A Google Doodle of the late cinema creator, actress and social activist Ronit Elkabetz to mark her 58th birthday was featured on the search engine's website on Sunday.
"Elkabetz's Doodle replaces the logo of Google's search engine so whoever visits the site in Israel and France on Sunday, November 27, will see it and get to know Ronit's contribution to cinema and to women rights in Israel and around the world," the company said in a statement, which added: "The illustration created by the Israeli artist Maya Shleifer, shows the image of Ronit as the iconic movie star that she was alongside her groundbreaking work behind the camera as a writer, director and producer of the film trilogy 'To Take a Wife', 'Shiva' and Golden Globe-nominated 'Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem.'"
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The company noted that "women who have been previously featured in a Doodle include artist Frida Kahlo, the singers Ella Fitzgerald and Umm Kalthum, the scientist Marie Curie and the actress Audrey Hepburn. "
Elkabetz, and specifically those three movies were of great value to Israeli society and culture, perhaps by showing the first authentic portrayal of a Mizrahi family in Israeli cinema and promoting the plight of Jewish women denied a divorce in the rabbinical court system in Israel.
"We are used to looking for answers on Google's blank homepage and when it changes it's as if it winks at you and becomes more human-like and exciting. I believe that Ronit would have been moved by this homage, in Israel and France, where she lived and created. Ronit's cinema, the roles she created, always represented her aspiration to talk on behalf of women to promote change and equality. I think that whoever will meet her on his homepage will hear Ronit again. To think that millions of people in Europe and Israel will remember Ronit and her values or get to know her for the first time is a tremendous thing," her brother Shlomi Elkabetz said.
Barak Regev, who is Google Israel country manager concurred. "Alongside the celebration of Ronit Elkabetz unique talent, The Doodle we are publishing today in Israel and France is a reminder of Ronit's courage and legacy as an artist who wrote, directed and played the struggle of women for freedom and equality. Our Doodles spotlight remarkable people and are meant to bring joy and I'm sure that millions of people in Israel and France would enjoy celebrating Ronit's birthday".
