WIZO campaign calls on women to demand politicians address their issues
The campaign, called “Women are flocking to the voting booths,” alludes to a statement Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made about Israeli Arabs ahead of the 2015 elections.
By LAHAV HARKOVWIZO campaign calls on women to demand politicians address their issues, March 7, 2019 (Courtesy)
An online campaign by WIZO, launched in time for International Women’s Day on Friday, called for women to vote for candidates who promote women’s rights.The campaign, called “Women are flocking to the voting booths,” alludes to a statement Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made about Israeli Arabs ahead of the 2015 elections.Among the issues WIZO called to promote are equal opportunities in the work place, equal pay for men and women, personal security and parental leave.The goal of the campaign, WIZO said, is “to remind the potential elected officials that half of the population is not sufficiently represented.”There are currently only six women mayors in Israel and only 20% of city council members are women.The 20th Knesset had a record-breaking 34 female MKs, making it over 28% women, the OECD average.Actress Einat Gur Attar made a video for the WIZO campaign joking about political candidates and calling for them to address women and family-related issues.“There’s no question, of course security is before everything,” Attar said, “but maybe personal security is important? I don’t know, I’m thinking out loud, maybe being able to walk alone on the street is important, without pretending to talk on the phone like an idiot because you’re afraid.”Mocking the Blue and White Party, she said: “Of course it’s cool that one general appoints a second general who appoints a third general and then there’s no room for women... But maybe, maybe it’s pretty cool to talk about the fact there are people who want women to disappear from the public space?”“Of course, it’s interesting who is Left and who’s Right, and there is no Left and no Right and there is nothing because there was nothing,” Attar added, referring to the Blue and White and Likud campaigns. “But maybe it’s a tiny bit interesting that 26 women were murdered last year.”
Blue and White has faced criticism in recent weeks for the dearth of women on its list, with only two in their top 10. Likud also only has two women in its top 10, but its candidates are elected in primaries, as opposed to Blue and White’s handpicked list.New Right, which has five women in its top 10, made a video mocking other parties’ male-dominated lists.“Happy Women’s Day to party leaders,” the video stated, showing pictures of the men in the top four in Likud, Blue and White, Shas, UTJ and the Union of Right-Wing Parties. For Labor, they only showed three men, because there is a woman – MK Stav Shaffir – in fourth place.At the end of the video, they showed the New Right, with Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and Hapoel Beersheba owner Alona Barkat, who are second and third on the list, as well as party leader Naftali Bennett.Kulanu also released a video with the title "the lionesses of Kulanu," featuring photos of the top six women in the party."When in the first six places there are three women, not much needs to be said. Happy women's day," the video concludes.