Public representative Sheila Weinberg made history on Wednesday as the first transgender representative to be elected as a city council member in Israel, according to Israeli media.
Weinberg, 65, will be serving as a city council member in the town of Kiryat Tivon, southeast of Haifa. She is a mother of two and also a grandmother. She was born in Afula, and the original name her parents gave her was "Shlomo." She has a master's degree in the philosophy of history.
"I was labeled as a male," Walla quoted her as saying. "Women still have difficulties and for a transgender woman in general, the difficulties are double and multiplied."
נקודת ציון להט"בית היסטורית במדינת ישראל: לראשונה - נבחרת ציבור טרנסג'נדרית - שילה ויינברג תכהן כחברת מועצה בקרית טבעון@ittaishickצילום: כרמית שמחי רוקח pic.twitter.com/654GDgtJJQ
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Weinberg entering politics
She was chosen as a member of a liberal list of political parties such as Meretz, Yesh Atid, and other left-wing factions. Overall, the liberal bloc in Kiryat Tivon won five seats out of a total of 13, according to Mako.
"I entered politics on a Meretz ticket, but I always feel that I have to prove much more," she told Walla. "The message in the election was that I want an equal place at the decision-making table. All my life I have been involved in teaching and education. It is important to me to promote the issues of education in the settlement and the issue of young people and the gay community," she said in a conversation with Walla and added "I think that as a transgender woman, I put my foot in the door and opened it for other trans people.
"In the meantime, I promise that I will act not only for the community in Tivon but for the entire community in Israel and I will see that the glass ceiling can be broken not only here but everywhere."
Speaking to Mako, Weinberg said she didn't think her gender identity would help or hurt her in the election. "Tivon is an excellent example of a place where the gay community is included. Personally, I do not feel LGBT-phobia towards me and I am not aware of such cases at Tivon," she said at the time. "I'm coping. It's neither an asset nor a burden, it's who I am and that's it."