NOTES
NOTES 1. Between the Flag and the Banner 1. Maariv, 15 April 1994. 2. In 1988, ten years after the commission's recommendations were presented to the prime minister, the women's movement noted that they were hardly implemented. Major directives remained a dead letter. Yet women's consciousness has leapt forward. Already in 1976 a first center for Women's Studies was established at Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba, in the southern part of Israel. Academic units centering on women were also set up in other universities carrying social science studies. 3. The Secretary's Column, Dvar Hapoelet, September 1975. 2. Women in the Elite 1. A noted author, compiling data on members of the first five Knessets, ignored the fact that the woman MK represented a women's party, and classified her as "liberal" (Zidon 1965, 386). 2. In June 1994 the Foreign and Security Affairs Committee assigned , for the first time in Israeli history, a woman-Yael Dayan-to chair a subcommittee on the territories. Haaretz, 22 June 1994. 3. Meir was nominated foreign minister following a major rift between David Ben Gurion and Meir's predecessor, Moshe Sharet who was known for his moderate views on the Arab-Israeli conflict. 253 254 Between the Flag and the Banner 4. Tamar Eshel, Ovar Hapoelet, August-September 1977. 5. Naamat, November 1976. 6. Shoshana Arbelli-Almozlino, Naamat, March-April 1983. 7. Limor Livnat, Broadcast Services, 22 February 1992. 8. Golda Meir, Ovar Hapoelet, January 1966. 9. Nava Arad, Naamat, July-August 1981. 10. Women's Network, information leaflet, 1994. 11. In an interview with Dafna Sharfman the late Rachel Kagan claimed that among the Israeli members of the WIZO board the vote was split equally between those supporting her Knesset candidacy and those opposing it (Sharfman 1988, 66). 12. The following discussion is based mainly on Sharfman 1988 and Freedman 1990. 13. Independent socialists constituted one component of the peace camp, including also the Panters, Uri Avneri's group, and Moked. These three organizations were not hospitable to women's demands. 14. The Women's Party included a token man among its candidates , indicating it did not run purely as a women's list. 15. In the Labor Party, quotas were granted to women (20 percent ), young members (15 percent), and pensioners (7 percent). Any woman, whether young, middle-aged, or elderly, would be counted in the women's quota. Note that the principle of affirmative action, whereby women enjoyed a quota in electoral lists, was harshly criticized by party activists. One activist feared a boomerang effect, working against voting for women who in any case were likely to win a safe seat. Another activist did not challenge the principle but its contents , suggesting that the 20 percent allotted to women was only token , not reflecting women's real power. Avirama Golan, "Women Divided," Haaretz, 30 March 1992. 16. Anticipating future partnership with religious parties in a ruling coalition, the party declined to make specific commitments on family policy, being satisfied with the following statement: "The party will act to formulate a comprehensive family policy in Israel, in order to ensure the family's economic security and harmonious functioning. This policy will be formulated through coordination among government ministries dealing with all aspects of the family issue" (provision Notes to Chapter 3 255 6.6, chapter 6). This version deviated widely from Naamat's proposal submitted by the women's section in the party to abolish the exclusive authority of rabbinical courts on family matters. 17. Leadership of the section consists of rabbi's wives rather than women selected on their own merit. Haaretz, 7 January 1992. 18. The proportion of women in the Labor Party center was 11 percent; in its secretariat-6.5 percent in 1970. In Herut, the Likud's predecessor, the rates were 5 percent and 3 percent, respectively. Even in Ratz (the Civil Rights Movement) women's representation was not impressive: 30 percent on the council, but only 7 percent on the executive (Yishai 1978, 242). 19. The sample size was as follows: all women in the two highest ranks of the civil service (except one who declined to be interviewed), a total of 39; a sample of 79 senior male civil servants, and a sample of 87 women of middle rank. 20. Among senior women 60.5 percent were married; 82.1 percent had children. Among senior men, 98.7 percent were married, and all of these had children. 21. The...
OR
Buy This Book in Print