Alice Shalvi (; 16 October 1926 – 2 October 2023) was an Israeli professor and educator. She played a leading role in progressive

Jewish education Jewish education (, ''Chinuch'') is the transmission of the tenets, principles, and religious laws of Judaism. Jews value education, and the value of education is strongly embedded in Jewish culture. Judaism places a heavy emphasis on Torah ...

for girls and advancing the status of women.

Biography

Alice Hildegard Margulies (later Shalvi) was born in

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

, Germany, to an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

family. Her parents, Benzion and Perl Margulies, were

religious Zionists Religious Zionism () is a religious denomination that views Zionism as a fundamental component of Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' (), and in Israel, they are most commonly known by the plural form of the fi ...

. Alice was the younger of two children. The family had a wholesale linen and housewares business. In 1933, soon after Hitler's rise to power in Germany, the family home was searched, prompting their move to London in May 1934.A soldier for sexual equality

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

In London, Shalvi's father and brother imported watches and jewellery. When the

Blitz Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to: Military uses *Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign *The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War *, several ships of the Prussian, Imperia ...

began, they moved to

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milt ...

, 50 kilometres north of London, and lived in a small house in

Waddesdon Waddesdon is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, west-north-west of Aylesbury on the A41 road. The village also includes the hamlets of Eythrope and Wormstone. Waddesdon was an agricultural settlement with milling, silk weaving and la ...

, which was part of the estate of

James Rothschild James Amschel Victor Rothschild (born 14 May 1985) is a British financier who is a birth member of both the Rothschild family's banking family of England and the Guinness family. In 2015, he married into the Hilton family, as the husband of the ...

. The family built a factory there for ammunition calibration devices that established them financially. In 1944, Shalvi studied

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. In 1946, she was sent to the 22nd Zionist Congress in Basel as a representative of British Jewish students. In 1949, after completing a degree in

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

, Shalvi

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

to Israel, settling in Jerusalem. She became a faculty member in the English department of the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

, and earned her PhD there in 1962. In May 1950 she met Moshe Shelkowitz (later Shalvi), a new immigrant from New York City, whom she married in October of that year. They had six children: Joel (b. 1952), Micha (b. 1954), Ditza (b. 1957), Hephzibah (b. 1960), Benzion (b. 1963) and Pnina (Perl, b. 1967). Moshe Shalvi died on 6 July 2013. Alice Shalvi died on 2 October 2023, at the age of 96.

Academic and public career

Shalvi headed the English literature departments at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) (, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public university, public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Named after Israeli List of national founders, national founder David Ben-Gurion, the unive ...

. She was the founder of Pelech, an experimental school for religious girls that unconventionally taught

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

(1975–1990), and of the Ohalim movement of neighbourhood associations (1973–1979); she was also founding director (later chairwoman) of the

Israel Women's Network Israel Women's Network (IWN; , ) is a feminist non-partisan civil society organization founded in Jerusalem in 1984. IWN's mission is to advance the status of women in Israel by promoting equality through a range of projects and methods. Backgr ...

(1984–2000). In this position, she was one of the most prominent feminist advocates in Israel, developing a program that covers most forms of discrimination and disadvantage faced by women in Israeli society. An important aim of her work was gaining acceptance of Israeli women's contributions in all sections and at all levels of the

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

, since army service plays a significant role in Israeli economic, political, and social life. In the 1990s she founded the International Coalition for

Agunah An aguna or agunah (, plural: , ''ʿaḡunoṯ'') is a Jewish woman who is stuck in her marriage as determined by traditional halakha (Jewish law). The classic case is a man who has left on a journey and has not returned or has gone into battle ...

Rights. She also served as rector of the Schechter Institute for four years. Shalvi also served as a member of the advisory board of the Remember the Women Institute In 2018 she published a memoir entitled ''Never A Native.''

Awards and recognition

* In 1989, Shalvi received the

Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award The Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award is an award made annually by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel to "an individual or NGO that has made a unique contribution to the advancement of human rights in Israel". The award was established in ...

, as founder of the Israel Women's Network. * In 2000, Brown University awarded her a Doctor of Humane Letters. * In 2007, she was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

for her lifetime achievement and special contribution to society and the State of Israel. * In 2009, she was co-recipient (with Rabbi Arik Ascherman) of the Leibowitz Prize, named to commemorate

Yeshayahu Leibowitz Yeshayahu Leibowitz (; 29 January 1903 – 18 August 1994) was an Israeli Orthodox Jewish public intellectual and polymath. He was a professor of biochemistry, organic chemistry, and neurophysiology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a ...

, presented by the

Yesh Din Yesh Din (; transcribed into ), full name Yesh Din: Volunteers for Human Rights, is an Israeli organization working in Israel and in the West Bank. The organization was founded in 2005 by a group of women who previously worked with the organizat ...

human rights organisation for public activism in the spirit of Leibowitz's political and philosophical teaching. * Shalvi was a member of the board of The Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information. *In 2017, she was honored with the Sylvan Adams

Nefesh B'Nefesh Nefesh B'Nefesh (), or Jewish Souls United, is a nonprofit organization that promotes, encourages, and facilitates aliyah (Jewish immigration to Israel) from the United States and Canada. The organization aims to remove or minimize the financia ...

Bonei Zion Prize The Sylvan Adams Bonei Zion Prize (; Translation: ''Builders of Zion Prize'') is awarded annually by the Nefesh B'Nefesh organization in recognition of the achievements of outstanding Anglo immigrants and their contribution to the State of Israel ...

Lifetime Achievement Award. *In 2018, she was awarded the National Jewish Book Award for Women's Studies for her book ''Never a Native''.

Published works

*''Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia'' * ''Studies in English language and literature'', 1966 * ''The relationship of Renaissance concepts of honour to Shakespeare's problem plays'', 1972 * ''Never a native'', 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shalvi, Alice 1926 births 2023 deaths Israeli Jews German emigrants to Israel Alumni of the University of Cambridge Alumni of the London School of Economics Academic staff of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Academic staff of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Israel Prize for lifetime achievement & special contribution to society recipients Israel Prize women recipients Israeli feminists Jewish feminists Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom People from Aylesbury Vale Bonei Zion Prize recipients

Biography

Academic and public career

Awards and recognition

Published works

See also

References