It’s time for local elections in Israel, and women, long underrepresented in city councils, are running in larger numbers than ever. Arab, Jew, Sephardi, Ashkenazi, native Israeli and immigrants are tossing their hats in the ring to help run their cities, towns, and settlements.
This summer, at a Knesset event initiated by MK Aliza Lavie (Yesh Atid) a coalition of women’s organizations, MKs and public figures dedicated a morning to encourage women to run in local elections. Lavie initiated a law providing additional funding of up to 15 percent for factions whose lists are at least one-third female. “For years, the local arena has been under almost total male hegemony…only 2% of mayors are women,” she said.
What does it matter if women are in local politics?
Fleur Hassan Nahoum, one of six female city council members out of 31 in Jerusalem, is running as deputy to Jerusalem mayoral candidate Minister Ze’ev Elkin. She says, “I firmly believe that until women are in 50% of all decision-making positions our world will remain unbalanced. Local government affects our everyday lives and it is crucial to have women in these positions because when women are around the table the decisions are simply better.”
Nahoum says she sees improvement in education, women’s rights, building, and planning, when women are part of the decision making process.
Similarly, Einav Bar Cohen, number two on Ofer Berkovitch’s list, another serious contender for mayor of Jerusalem, says, “These are the major decision makers who directly influence our lives…Voting for a list with high women’s representation in realistic positions is the answer to the phenomenon of exclusion of women in the public sphere.”
Bar Cohen is referring to the vandalism against and literal defacing of posters of women that increased in recent years in cities with sizable strictly Orthodox populations. In Beit Shemesh, a city suffering the tactics of extremists, where nearly all local publications, health clinics, and small businesses have no images of women, one woman, Dr. Aliza Bloch, is running for mayor, and might even win. Another woman heads one of the most popular local lists.
Rena Hollander is top of the Bayit Yehudi list. Before she agreed to head the list, she insisted that there be an equal number of women and men. Asked why, Hollander says simply, “Women are 50% of the population and women’s input is very important...it was a given that we should have equality.”
Pnina Solomon of Zichron Yaakov, who is also on the Bayit Yehudi list, agrees, “Politics is all about representation. The council makes decisions allocating the municipal budget. It should represent the richness and diversity, in gender and affiliation, of the local community. Women naturally gravitate towards issues that affect families. Education and welfare look different when women are involved. When I heard that ours was the only woman-led list running for council, I was surprised, proud, and just a little bit ashamed of my town. Where are the women?”
Orit Samuels is a four year veteran of the Efrat city council. Now she’s running as the mayor’s number two. “There are only three women out of nine council members. In terms of decisions, it’s interesting to hear women vs men…women at the table creates a difference in how everyone voices their opinions. It changes the dynamic and issues being discussed.”
Interestingly, many of the women above are immigrants. In Tel Aviv, a new list is dedicated to immigrants. In Modi’in, Elise Rynhold formerly of the UK, is running for city council. “Foremost, I want to represent the city’s immigrants. Having made aliyah myself, this is a really important issue for me.”
And it’s not only Jewish women getting involved. For the first time in Israeli history, exclusively female parties will compete in the local elections in several Arab towns. In Ussefiyah, a Druze village and Kafr Qara, in the Wadi Ara region, two new, all-women parties will be on the ballot. Victoria Zahalka-Medlij, who is running for mayor of Kafr Qara will be the first Arab woman ever elected mayor in Israel if she wins.
Lest you think only women want more women in politics, Ofer Berkovitch says he made his list 50% women in the realistic spots because,“Women bring a different voice and meaningful perspectives and strengths. For a strong community, we must strengthen the status and opportunities of women while also fighting discrimination.”
Agreed. It’s going to be an exciting November.
Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll is a writer and activist
