Ravid Edri Leaves Left-Wing Politics Citing Loss of Tradition and Rising Polarization

Ravid Edri, a staff member of Channel 13's program "HaTzinor," views journalism not just as a profession but as a tool for social change. In episode six of the "Off the Record" podcast on Srugim, she recounted her journey from social activism to journalism. Edri was active in various causes, including disability rights and women's rights, which exposed her to the media before she became a journalist. She realized the power of the press to influence lawmakers and advance social issues.

Edri's background includes special education, advertising, and working in the office of former Knesset member Stav Shaffir. Her experience with social campaigns and civil rights led her to take a more direct role in media, including investigative work such as exposing the case of gynecologist Dr. Guy Rofe. She worked at Democrat TV alongside Lucy Aharish, then at Channel 13 with Omri Yardeni, Raviv Drucker, and Ayala Hasson, and later with Natali Sham Tov during wartime, before joining "HaTzinor" with Guy Lerer.

Describing "HaTzinor" as a socially driven program aimed at change, Edri appreciates its platform for highlighting problems and helping people. Politically, she has shifted away from the left, having once identified with the Labor Party. Raised in a religious-Zionist home in Netanya, she feels the left has lost its way, especially regarding tradition and religion in public life. She criticized recent political debates that marginalized traditional religious practices, such as mikvahs and tefillin, and condemned what she sees as hypocrisy in liberalism that excludes religious sectors.

Edri maintains support for separation of religion and state but distinguishes this from a religious state. She noted that since the October 7 attacks, many Israelis have grown stronger in their faith and identity. She rejects efforts to exclude religion from public life, which she says alienates her from the left-wing camp she once belonged to.