LFI celebrates International Women’s Day 2025 with a special edition of Key Issues featuring a curated collection of thought-provoking essays.
After 7 October: Young Jewish women refuse to be defined by fear
By Jessica Levy
The events of 7 October have profoundly altered the lives of young Jewish women around the world. That day, when Hamas launched its brutal and unprecedented attack on Israeli civilians, marked a turning point in how many of us perceive our safety, our communities and our identity.
As a young Jewish woman currently on a gap year in Israel, I have experienced a dramatic shift in my sense of security and belonging.
In London, where I was until this January, I felt an unfamiliar sense of alienation. Walking through familiar streets, taking public transport, or simply going about daily life now carried a sense of vulnerability. It is a sentiment echoed by young Jewish women across the globe. Conversations that once flowed freely are now marked by hesitation, as I and many of my peers fear the repercussions of openly expressing our Jewish identity or our connection to Israel. The fear is not just theoretical; reports of antisemitic incidents have surged, and many of us have personally experienced hostility, ranging from microaggressions to outright threats and even physical attacks. We don’t wear our Star of David necklaces. We were told not to walk to school in our uniform which has Jewish symbols. It simply doesn’t feel safe to be a Jewish woman in the streets of London anymore.
Paradoxically, many young Jewish women, including myself, now perceive Israel – a country in an active conflict – as safer than our home countries. When non-Jewish friends questioned my decision to spend time in Israel during my gap year despite the continuing war, I struggled to explain how it felt like a refuge and safe haven. The reality is that, while Israel faces external threats, the solidarity and resilience of its people provide a unique sense of security that is often missing in diaspora communities, where antisemitism has grown more overt and unchallenged.
Yet amid these challenges, there have been powerful moments of unity and empowerment. The recent release of Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Liri Albag, the four teenage girls held hostage by Hamas who are the same age as myself and many of my friends on my gap year programme, was a deeply emotional event for many young Jewish women. Their stories of resilience and survival resonated with us on a profound level, serving as a reminder of both the horrors of 7 October and the unbreakable spirit of our people. Being in Israel at the time of their release was an experience like no other. The sense of relief and triumph upon their return was palpable, and in that moment, our collective strength felt undeniable.
I also felt this sense of resilience at the Labour Friends of Israel annual lunch last December, where I had the privilege of hearing from British-Israel citizen Mandy Damari, whose daughter, Emily, was taken hostage from her home on Kibbutz Kfar Aza on 7 October. Mandy is a true inspiration. Her words were a testament to the power of perseverance and solidarity in the face of adversity. She spoke not only of the immediate crisis but of the long-term fight for justice, equality, and recognition – values that resonate deeply with young Jewish women navigating this new and unsettling reality. Seeing Emily’s return after hearing her story was an unparalleled feeling of relief and happiness.
Mandy exemplifies the role that many female family members of hostages have been forced to undertake in the months after 7 October. The incredible way they have dealt with these unwelcomed roles highlights the powerful effect of maternal figures and the unshakeable strength of women. Figures such as Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose son, Hersh, was murdered by Hamas, and Sharone Lifschitz, whose father, Oded, was killed by the terrorists, are a real testament to women around the world. They have been amazing advocates – not just demonstrating the power and strength of Jewish women and mothers, but women and mothers everywhere.
However, this period has also been marked by profound disappointment. Speaking to many of my peers from the UK to Australia and Argentina, we have felt a deep sense of betrayal by feminist organisations that remained silent in the wake of the sexual violence committed against Israeli women on 7 October. The brutal rapes and assaults carried out by Hamas terrorists were documented, yet the global feminist movement largely failed to acknowledge, let alone condemn, these atrocities. Their silence was deafening, and the trending hashtag “Me Too Unless You’re a Jew” encapsulated the painful double standard that so many of us have experienced.
This realisation has been a turning point for many young Jewish women. We have learned that we cannot always rely on external movements to advocate for us, and, as a result, we have become more vocal and proactive in standing up for ourselves and our community. One of the young women on my gap year programme explained to me that she felt a responsibility that she hadn’t previously to become a social media activist, doing the job of those that she followed that haven’t spoken up at the most important times. Social media has become a battleground for truth, where young Jewish women are taking it upon themselves to challenge misinformation, call out hypocrisy and share their lived experiences.
As young Jewish women, we refuse to be defined by fear. Instead, we are choosing to stand strong, speak out and reaffirm our place in the global conversation. We are more than just witnesses to history – we are active participants in shaping our future, ensuring that our voices are heard, and our stories are told. The challenges we face are great, but so, too, is our resolve.
