As we mark International Women’s Day this week, I remember as a child looking at pictures of my great aunt, who served in the pre-IDF “Palmach.” In those pictures she is seen standing alongside other women and men, wearing khaki pants and carrying a rifle. Back then, they were all in it together, men and women side by side, sharing a common dream and engaged in the collective goal of creating and building a nation state of Israel.
As those childhood pictures compellingly illustrate, there were no gender barriers separating men from women in the “Palmach.” Instead, they pursued and fought for their shared dreams together with zeal and determination.
It is thanks to that generation we have a strong and viable State of Israel today. For this reason, we must revive the commitment, determination and shared sense of mission of my great aunt’s generation, where empowerment of women and their integration into the military and the workforce, politics and business, was simply natural.
At the end of the day, gender equality is important not just for women but for society as a whole. It is also critical for working to build a sustainable peace in our troubled region, where women have the opportunity to be powerful agents of moderation.
I am honored to be part of a society where we champion the empowerment of women and gender equality. A society where we had a woman, Golda Meir, as Prime Minister; a woman serving as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (for the second time); women serving as fighter pilots and in other elite military roles; and an Arab woman who serves as the Chairperson of the Knesset Committee for the Advancement of the Status of Women.
Since its founding, Israel has been committed to a vision of a society of equal opportunity for all. Our Declaration of Independence guarantees equal rights for every citizen – regardless of their gender, ethnicity or religion. While we still have a long way to go and much to accomplish to this end, Israel is proud to be a champion for the empowerment of women and gender equality.