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Jan. 18, 2013
New sheriffs in town
Women lead three of the major parties in play.
LINDA GRADSTEIN THE MEDIA LINE
For the first time in Israel’s history, three of the major parties are headed by women. Labor, headed by Shelly Yacimovich, is expected to become Israel’s second-largest party, Hatnuah, headed by former foreign minister Tzipi Livni, is set to win seven seats, and Meretz, with Zahava Gal-On, is projected at five seats in the 120-seat Knesset.
It is anticipated that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will be turning to each of these parties as potential coalition partners because the front-runner – the joint slate of Likud and Israel Beiteinu – is expected only to get about 33 seats.
“It’s an amazing advancement,” said Dr. Galit Desheh, executive director of the Israel Women’s Network. “Two of these women have an amazing record promoting women’s rights and issues.”
The two women to whom she was referring are Yacimovich and Gal-On. Livni is not seen as focusing specifically on women’s issues, although she has begun to do so more of late.
Yacimovich, 52, was a popular journalist before entering politics in 2005. She has reinvigorated the Labor party by focusing on social and economic issues, and gotten tens of thousands of young people to join the party. Of the first 22 candidates on Labor’s list, seven are women.
Gal-On, 56, has been especially active on women’s issues. A Knesset member since 1999, she has led the committee that fights the trafficking of women. Desheh said she is considered to be the single most active MK on women’s issues.
In contrast, Livni, 54, is not seen as a major advocate of women’s rights. She has started a new party called Hatnuah, the Movement, after she lost the leadership of Kadima, a centrist party started by former prime minister Ehud Olmert, in recent primaries. Livni, a former intelligence official and foreign minister under Olmert, has focused on foreign policy.
In addition to these women, Asma Agbarieh-Zahalka, 39, heads the Da’am Workers Party, a socialist party that focuses on employment issues in the Arab sector of Israel. It remains doubtful that Da’am will receive enough votes to enter the Knesset.
There are 24 women in the current Knesset and that number is expected to rise in next week’s election. Even parties headed by men have placed women in prominent slots. Netanyahu’s Likud (running on a joint slate with Israel Beiteinu) has put seven women in the top 30 slots. Yesh Atid, a centrist secular party, headed by popular journalist Yair Lapid, has three women in the top 10.
In the past, the quickest route to politics in Israel was through the army. Israeli generals are revered and most of Israel’s prime ministers (with the notable exception of the sole woman, Golda Meir) had illustrious military careers. Today, that reality is changing.
“We are seeing that some generals are not even getting elected, and yet journalists are having great success,” said Dr. Gideon Rahat of the Israel Democracy Institute. “This opens the door for women because there are more women journalists.”
Israeli women are very active in the labor force overall. While only 28 percent of Arab women in Israel work outside the home (mainly due to cultural factors that encourage women to stay at home with their children), about 80 percent of Jewish women have paying jobs. Israel has laws that encourage women to go to work, and has built up support to provide day care. That said, Israeli women still earn between 17 and 30 percent less than Israeli men.
Desheh suggested that the three priorities for Israeli women are personal security, improving conditions for female workers and women’s health. As more women serve in the Knesset, it is likely that women’s issues will continue to come to the fore.
“Research shows that men and women in the Knesset have different legislative behavior,” Rahat agreed. “This is a new stage in Israeli politics.”
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