Women played significant roles in the emergence of Zionism. Since statehood, women have likewise made dynamic contributions to the Israel’s growth and well-being.
While complete gender equality has often been elusive, Israel stands as a model for women’s rights in the Middle East and among other democracies. From the period of the Yishuv (the Jewish community in pre-state Palestine) until today, women have contributed to virtually every aspect of Israeli politics and society, including defense and security, government and leadership, social action, and arts and culture.
In the 1990s, the Knesset created a special committee for women’s issues. Today, there is an official Authority for the Advancement on the Status of Women as part of the Prime Minister’s Office. In recent years, the Knesset has passed laws that ensure nondiscrimination based on gender. Issues regarding gender equality in Israel today relate to tensions between religious and secular Jews. In the 25th Israeli parliament of 120, 29 are women, or 24%, compared with 29% in the U.S. Congress, 18% in European parliaments and less than 7% in Arab countries.
Gottheil attended the Second Zionist Congress, where Theodor Herzl invited her to translate his speech into French, Italian and English. In the United States she organized women’s study groups that were the precursors of Hadassah….
The following items are lesson plans on specific areas related to Israel, all of which were shared by participants in CIE’s educator workshops from 2012 to 2014. “Hatikvah” — Background/History of “Hatikvah” The creation of…
When Prime Minister Ehud Olmert resigned in 2008 amid allegations of bribery, Israel came within reach of a milestone in gender equality — one that was a credit to the Jewish state as much as…
Below is a list of women who have made significant contributions to Israel in politics, culture, business and science. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but one that is meant to represent the vast contributions…
April 2025 CIE has compiled the following list of books and articles to guide understanding of women in Israel. Books Abdo-Zubi, Nahla, and Ronit Lenṭin. Women and the Politics of Military Confrontation: Palestinian and Israeli…
Choosing 75 works of art to commemorate Israel’s 75th anniversary is daunting; Israel has a robust artistic scene that started well before the state’s founding. Early Zionists such as Martin Buber considered art a key element in the Jewish…
The raw numbers in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack — 1,200 killed and more than 240 abducted — can sanitize the personal trauma and horror of the brutality, including sex-based violence. Women often are stereotyped as victims or peacemakers, but CIE’s 27th weekly webinar on the Israel-Hamas war, set for April 17, examines the reality of women’s responses and roles in Israeli society and the reactions to how they have fought, volunteered, advocated and led for more than six months. Joining moderator Dr. Ken Stein, CIE’s president and an Emory University emeritus professor of Middle East history, political science and Israel studies, are Col. (res.) Pnina Sharvit Baruch of the Institute for National Security Studies and Dr. Julia Elad-Strenger, a political psychologist at Bar-Ilan University.
Singer-songwriter-musician Alberstein is a native of Poland who moved to Israel with her family in 1950. She has released more than 60 albums, recording in Hebrew, English and Yiddish, and is one of Israel’s most…
Born in Petah Tikvah to German Jewish immigrants, Almog is considered one of the most important writers in Hebrew literature. Trained as a teacher, she published her first story in 1967 and first novel, The…
A Tel Aviv native and entrepreneur, Arad is the first Israeli to win an Olympic medal, taking a silver in judo at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. She dedicated her medal to the 11 Israelis…
A native of Rishon LeZion, Ashram won gold in the rhythmic gymnastics all-around at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. She also won the European all-around in 2020 and captured 11 world championship medals in her…
An Arab Christian from the Galilee, Awad is a star singer and actress. She was educated in Tel Aviv before moving to Tel Aviv. In 2009 she became the first Arab and Christian to represent…
Barzilai, who performs mononymously as Netta, won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2018 with “Toy,” making her the fourth Israeli victor. She first gained fame by winning Season 5 of reality competition “HaKokhav HaBa.” Barzilai’s…
A computer scientist and tech entrepreneur, Berry has been a driver of innovation and received Ben-Gurion University’s 2012 Yakirat Ha’Negev award for excellence in technology. In 1996 she became the first female chief scientist at…
Farber studied the Talmud at Bar-Ilan University and graduated from the Midreshet Lindenbaum’s scholars program for women. Without the option to be an Orthodox rabbi, she uses the title rabbanit and advocates for more women…
Named one of CNN’s “10 Most Powerful Women in Tech” in 2010, Fassberg immigrated from South Africa in 1975, rose to become CEO of Intel Israel and retired in 2016 after 33 years with the…
Born in Rosh Haayin and crowned Miss Israel at 18, Gadot served in the military and became a model, singer and martial artist. She has emerged as one of the world’s most recognized actresses, first…
Hadad is one of Israel’s most popular singers. She was a 2002 Eurovision contestant and was Israeli Music TV’s Best Female Singer of the 2000s. She was a judge on “The Voice Israel” and was…
Hayut is the Israeli Supreme Court’s president, a post she is due to hold until October 2023. The Jerusalem Post says she could be Israel’s most influential chief justice since Aharon Barak by reasserting the…
International, whose real name is Sharon Cohen, is a pop singer and former drag performer. She became Israel’s third Eurovision Song Contest winner with “Diva” in 1998. She released her first album in 1993, the…
The first female speaker of the Knesset from 2006 to 2009, Itzik was a teacher who began her political career as the chair of the Jerusalem Teachers Union for five years. She was elected to…
Kirel is a pop star and actress of Mizrahi and Ashkenazi ancestry who is Israel’s 2023 Eurovision contestant. She released her first songs at 14. She won the MTV Europe Music Award for best Israeli…
Landau is a Jerusalem-born artist who studied at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, then worked in the United States and United Kingdom. Her pieces are multimedia, including drawing, sculpture, video and performance. She…
Jerusalem-born actress Portman made her film debut as the star of 1994’s “Leon: The Professional.” She won an Oscar for 2010’s “Black Swan” and was nominated for two others. Her directorial debut was the 2015…
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