Marcia Freedman, First American Woman in Knesset, Dies at 83

Marcia Freedman, who was the archetypal American-born pistillate to service successful the Israeli Parliament, known arsenic the Knesset, and who helped pb the feminist question successful Israel successful the 1970s, died connected Sept. 21 astatine her location successful South Berkeley, Calif. She was 83.

She had been diagnosed with renal and bosom disease, her daughter, Jennifer Freedman, said successful confirming the death.

Ms. Freedman, who was calved successful New Jersey, had been pursuing her doctorate successful doctrine astatine Stanford when, successful 1967, she received an connection to walk a twelvemonth successful Israel teaching astatine Haifa University. She became portion of Israel’s nascent feminist question and ended up staying 14 years, though she returned often aft that for extended periods.

As an progressive feminist, Ms. Freedman caught the attraction of Shulamit Aloni, a left-wing champion of civilian liberties, and her Ratz party, known arsenic the Civil Rights Movement. Ms. Aloni asked Ms. Freedman to articulation her party’s slate, and successful 1973 the enactment won 3 seats, 1 of which went to Ms. Freedman.

She served done 1977. In summation to being the archetypal American-born pistillate successful the Knesset, she was the archetypal and lone unfastened lesbian ever to person served there, according to The Times of Israel.

Ms. Freedman made her sanction by raising issues that had been emerging among feminists successful the United States but that were seldom discussed publically successful Israel, among them home violence, bosom cancer, rape, incest and teenage prostitution.

As a extremist cheery feminist successful a historically patriarchal country, she was nether changeless disapproval and was often dismissed by her colleagues. Some suggested that determination was nary specified happening arsenic home violence, though plentifulness of women showed up astatine the structure for battered women that she helped unfastened successful Haifa successful 1977 — the archetypal successful Israel.

After she introduced authorities to overhaul Israel’s restrictive termination law, a gynecologist threw a pitcher of h2o astatine her, including the pitcher itself, during a doctors’ normal successful Tel Aviv. In starring a protestation against the doctors, she said they opposed the liberalization of termination laws and astatine the aforesaid clip profited from performing amerciable abortions.

The attacks against her escalated arsenic she became an outspoken proponent of Palestinian autonomy. She was an aboriginal champion of the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“She was this small woman” — nary much than 4 feet, 8 inches gangly — “and she would basal up successful the Knesset and accidental this stuff, and they conscionable ripped her apart,” Terry Greenblatt, a longtime person from Israel, said successful a telephone interview. “They called her brainsick and a pervert, and they said she was a traitor against the Jewish people.”

But, Ms. Greenblatt said, “there are present 2 generations of Israelis who look up to her, who see her a pioneer and cognize however courageous she was successful her time.”

Marcia Judith Prince was calved connected May 17, 1938, successful Newark and grew up successful West Orange, N.J. Her mother, Anne (Silver) Prince, was a homemaker. Her father, Phillip, was a national organizer.

Describing her leftist upbringing for her 50th people reunion astatine Bennington College successful Vermont, Ms. Freedman called herself “a pinkish diaper babe of the little mediate people successful Newark.” She added: “My begetter was a fellow-traveling labour person during the 1930s and ’40s, a self-taught immigrant. From him I learned not lone values and governmental acumen, but besides the worth of questioning received wisdom.”

She accompanied her begetter connected immoderate of his national organizing assignments.

“She learned arsenic a kid that the enactment for societal justness is 1 leaflet astatine a time, 1 gathering astatine a time, and that it’s connected that micro level wherever things happen,” Nan Gefen, different longtime friend, said successful a telephone interview. “She learned from her begetter that this is who you are and what you bash successful this world.”

Ms. Freedman had started assemblage astatine Rutgers University earlier transferring to Bennington, wherever she majored successful English and graduated successful 1960. She aboriginal earned a master’s grade successful doctrine from Brooklyn College.

She and Bill Freedman, whom she knew successful precocious school, were joined successful 1961. In summation to their daughter, Ms. Freedman is survived by a granddaughter and a brother, Carl Prince.

Her memoir, “Exile successful the Promised Land” (1990), recounts her experiences successful Israel, some the governmental and the personal, including the extremity of her matrimony to Mr. Freedman successful 1975.

Starting successful the aboriginal 1980s, Ms. Freedman divided her clip betwixt Israel and the San Francisco Bay Area.

In the United States, she was the founding president of Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, besides known arsenic the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace, established successful 2002. It organized American Jews connected behalf of a two-state negotiated Israeli-Palestinian bid and successful 2010 merged with the advocacy radical J Street, which has carried connected that mission.

As she had successful Israel, Ms. Freedman devoted overmuch of her clip successful the Bay Area to organizing groups to combat for peace, cheery rights and women’s rights. In her aboriginal years she sought to amended the lives of women arsenic they aged. She was an aboriginal subordinate of Ashby Village, a nonprofit enactment that helps enactment older radical who privation to enactment successful their ain homes and neighborhoods — a extremity with which she could sympathize.

As she wrote astatine property 72 successful her notes for her Bennington reunion, “I person go thing of a gym rat successful bid to beryllium beardown capable to withstand arsenic champion I tin the rigors of aging.”