Last update - 00:00 30/03/2007
IDF widows' organization blacklisted minority members
By Guy Leshem, Haaretz Correspondent
Batya Oved of Kfar Sava, an Israel Defense Forces widow since 1978 and currently unemployed, was considered a known critic of Pnina Cohen, former chairwoman of the IDF Widows and Orphans organization.
After not receiving a voting slip for the internal elections for the organization's chair, she found out several of her friends had not received it either. Haaretz has learned they had been blacklisted along with some other 600 widows, most of whom hail from the Bedouin and Druze minorities. The blacklisted widows were not invited to events held by the organization, and excluded from receiving some benefits, according to a document obtained by Haaretz.
The document, in which the names of blacklisted widows are distinctly marked, was exposed by Nava Shoham, an activist for the right of IDF widows. It was prepared by former Chairwoman Pnina Cohen, who had recently been replaced. Cohen denies that such a document exists.
The 600 blacklisted women did not receive any correspondence from the organization, informing them of various benefits and grants afforded to IDF widows. 'We did not receive invitations to vacations and activities over several years,' says Oved. 'These get-togethers are our social circle and our support group. The women marked as Cohen's detractors were barred, as though the activities of the organization were some sort of private enterprise,' she accuses.
Shoham, who exposed the affair, has been involved in a harsh dispute that has developed over the last two years between with the top activists. The dispute began with claims of financial irregularities under Pnina Cohen, who had been one of the founding members of the organization.
Shoham accused Cohen of abusing her position to take over the organization and its budget, which is funded by the treasury and membership fees collected from the members. The state comptroller's last report also found the organization's finances had been mismanaged.
Cohen responded to the allegation yesterday by saying they were 'baseless fibs,' and said the allegation was an attempt to keep her from being re-elected as chairwoman.