A comprehensive presentation on Women in Israel and Zionism - democracy, suffrage, and more. Feb 2015. by Makom. http://makomisrael.org/

1. Women and the
2015 Israeli Election

2. 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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3. 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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4. Women’s Vote in the pre-State Period
World 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)
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5. 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)
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6. 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?

7. Women’s Suffrage Comparison
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Zionism/Israel,
1898
Norway, 1913
Canada, 1918
USA, 1920
UK, 1928
France, 1944
1890
1900
1910
1920
1930
1940
1950
When Did Women Get the Vote?

8. Percentage of Women in Knesset
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0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
(Source: Jewish Virtual Library)

9. 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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10. 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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11. How Does Israel Compare?
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Percentage of Women in National Governments 1990-2014
(Source: World Bank)

12. 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)
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13. 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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14. Women on Party Lists
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Party Predicted 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)

15. 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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16. 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
( ‫משימות‬‫כל‬‫בישראל‬ ) one appoints only men”
• 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)
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17. 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)

18. 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)

19. 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?

20. Thank You!
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