Women in Israel's Democratic process 2015

Women and the 2015 Israeli Election

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 |

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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 |

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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?

Thank You!

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