Jessica Levy worked as an events and communications assistant at Labour Friends of Israel. She is now participating in a gap year programme in Israel
A post-7 October shift in Israeli-Jewish consciousness
By Maya Savir
A major obstacle to peace is the widely held notion that people don’t change. But it is an historical fact that they do. They change as individuals, and they change collectively.
Following the publication of my book, On Reconciliation, which delves into the conflicts and reconciliation processes of South Africa and Rwanda, I’ve spoken to various audiences in Israel. For nearly a decade, and with audiences that vary in their political beliefs, the notions I conveyed about reconciliation and what it demands were generally well received despite the nature of my ideas, one that undermines the prevalent view of the conflict held by the Israeli-Jewish mainstream.
Odd, isn’t it? We would expect that a society that rejects the very notion of reconciliation to be less open to it. Understanding this ostensible paradox offers insight to the Israeli-Jewish mind, and to the changes it is undergoing. One of the reasons for this acceptance is that the examples I share on reconciliation are from Africa, which engages the curiosity and imagination of those who do not know it. But more importantly, it is due to a characteristic of Israeli-Jewish consciousness before 7 October, that of suppression.
For most Israeli-Jews, before 7 October and the ensuing war in Gaza, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was distant, and more importantly, controllable. In other words, their response to my ideas about reconciliation was essentially: sure, this is interesting, and one day, after we’ve tended to all the other, much more pressing, matters we have on our table, it’ll be relevant to us. 7 October changed that.
The elephant – that is, the conflict – is in the room, and it can no longer be ignored. Its steps are heard and felt. New audiences, including those that are not traditionally part of the peace movement, are engaging in conversations that they previously considered irrelevant. Sadly, too many Israeli-Jews are nonetheless currently fantasising about solutions that are both morally corrupt and completely unrealistic, but they are nonetheless acknowledging the fact that there is a conflict, and that it needs to be tended to. The importance of this development can’t be exaggerated: it is impossible to speak about what lies in a person’s blind spot.
People change. Just look at Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda, at black and white South Africans, at Israel and Egypt, at France and Germany, and even at Israel and postwar Germany. Israeli-Jews can do so as well.
Maya Savir is an Israeli writer and human rights and reconciliation activist. She is the author of On Reconciliation as well as six fiction books. She serves as Search For Common Ground’s Israel country director
A historic court decision for women – or another stage in Israel’s constitutional crisis?
By Daphna Hacker
Last month, the Israel Women’s Network (IWN), along with Na’amat and Forum Dvora, achieved a legal victory when the supreme court ruled that the government must fulfil its legal obligation to appoint women to senior leadership roles in the civil service. The petition to Israel’s highest court was submitted following the government’s nomination of 18 chief executives for its ministries – 17 men and one woman. By that decision, the government ignored prior warnings from the attorney general and from the head of the Authority for Promoting Women’s Status regarding the legal requirement for “adequate representation of women” in civil service nominations.
During the proceedings, the government reported that half of senior civil service positions are held by women, yet only two of the 29 final appointments as ministry chief executives were women. Similarly, only nine women held positions equivalent to chief executive out of 60 such roles, and just two women served among 15 deputy chief executives. Information presented by the petitioners showed that only 26 percent of the 362 positions which are exempted from open recruitment within the civil service are occupied by women, with many of these being administrative and secretarial roles rather than genuine senior positions.
The three supreme court justices hearing the case – Justices Noam Sohlberg, Khaled Kabub and Daphne Barak-Erez – unanimously accepted the petition, affirming that the legal obligation to ensure “adequate representation of women” applies to all civil service positions, including ministry chief executives and other senior positions that are exempted from open recruitment. The court acknowledged continuing biases against women in high-level appointments and emphasised the importance of diversity and role models for junior women.
The court went on to order the government to issue new guidelines within six months that would: require ministers to actively search for qualified women when recommending candidates; place the burden of proof on ministers to demonstrate that a suitable woman cannot be found if a man is recommended; and compel those bodies responsible for approving ministers’ recommendations to consider adequate representation of women as a factor in nominations.
While this ruling represents a victory for women’s rights advocates and follows previous IWN legal successes (such as opening the IDF pilot course to women and increasing female representation on governmental company boards), challenges remain. The court did not cancel the existing male-dominated chief executive appointments, and implementing these guidelines, if indeed they are drafted, may prove difficult even for future nominations.
