Pregnant Edgware woman took on the Israeli government and won
Batya Tenenbaum successfully challenged a decision preventing her mother from entering Israel to be at birth of her first child
Jenni Frazer is a freelance journalist
She’s due to give birth in the next few days — and Batya Tenenbaum has won a battle with the Israeli government so that her mother, Shulamis Levy, can travel from Edgware to be with her.
Batya, who lives in Harish in northern Israel, near Pardes Hanna, told Jewish News that her parents, Shulamis and Daniel, were hoping to be in Israel for the birth of her first child.
But last week, with the discovery of the new Covid virus variant, Omicron, Israel shut its borders to all incomers. The restrictions, however, did not apply to the Miss Universe contestants who were arriving in Israel for the contest in Eilat.
With the aid of former MK Dov Lipman, Batya — who has not seen her parents for more than two years — began campaigning, taking her complaint to the media and appearing on TV and in the Israel press.
She said that exceptions were immediately made for first degree relatives to enter Israel, but only for those attending bar or batmitzvahs, or weddings.
“There were no exceptions for people needing to attend funerals, or to see ‘lone soldiers’ — or people like me, who are pregnant and who were alone in Israel and wanted their mothers to be with them”.
Each group lobbied the government for an exception in their case — and on Monday the Interior Minister, Ayelet Shaked, changed the rules relating to pregnant women and their mothers who were outside the country.
Batya said: “Now my parents have to get a permit. My husband’s family is in Chicago and they were also stuck”. She has worked in the procurement team in Teva, the multinational pharmaceutical company, throughout the pandemic — and now is greatly looking forward to welcoming both her parents and her new baby.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
