Daphna Hacker, the chairwoman of the Israel Women’s Network (IWN), said she wouldn’t help women in the Jewish state’s current government as they’re “horrible politicians.”
Her remarks, made on March 1 during a webinar on Gender and War hosted by the National Council of Jewish Women Australia, only came to light thanks to a Channel 14 report on Sunday.
“When it comes to this current government, I’m not going to fight for more women around the table, because they’re horrible politicians,” said Hacker, who is a professor at the Law Faculty and Women and Gender Studies Program at Tel Aviv University.
“They are anti-feminist politicians in this government who are female. So what if they’re women? If they are anti-feminist, then why should I fight for them to be around the table,” Hacker said.
“We learned a lesson in the Israeli feminist movement that it’s not enough to fight for women around the table. The question is: Who are the women around the table?
“Are they from disadvantaged communities? Are they feminist? Are they going to fight for other women? If the answers are no, no and no, then I don’t think it’s worth the feminist battle,” she said.
The Israel Women’s Network defines itself on its website as “a feminist nonpartisan civil society organization.”
Channel 14 reporter Ishay Fridman reached out to IWN and Hacker for comment but received no response.
The IWN is one of the most important feminist groups in Israel, Fridman noted. It was involved in the case of Alice Miller, who sued to be admitted into the Israeli Air Force’s pilot’s course in 1994, opening the way for female pilots.
IWN was also involved in a case banning separate seating for men and women at a concert in Afula of ultra-Orthodox singer Motty Steinmetz. It fights in general to end gender-separate shows in the ultra-Orthodox sector.
Yaara Zered, Channel 14 anchor and commentator, said in response to the report: “When we talk about rights organizations, we should always put an asterisk. Because before all rights—women’s rights, animal rights, human rights—there is an asterisk: Are you right or left?”
She said that no women’s organization has come to the aid of women in south Tel Aviv who are the victims of sexual violence committed by illegal aliens, mainly from Eritrea.
