Achi Israeli, the party of Adina Bar-Shalom, announced on Thursday that a representative of the LGBTQ community, Oded Fried, was joining the party's list.
The announcement was particularly surprising in light of the party's makeup, both religious and secular representatives, and the leader of the party - daughter of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the former Sephardic chief rabbi and spiritual leader of the Shas party,  one of the greatest rabbis of the last generation.
Fried, former director of the LGBTQ Association and head of the LGBTQ public policy forum, has experience in the public sphere as a strategic consultant and director of political and public campaigns for many years. He holds a B.S. in political science from Tel Aviv University and an MA in law studies from Bar-Ilan University.
Achi Israeli announced that Fried was joining the party on its Facebook page with the message: "We in the party of Achi Israeli, under the leadership of Adina Bar Shalom, know that we are all born equal before God, and that's the way we relate to all communities, including the LGBTG community."
"Mahatma Gandhi said, 'Be the change you want to see in your world,'" said Fried. "This is the exact reason I joined Achi Israeli - because this party is the change I want to see in Israel."
"I want an Israel where an ultra-Orthodox woman and a gay man talk to each other and respect each other, because both are human beings," Fried added.