Victory Against Gender Segregation in Israel

The Israel Women's Network, a Foundation grantee, won an important court victory last week:  Israel's Labor Court ruled that the state is not allowed to hold a gender-segregated training course for civil servants.

The court accepted the IWN's position that a training program intended exclusively for male civil servants is a discriminatory practice, even if it serves an important purpose of integrating the Ultra-Orthodox population in the civil service in Israel. The court ordered that if at least 10 women will not be enrolled in the course, it will be discontinued. The IWN claimed that when the state conducts a segregated course, it accepts and institutionalizes gender segregation that cannot be accepted in a democratic state. 

IWN director and attorney Michal Gera Margaliot said the court had delivered a clear message that gender separation in civil service was prohibited.

"You cannot take us backwards by decades, and acceptance for employment cannot be done according to gender," she said. "It would be better for the state to integrate haredi men and women in the civil service and not lead toward the ejection of women from the public domain and the workforce."

 

She's Running for Mayor!

Galit Shaul, CEO of the Rackman Center, a Hadassah Foundation grantee, is running for mayor of the Emek Hefer Regional Council in Israel!  In an op-ed, Shaul says that she was inspired by the #MeToo movement in the US, which quickly became a social movement in Israel, too.  

The Hadassah Foundation is proud investor in programs that empower women and girls in Israel and in the United States--and is thrilled to see such a capable woman whom we have supported seek out a position of power!
 

You can read Shaul's piece (in English) here.

The Future of Feminist Funding in Israel

Hamutal Gouri, the outgoing director of the Dafna Foundation--and a long-time partner with the Hadassah Foundation--penned a must-read essay in ejewishphilanthropy.com about the future of funding for feminist activities in Israel.  She also discusses the feminist conference held in Israel last month, which was organized by Dafna and the National Council of Jewish Women, and which was attended by the Hadassah Foundation.

You can read the piece here.