Jezebel: tzipi livni

When Israeli Foreign Minster Tzipi Livni...

Margaret — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:40:00 EST

When Israeli Foreign Minster Tzipi Livni runs for prime minister early next year, she'll be able to run political ads on the side of buses in Jerusalem, thanks to a small political party called Wake Up, Jerusalemites. When the party tried to buy advertising on buses for six candidates for city council, they were told that their three female candidates could not appear in the ads because Egged, the public transportation company, said they feared that if the bus were to drive through an ultra-orthodox neighborhood, it would offend the haredim so much that they might attack it. Even when the Black-Eyed Peas played Jerusalem, the bus company photo-shopped Fergie out of the posters. [Time]

Despite Major Strides, Female Politicians Still Face Sexism In Israel

Jessica — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:30:00 EDT

Though Israel has been celebrated for political egalitarianism (i.e. the prime ministership of Golda Meir in the 70s), potential PM Tzipi Livni is facing some sexist barriers in her attempt to get elected. Livni needs to gather a coalition to become the official Prime Minister after winning her party's primary last week, but the Orthodox policy of not printing photographs of women in newspapers could seriously wound Livni's campaign. According to Newsweek the ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi, voters comprise up to 15% of the Israeli electorate, and Reuters notes that the "reclusive community generally shuns the television, Internet and most radio stations," so the local Orthodox newspapers are their primary source of news. A senior editor at one of these papers, Hamodia tells Reuters, "This is the way it was since the beginning of the world, and the way it shall remain."

In addition to the refusal to print Livni's photographs, the politician is the subject of many of the same verbal slings and arrows that Hillary Clinton struggled with. One newspaper columnist dismissed Livni as "the prettiest girl in kindergarten," while another mocked her for "lacking balls," Newsweek reports. However, if Livni is elected, all three branches of Israeli government will be led by women, as Dalia Itzik is the speaker of the Parliament and Dorit Beinisch is head of the supreme court.

Israel is not the only country where female politicians face certain kinds of institutionalized sexism. There's a minor controversy in Australia because some elite clubs like the Athenaeum Club in Melbourne — the Australian equivalent of the Bohemian Grove — are refusing to issue invitations to prominent women in politics, specifically newly elected Governor General of Australia Quentin Bryce. Businesswoman Caecilia Potter, whose husband recently quit the Athenaeum Club because it would not go co-ed, tells the Times of London, "These clubs are a refuge for a certain type of man…The fact that they pride themselves on being a place where top business people and politicians can network, and then refuse to allow the Governor General membership because she's a woman puts it all into stark perspective."

Israel’s Glass Ceiling [Newsweek]
Israel's Pious Jewish Press Shuns Images Of Livni [Reuters]
Queen's Female Envoy In Australia Shunned By Elite Clubs [Times of London]

Earlier: Foreign Minister Is In Position To Be Israel's First Female PM In 34 Years

Foreign Minister Is In Position To Be Israel's First Female PM In 34 Years

Jessica — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 09:30:00 EDT

For the first time since Golda Meir stepped down in 1974, a woman could become Israeli Prime Minister, the BBC reports. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, a former lawyer and spy for Mossad (the Israeli CIA equivalent), has won the leadership of the centrist Kadima party, the current ruling party in the Knesset, Israel's parliament. (The reason Livni will not necessarily become Prime Minister is complicated, but here's a summary.) Now that Livni has won the Kadima election — current PM Ehud Olmert is resigning amidst accusations of widespread corruption — she has 42 days to assemble a coalition of at least 61 of the Knesset's 120 seats from what the BBC describes as Israel's "mosaic of political parties." If Livni fails to gather this coalition, the President may give someone else another 42 days to come up with his or her own coalition, but more likely a general election of all the parties will take place in 3 months.

Livni could run up against trouble from certain factions of the Knesset, specifically the Shas party, because it advocates a hard-line stance against Palestine, and also wants even more child welfare because of that group's large families, the IHT notes. Livni is against an increase in child welfare allowances.

The BBC reports that Livni is much less hawkish than her primary rival, Shaul Mofaz, and has a strong foreign relations background — something that could aid her in potential peace talks with Palestinians. However, according to Al Jazeera, Palestinians are not confident that Livni's leadership would create a positive change for them. "They're all war criminals," a Palestinian woman tells Al Jazeera of the potential Israeli PMs.

Livni Wins Israel Party Primary [BBC]
Q&A: Israeli Leadership Change [BBC]
Israeli Foreign Minister In Position To Become Prime Minister [IHT]
Video: Palestinians Despondent As Israeli Polls Near [YouTube via Al Jazeera]

Fracas over at Ms.! Some Jewish feminists...

Jessica — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:40:00 EST

Fracas over at Ms.! Some Jewish feminists are up in arms because the magazine refused to publish a full page ad that featured 3 Israeli women in politics: Tzipi Livni, Israel's foreign minister, Dalia Itzik, the speaker of the Knesset (Israel's Parliament), and the president of Israel's supreme court, Dorit Beinisch. The American Jewish Congress called Ms.'s decision "hostile" and "contemptible" and accused the mag of anti-Israeli sentiment. Ms. executive editor Katherine Spillar told UPI, "Our role at Ms. magazine is not to promote countries, it is to report on what's happening to women in different countries." [UPI]