Gender & Democracy

Dr. Sarai Aharoni discusses the exceptional status of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (which is one of the longstanding issues on the UN agenda) as one of the intriguing puzzles of current global feminist politics. Could it be that the situation of Palestinian women and girls under Israeli occupation is the most extreme breach of the Beijing Platform of Action? (From the HBS Gunda-Werner-Institute)

Feminist Rereading is never enough to correct the harms done to women by the subordination suffered and engendered by religious texts. And only a state, dedicated to universal, human rights, can best mitigate the effects of those harms.

Israel’s Declaration of Independence of 1948 specifically refers to Israel as “The Jewish State”, while simultaneously guaranteeing “the full social and political equality of all its citizens, without distinction of race, creed or sex”. This assumed legal standing through the delegation of personal status to religious authorities (for the majority of the country’s citizens, to the monopolistic control of the orthodox Chief Rabbinate). Since, from the outset, matters of marriage and divorce in the Jewish tradition discriminate against women, aspects of gender inequality have been embedded into the structure of the state.

The Israeli government announced that it is establishing a team to formulate a working plan to advance UN Resolution 1325 in Israel. The resolution calls for women’s equal inclusion in all aspects of decision-making, especially around issues of peace and security. is this a sign that gender awareness is spreading in Israel? (Lilith Blog)

On December 14th, the Israeli Government made an extraordinary announcement of a new plan for promoting gender equality in the country. The plan constitutes a truly revolutionary change in approaches to the elimination of gender inequities.The decision introduces gender mainstreaming tools that take into account gender perspectives and implications in policy-making with a view to increasing opportunities for women in all spheres. The need for bold new ways to deal with festering gender inequities has highlighted the essentially gendered structures of society in Israel, making the struggle for gender equality into a central social issue which requires all-embracing societal solutions (The Times of Israel).

“We can only imagine how government ministers would give official statements saying that instead of investing in war, investments will be made to promote joint ventures of social welfare, education, environment and many more”. Heinrich Boell Foundation’s partner Itach Maaki – Women Lawyers for Social Justice has been working to promote such a vision for the past years.  Adv. Anat Thon Ashkenazi analyses how UNSCR 1325 on Women Peace and Security is relevant to the current situation in Palestine and Israel. 

In the aftermath of the 1948 war, a significant number of Arab-Palestinians found themselves within the borders of the newly established State of Israel.  They are a homeland minority within a State whose declared identity they do not share and, while they hold Israeli citizenship, they hold a distinct national identity.

In the past weeks, Israel was confronted with events bringing to public attention for the first time the social and political implications of African refugees in Israel. A demonstration that spiraled out of control initiated fierce reactions from the political right and an intensified public debate. For further information see Marianne Zepp: “Israel has a refugee problem – similar to Europe’s?”. A background analysis stressing the special Israeli conditions is provided by Lisa Hücking (intern at the HBF Israel and MA student in Political Science at the FU Berlin): “Nation, State and (illegal) Immigration in Israel”.

From mid-2010 to mid-2011 a working group of Israeli and Palestinian security experts developed concrete proposals and practical steps for international security guarantees in the case of a two state solution between Israel and Palestine. This work was undertaken at the invitation of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung. The group presents their recommendations at several events in Berlin, Brussels and Washington, DC.

When Daphni Leef says that we are talking about homes and Bibi Netanyahu is talking about real estate, when teachers who oppose the latest reform say that education is not a business, when physicians are calling out to save the future of public health care, they are all calling to remove public services from the jurisdictional realm of business logic.