Women make up half of Israel, but their political representation is heading backward

Women make up roughly half of Israel’s population, but as the country heads toward its next election, their representation in national politics appears to be moving backward. Israel’s first and second Knessets each included just 12 women, or 10% of all lawmakers. Female representation rose steadily over the decades, peaking in the 24th Knesset, when 45 women served, accounting for 30% of parliament. In the current 25th Knesset, women occupy only about a quarter of the seats. And based on the party lists taking shape now, the next parliament could see another decline. At present, no woman is expected to head a party entering the election, and the parties that make up the current governing bloc appear likely to return especially few female lawmakers. The Democrats The Democrats, led by Yair Golan, are currently expected to bring the largest number of women into the 26th Knesset. Party rules require equal representation of women and men on the candidate list. Women elected to its top 10 include current lawmakers Naama Lazimi and Efrat Rayten, former lawmakers Michal Rozin and Gaby Lasky, and Sumaya Bashir, who represents Arab society. Further down the list are Moran Zer-Katzenstein, one of the leaders of the women’s protest movement known for its red-robed demonstrations, and former lawmaker Emilie Moatti. Yashar! Yashar! chairman Gadi Eisenkot has said he intends to include many women on his party’s list, although the final balance between men and women remains unclear. Among those expected to receive places are former minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen, former Yeruham mayor Tal Ohana, former Labor Ministry director-general Tair Ifergan, South Sharon Regional Council head Oshrat Gani Gonen and Inbar Harush Giti, CEO of the Aharai! youth movement. Inbar Yehezkel is serving as head of the party’s women’s headquarters. Other possible candidates include MTech Center founder Yaffa Tabaja, Deborah Sharifian Bachar, who previously served in the Shin Bet and Mossad, and Alex Rif, founder and CEO of the One Million Lobby, who represents immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Likud Only three women were elected to the top 30 spots in Likud’s primary. The highest-ranking is Transportation Minister Miri Regev. Lawmaker Tally Gotliv is positioned in the middle of the second 10, while lawmaker Eti Atia holds the 25th spot, which had been reserved for a woman. After a recount, Minister Gila Gamliel was pushed down to 35th place, which is currently considered unlikely to win a Knesset seat. That has left Likud with very few women in realistic positions and increased pressure on Prime Minister and party chairman Benjamin Netanyahu to reserve places for female candidates in an effort to address the imbalance. Beyachad Beyachad currently has one of the largest groups of women in senior positions. Among them are Keren Turner, former director-general of both the Finance and Transportation ministries, and Liran Avisar, a former Communications Ministry director-general. The list has not yet been finalized, but as things stand, it includes 18 women and 21 men, including chairman Naftali Bennett, who joined forces with opposition leader Yair Lapid. Ten of the women currently serve in the Knesset for Yesh Atid, while eight others are entering politics after being recruited by Bennett. Yisrael Beytenu Party chairman Avigdor Liberman has been recruiting new female candidates, although lawmaker Sharon Nir has announced that she will not run in the coming election, apparently after Liberman decided not to place her in a realistic position. The party still includes lawmaker Yulia Malinovsky. New female recruits include Maya Plumboim, Lili Ben Ami, Mor Dekel, Billy Rubin, reserve colonel Talia Lankri, attorneys Dalit Kislev Spector and Michaela Levin-Shamir, Shelly Shamir Keinan and Dr. Yael Benvenisti. Religious Zionism During the current term, Religious Zionism lawmaker Orit Strock served as settlements minister and as a member of the security cabinet, while Michal Waldiger chaired the Knesset Labor and Welfare Committee after previously serving as deputy finance minister. Ahead of the next election, Strock won first place in the party primary and is currently the only woman in what is considered a realistic position. She could, however, be pushed down one spot if party chairman Bezalel Smotrich reaches an agreement with Zehut chairman Moshe Feiglin, with whom he is currently holding advanced negotiations. Otzma Yehudit Only one woman, lawmaker Limor Son Har-Melech, represented Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit in the current Knesset. The party says more women will be included on its next list but has declined to say where they will be placed. Minister May Golan, who failed to secure a realistic position in the Likud primary and is considered close to Ben-Gvir, has been mentioned as a possible recruit. However, a ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth review found that there are currently no formal talks between the sides. Amcha Yisrael The new party led by reserve Brig. Gen. Ofer Winter unveiled 11 candidates at a launch event last week, four of them women. Former news anchor Netali Shem Tov is expected to receive one of the top four spots, which some current polls suggest could be enough to enter the Knesset. Other announced candidates include Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, a former Jerusalem deputy mayor and public diplomacy activist Lali Derai, whose son Saadia was killed in the war in Gaza and Sigal Krownick, widow of Be’eri security coordinator Arik Krownick, who was killed in the fighting on October 7. Party sources estimate that at least one additional woman besides Shem Tov will appear in the top six. Zionist Home–The Reservists The party led by Hili Tropper and Yoaz Hendel has placed Shira Shapira, mother of October 7 hero Aner Shapira and a former deputy director-general at the Heritage Ministry, in its top four alongside Eliraz Peretz. The party said its list is still being formed. “At this stage, Shira Shapira and Tehila Peretz are the women on the list, and later it will include respectable and appropriate female representation,” the party said. “We believe in integrating women into leadership positions and centers of decision-making.” HaAchdut Recent polls show the party led by former minister Gilad Erdan and former lawmaker Yuli Edelstein failing to cross the electoral threshold. Three candidates have so far been announced, including former Beit Shemesh mayor Aliza Bloch. Party officials say that because merger negotiations are underway, it is still too early to estimate how many women will ultimately appear on the list. Blue and White Apart from incumbent lawmaker Pnina Tamano-Shata, Blue and White’s current slate consists entirely of men. The party is also polling below the electoral threshold. One question is whether chairman Benny Gantz will reserve a realistic spot for a woman, potentially including former minister Ayelet Shaked, whose name has been mentioned as a possible senior addition. The Haredi parties Women are once again expected to be entirely absent from the ultra-Orthodox parties’ candidate lists. Under the position traditionally upheld by Haredi rabbis and political leaders, women are not expected to serve as elected representatives. That remains the case even though Haredi women have, over recent decades, reached senior positions in education, welfare, business and civil society. The new Haredi Public party, launched this month under activist Moti Leitner, has also decided not to place women on its slate. Shas and United Torah Judaism declined to comment. The Arab parties Women’s representation in Arab politics came under renewed scrutiny after it was decided that Jafar Farah, No. 2 in Hadash and fourth on the Joint List, would not for now be removed despite allegations that he sexually harassed a woman around 20 years ago, when he headed the Mossawa Center. The special team established to examine the matter was not authorized to determine whether the allegations were true, but recommended that Farah consider withdrawing his candidacy. Farah rejected the recommendation and denied the allegations. Hadash and the Israeli Communist Party meanwhile issued a statement stressing that women’s rights are a central part of their worldview. But the gap between declarations and actual representation remains significant. Dr. Nihaya Washahi, who finished fifth in the Hadash primary, is ranked 10th on the Joint List. “Criticism over women’s representation is legitimate,” she said. “We would like to see much more significant representation of women in realistic positions.” Dr. Maha Karkabi, who placed third in Balad, is eighth on the Joint List. “The Balad primary was conducted well from a gender perspective, as shown by my election to third place and Orly Noy’s election to fifth,” she said. “I believe there is always room for improvement, and I aspire to see women heading Arab parties.” The disparity is particularly striking in the absence of lawmaker Aida Touma-Suleiman, who for years was one of Hadash’s most prominent and influential female figures.