel HaMizrachi and National Religious Party (NRP) lists. However, she entered the Knesset after the 1959 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1959
Elections for the fourth Knesset were held in Israel on 3 November 1959. Voter turnout was 81.5%.-Results:¹ The General Zionists and the Progressive Party merged to form the Liberal Party....
, becoming the first woman to represent the NRP. She was re-elected in 1961
Israeli legislative election, 1961
Elections for the fifth Knesset were held in Israel on 15 August 1961. Voter turnout was 81.6%.-Results:¹ Eight MKs broke away from Mapai to establish Rafi² Herut and the Liberal Party merged to form Gahal...
, 1965
Israeli legislative election, 1965
Elections for the sixth Knesset were held in Israel on 1 November 1965. Voter turnout was 85.9%.-Background:Prior to the elections, two major alliances were formed; Mapai and Ahdut HaAvoda united to form the Alignment, whilst Herut and the Liberal Party had formed the Gahal alliance towards the end...
and 1969
Israeli legislative election, 1969
Elections for the seventh Knesset were held in Israel on 28 October 1969. Voter turnout was 81.7%.-Results:¹ Meir Avizohar defected from the National List to the Alignment² Avner Shaki left the National Religious Party and remained a single MK...
. In 1963 she was appointed Deputy Speaker, a role she retained until she lost her seat in the 1973 elections
Israeli legislative election, 1973
The Elections for the eighth Knesset were held on 31 December 1973. Voter turnout was 78.6%.-Results:1 Aryeh Eliav left the Alignment and merged with Ratz to form Ya'ad - Civil Rights Movement...
.
She died in 1993 at the age of 86.