Women in Israel's Democratic process 2015
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Transcript of Women in Israel's Democratic process 2015
Historical Framing• How did Zionist ideology view equality
between men and women?• In reality, in which ways were women
treated equally to men?• In which ways were they unequal?
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Gender Equality in pre-State Israel• Zionists in the early 20th century were influenced
by political movements in Europe, especially socialism and communism
• In general in the early 20th century, people in revolutionary movements began to internalize different models of male/female interaction
• Zionists, especially Kibbutzniks, believed in an ideology of equality and comradeship and they aimed to eradicate old traditional roles from Europe that separated men and women
(Source: The Jewish Agency for Israel)
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Women’s Vote in the pre-State PeriodWorld Zionist Congress• 17 women attended the First Zionist
Congress but they did not have voting rights (1897)
• Many women came as guests of male representatives, but some did come alone
• Women gained full membership and the right to vote at the Second Zionist Congress (1898)
(Source: Jewish Virtual Library)makomisrael.org | @makomisrael | facebook.com/makomisrael
Gender Inequality in pre-State Israel
“It is true that women were equal partners in theory, but when we look more carefully at these narratives, the reality was different. Though equality of the sexes was part of the Zionist credo, in fact, women were discriminated against in many fields, including labor. They were usually required to take ‘women’s jobs’ such as house cleaning, work in the textile industry, nurses and kindergarten teachers […]”(Source: Dr. Bat-Sheva Margalit Stern)makomisrael.org | @makomisrael |
facebook.com/makomisrael
Voting and Representation
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• How do you think having the right to vote demonstrates women’s equality?
• Have women in the Knesset occupied the same kinds of ministerial roles as men?
• How does Israel compare to other Western nations in terms of women in government?
Women’s Suffrage Comparison
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1875
1885
1895
1905
1915
1925
1935
1945
Zionism/Israel, 1898
Norway, 1913Canada, 1918
USA, 1920UK, 1928
France, 1944
When Did Women Get the Vote?
Percentage of Women in Knesset
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1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 20150%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
(Source: Jewish Virtual Library)
Women on Knesset Committees• Until 1984, no women had served on either the Foreign
Affairs and Defense Committee, or the Finance Committee, the two most powerful Knesset committees
• Women Knesset members tended to be assigned to the more domestic or socially- oriented committees
• Over the last 30 years women have become more visible in powerful positions in the Knesset
• By the eighteenth Knesset in 2011, six women sat on the Finance Committee and two belonged to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee
(Source: Jewish Virtual Library)
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Although the percentage of women in Knesset has increased over the last 30 years, the percentage of women ministers has
not.
Women in Knesset (Parliament)
(Source: Van Leer Institute Gender Index 2014)
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How Does Israel Compare?
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Percentage of Women in National Governments 1990-2014
(Source: World Bank)
Women and the 2015 Election• Recent polls indicate there will be more
women in the next Knesset than ever before• Polls predict that the next Knesset will have
31 female MKs with 11 of them new to the Knesset
• Depending on a number of factors, some parties reserve specific seats on their lists for women
• The ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties are the only two in the next Knesset that have no women on their tickets
(Source: Haaretz)makomisrael.org | @makomisrael | facebook.com/makomisrael
Women and Israeli Political Parties
• Which parties have the most equal gender representation on their lists?
• Which parties do not have any women represented?
• What factors or beliefs would cause certain parties to exclude or include women?
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Women on Party Lists
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PartyPredicted Total Seats
Predicted Number of Women to Get Seats
Zionist Camp 25 9
Likud 23 5
Habayit Hayehudi 15 4
Shas and UTJ 14 0
Arab Parties 12 2
Yesh Atid 10 3
Kulanu 8 3
Meretz 6 3
Israel Beiteinu 6 2
(Source :Haaretz)
Haredim and Israeli Politics
• Haredim (men and women) tend to vote according to how their rabbis direct them
• As such, Haredim are important politically because they have high voter turnout and tend to vote as a block (roughly 12% of the population)
• Haredi parties: United Torah Judaism, Shas• Major issues: army service, funding Haredi
institutions, Shabbat, marriage and divorce, Jewish pluralism, and Kashrut
(Sources: KolOleh and Berman Jewish Policy Archive)
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Haredi Women and the Election• Halachic basis for excluding women from
parties: Maimonides rules in Hilkhot Melakhim 1:5, that to “all positions of authority in Israel ”one appoints only men (משימות כל בישראל)
• But, Haredi men in Knesset work with non-Haredi women from other parties
• Without representation in government, Haredi women’s issues are rarely addressed
• Two responses this election:– Facebook campaign (Lo Nivchorot, Lo Bochorot)– Women’s party (B’Zhutan)makomisrael.org | @makomisrael |
facebook.com/makomisrael
Lo Nivchorot, Lo Bochorot
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• Facebook campaign: No Representation, No Voting
• Demand: Haredi women want representation on lists of existing Haredi parties or they won’t vote for them
• Over 5500 likes (including both Haredi women and their supporters)
• Risk for women participating in campaign: potential excommunication of women and their families
(Sources: Jerusalem Post and Lo Nivchorot Lo Bochorot)
Formation of Haredi women’s party
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• B’Zhutan: Haredi Women Making Change• “We want to preserve our identity” and
demonstrate that women can be educated, be leaders and “stay Haredi”
• Platform: represent social issues of haredi women, including women’s health, agunot, and challenges faced by divorced women and single-parents
• They face threats of excommunication from their community from leadership who disapprove of women entering public life
(Source: Haaretz and Arutz Sheva)(For more on Haredim in Israel)
Closing Questions• How has women’s involvement in
Israeli politics changed over the past century?
• In what ways do you think it might change in the future?
• Do you feel women’s involvement has come “far enough”? Why or why not?
• How important are these issues to you?