The Meretz Party’s campaign advertisements should not use a picture of Naama Margolese, the girl who became the symbol of the fight against haredi extremists in Beit Shemesh, her mother, Hadassa, wrote the Central Elections Committee on Friday.
Margolese became a household name in Israel after she complained about haredim spitting on her as she made her way to the Bnot Orot School in Beit Shemesh in 2011.
“We were surprised and unhappy to see that her picture was used,” Hadassa Margolese said. “I don’t want my daughter in any political ad. She became a symbol but she is still a child and she doesn’t want to be a part of anything like this anymore. My daughter is off-limits.”
“For another party I am not supporting to use my daughter’s pic to gain support is absolutely wrong,” she said.
Margolese has decided to back the Likud Beitenu for ideological reasons, but she expressed hope that the party would do more in the next government to fight discrimination against women.
