Prime Minister Yair Lapid, Welfare and Social Affairs Minister Meir Cohen, and Social Equality Minister Merav Cohen held a special discussion on fighting violence against women with the participation of 20 representatives from civic organizations, today, at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Lapid emphasized that it is our obligation as a society and government to do everything possible to root out the phenomenon of violence against women. He also instructed his team to continue dialogue with the representatives of the organizations in order to discuss additional operative steps for dealing with the issue.
Prime Minister Yair Lapid:
"Gathered in this room is a large group of women who represent more than half of the population, and tens and hundreds of thousands of victims.
The Israeli government is obligated to address half of Israel’s population and the hardships it faces.
Thank you for coming, I am very excited about this. The very fact that civic leaders step out of their comfort zone and dedicate time, effort and heartache for something that is stronger than themselves is worthy of appreciation; this is the meaning of life. We will ensure that this meeting will be an effective and worthy continuation of our common effort.”
Also participating in the discussion were the Directors General of the Welfare and Social Affairs and Social Equality Ministries, the Chairman of the Women's Advancement Authority, and representatives of the following organizations: the Women's Lobby, the Association of Rape Crisis Centers, the Rackman Center, Na'mat, the Michal Sela Forum, Bat Melech, Women's Spirit, ASLI, Bonot Alternativa, the Lobby for the Fight against Sexual Violence, Woman to Woman, WIZO, the Haifa Women's Coalition, Families of Murder Victims, Ahoti – for Women in Israel, I am Woman, the roof organization for the 14 shelters for battered women in Israel, the Union of Mayoral Advisers on the Status of Women in Israel and the Association for Arab Women Centers.