Knesset member Michal Waldiger of the Religious Zionism Party called on the chairwoman of the Israel Women’s Network (IWN), a group that purports to fight for the advancement of women, to quit her position after it emerged that she wouldn’t help women from the right.
“We are witnessing an unfortunate phenomenon in which, ironically, the chairperson of the Women’s Network, Professor Dafna Hacker, chooses to discriminate against women based on their political affiliation,” Waldiger said at the Knesset.
“Her statement that she will not promote right-wing women from the coalition because they are ‘horrible politicians’ and that not every woman should be promoted is the complete opposite of feminism,” Waldiger said.
“So Mrs. Hacker, not that we politicians on the right need your help, or your approval about who we are or how much we are worth. Absolutely not. But do all women a favor and resign from your position, which you entered about a month ago,” she said.
Waldiger quoted from a note she received from Ayalah Gliksberg, one of the founders of the Israel Women’s Network, who said, “The statement issued by the chair of the women’s network goes against the principles of the network.
“The principle was that all women regardless of difference of opinion would band together for the advancement of women. In her statement she turns the lobby into a biased political body and that must not be the case,” Glicksberg wrote.
According to its website, the Israel Women’s Network defines itself as “a feminist nonpartisan civil society organization.”
In a March 1 webinar hosted by the National Council of Jewish Women Australia, Hacker said she wouldn’t help women in Israel’s current government.
Her remarks recently came to light thanks to a Channel 14 report by investigative reporter Ishay Fridman on Sept. 8.
“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, 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 IWN is one of the most important feminist groups in Israel, Fridman said. 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 noted 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.
