Sherry Roth is my 'boss'.
In other words, she is the publisher of the Haredim 10 website, which I co-founded, sometime in 2014.
So how, Eshael, am I allowed, on an ethical level, to crown this journalist as one of the most influential ultra-Orthodox media figures in Israel?
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Because she's my boss. Because she's the publisher of 'Haredim 10'.
Exactly because of that.
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Sherry Roth began her journalistic career at 'Bekhila' - under the pen name 'Sara Gal'. Gal is probably short for Galai - and if this name is familiar to you - it's only because you know her uncle, the eminent tzaddik Rabbi Shimon Galai, and her mother, the veteran writer Rivka Galai.
Roth, a teacher at Beit Yaakov and a computer scientist, advanced in the intra-Haredi media field, until her big leap on the website 'Behadrei Haredim' - the first Haredi website that changed the face of the Haredi media map. This media earthquake, by the way, is responsible for her husband, editor and author David Rothenberg.
In "Behadrei Haredim" Roth became a political correspondent. The historiography of the Haredi press did not recognize, or rather did not allow, a woman to stand out in the political field. The rationale for this was probably clear: the Haredi political world is clearly dominated by men, and a woman - no matter how intelligent she may be - does not seem to have the ability to participate.
But Shrot is made of a different material. She voiced her opinion in a clear voice, analyzed political moves, and most importantly, she was not afraid to criticize even senior Haredi politicians. She rebuked Deri, and was not afraid to describe in detail the rivalry between the rabbinical courts within the "Torah Flag.".
The strange, not to say almost bizarre fact - in Haredi terms - that a woman demonstrates knowledge, understanding, and opinion in the face of male 'sharks' has made the Haredi commentator a sought-after interviewee on major media channels in Israel.
Besides appearances in television and radio studios, writing columns for media outlets, and maintaining accounts with tens of thousands of followers on social media - which probably led to her choice
As one of The Marker's 100 most influential people, in 2021, she was also appointed a member of the Press Council's plenary session, and was a member of the 'Shaming Committee' headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Edna Arbel.
Quite a few years have passed since then, and the Haredi street has gotten used to Roth. No one raised an eyebrow when she became the publisher of the Haredim 10 news website - the only publisher in the Haredi media world.
So it's true, she's a woman, a Haredi, the Haredim tell themselves (perhaps even secular ones who haven't gotten used to it yet), but she's probably good at what she does.
Roth's columns often deal with the 'subtext' of political events. Events that were not published, but their influence on what was happening was decisive. Thus, a light confrontation between Gafni and Deri, for that matter, is revealed in Roth's column as a passionate struggle on the part of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, between Agudat Yisrael and Del HaTorah, a drama is unfolding that no one recognized, and in front of the astonished face of the secular journalist, she is not afraid to state that she is proud that her children, who spent their years in Lithuanian yeshivahs, are still studying as rabbis. The great innovation is in exposing the unfamiliar events, which, upon their disclosure, are suddenly perceived as completely trivial: "How did we not see this?"
I, too, a journalist for quite a few years in many media outlets, am no longer surprised when members of the community approach me on Shabbat with the usual (and, I must say, oppressive) question: "What does Shari Roth say? Does Netanyahu have a chance? Did you speak to the administration?" And the Gabbai (with a wink that is understood 'apparently' only to me): "Do you think Deri is finished? Have you heard anything from her?"
But the members of my humble community are not the only ones who direct these questions to Roth. As mentioned, she was a regular guest on current affairs programs on TV channels 12, 13, 20, Knesset Channel, Galei Tzahal, Reshet B, and more. The image of a Haredi woman in a wig and modest clothing offers a wide-ranging interpretation in the television studios, becoming natural in many homes in Israel.
And so, if I go back to the beginning - Roth was a pioneer.
Haredi female journalists are a sought-after commodity. Haredi female political journalists are a rare commodity. Fearless Haredi female political journalists were seemingly a utopian commodity.
This reality has hopefully changed.
