GOVERNMENT

Rivka Ravitz

Chief of staff

The chief of staff of former Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, Rivka Ravitz literally brought US President Joe Biden to his knees during a White House visit in July 2021. On discovering that Ravitz is the mother of 12 children in addition to her demanding public role, the US leader sank to one knee in respect, before telling her: “I have a picture of my mother here, you have to see who she was!” A leading voice in Israel’s haredi community, Ravitz was the subject of an extensive Foreign Policy magazine feature in July which explored whether she might “break the glass ceiling of ultra-Orthodox politics in Israel.” “The Haredi politicians say it’s religious law that women cannot be Knesset members. But I think they’re just afraid,” she told the magazine. “They’re afraid that we’ll take their places.” (Photo: Haim Zach / GPO)