Professor of English literature, educator, women's activism
Spouse
Moshe Shalvi
Children
6
Alice Shalvi (Hebrew: אליס שלוי; 16 October 1926 – 2 October 2023) was an Israeli professor and educator. She played a leading role in progressive Jewish education for girls and advancing the status of women.
Biography
Alice Hildegard Margulies (later Shalvi) was born in Essen, Germany, to an Orthodox Jewish family. Her parents, Benzion and Perl Margulies, were religious Zionists.[1] 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.[2] In London, Shalvi's father and brother imported watches and jewellery. When the Blitz began, they moved to Aylesbury, 50 kilometres north of London, and lived in a small house in Waddesdon, which was part of the estate of James Rothschild.
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).[4]
Moshe Shalvi died on 6 July 2013.[5] Alice Shalvi died on 2 October 2023, at the age of 96.[6]
Academic and public career
Shalvi headed the English literature departments at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. She was the founder of Pelech, an experimental school for religious girls that unconventionally taught Talmud[7] (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 (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, since army service plays a significant role in Israeli economic, political, and social life. In the 1990s she founded the International Coalition for Agunah Rights.[8] She also served as rector of the Schechter Institute for four years.[2] Shalvi also served as a member of the advisory board of the Remember the Women Institute[9] In 2018 she published a memoir entitled Never A Native.[10]
In 2000, Brown University awarded her a Doctor of Humane Letters.[12]
In 2007, she was awarded the Israel Prize for her lifetime achievement and special contribution to society and the State of Israel.[13]
In 2009, she was co-recipient (with Rabbi Arik Ascherman) of the Leibowitz Prize, named to commemorate Yeshayahu Leibowitz, presented by the Yesh Din human rights organisation for public activism in the spirit of Leibowitz's political and philosophical teaching.[14]
Shalvi was a member of the board of The Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information.[15]
^Wishlah, Charlotte. "Alice Hildegard Shalvi". Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. Jewish Women's Archive. Archived from the original on 16 July 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
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