Even more concerning is the potential that this important ruling will be disregarded by Israel’s current right-wing government, as part of its attempt to change the whole of the Israeli democratic system, including by weakening the supreme court. The government might even decide to override this court decision by abolishing laws mandating affirmative action for women. Global trends, influenced by the Trump administration’s rollback of equality and diversity initiatives, may further complicate progress. Only time will tell whether this supreme court decision was an important milestone in the struggle for women’s equality in Israel or becomes another chapter in the country’s ongoing constitutional crisis.
Daphna Hacker is a professor at the law faculty and the women and gender studies programme at Tel Aviv University and chair of the Israeli Women’s Network
Discovering a shared heritage in Israel
By Peymana Assad
Growing up, my dad would always tell me about a theory that Afghans are descended from one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. It fascinated me, sparking a lifelong curiosity about Afghanistan’s rich and diverse history. I’ve spent hours looking at old photos of Afghan Jews in Afghanistan and watching videos of Afghan Jewish weddings where couples wore traditional Afghan clothes but followed Jewish rituals. It saddened me that Afghanistan has lost so much of its diversity over time: war has erased communities, while the Israeli-Palestinian conflict made many Afghans hesitant to acknowledge this part of their history.
As a practising Muslim, I’ve always felt a deep connection to the Holy Land: home of the Abrahamic faiths and the land of the Prophet Moses, whose story of leading the Israelites to freedom from Pharaoh is central to Islam. His journey has always given me faith that justice can prevail, and that we should never lose hope. The idea that Afghans might have originally come from that land? It blew my mind. So, when I was invited to visit Israel in May 2023 with Labour Friends of Israel, I immediately said yes. This was a chance to explore a hidden part of my Afghan identity and to better understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Wanting to make the most of my trip, I contacted the Jerusalem Press Club and specifically asked if they could connect me with Afghan Jews. Its staff introduced me to an 84-year-old Israeli woman of Afghan heritage, Miriam Vidal. The morning before we were due to visit Ramallah, Miriam came to our hotel for breakfast – walking through Jerusalem with incredible energy!
We bonded instantly. Like me, she had left Afghanistan at the age of three; her family had migrated to Israel, mine to the UK. Her father had become the head rabbi of the Afghan synagogue in Ra’anana, where one of Israel’s largest Afghan Jewish communities still resides. She showed me a photo of her grandfather and told me how he had met Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, who encouraged him to bring his family to Israel.
Miriam had gone on to become a teacher, had spent time in the UK, and still spoke fluent Dari, my mother tongue. She joked with Michael Rubin, LFI’s director, when I asked him to take a picture of us: “You know, we can speak a language you don’t understand.” It warmed my heart to see how much she cherished our shared heritage. Despite our differences – she was an Israeli Jewish woman, I was a British Muslim woman – our stories mirrored those of each other in so many ways. We still keep in touch. She’s the only person with Hebrew in her name who leaves me loving comments on Facebook.
Miriam spoke about how the Afghan Jewish community in Ra’anana still meets up, speaks Dari, cooks Afghan food, and holds onto cultural heirlooms from their parents. They’re now looking for a museum to preserve their history. During my visit, I was even asked to take a DNA test as part of efforts to explore potential connections between Afghans and Israelis. I never got the chance, but I hope to do so in the future.
As I travelled across Israel and Palestine, meeting people – young and old – who were working for peace, it struck me that this is the only way forward: by finding the human connections that tie us together.
On 7 October, as the horrors of that day unfolded, I sent Miriam a message: “Are you okay? Is your family safe?” It was a simple message, but one that carried the weight of our bond.
This International Women’s Day, I think of Miriam and all the women striving to bridge the divide and break down old narratives. In a region where politics so often overshadows humanity, it’s their quiet acts of connection that remind us that peace isn’t just about diplomacy – it’s about seeing each other’s humanity.
Councillor Peymana Assad is co-founder and co-chair of the Labour Foreign Policy Group and is the shadow cabinet member for community safety and environment on the London Borough of Harrow
Women’s voices must shape the path to peace
By Hanan Alsanah and Ela Alon
As we mark International Women’s Day, the possible collapse of the latest ceasefire and hostage agreement highlights the toll on civilians of the ongoing war. Women bear the brunt of this crisis while remaining largely excluded from decision-making. The 25th anniversary of UN security council resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security serves as a valuable reminder: sustainable peace is highly more likely when women’s voices and leadership are central to negotiations and policy decisions.
For decades, women have led grassroots peacebuilding efforts, mediating conflicts, rebuilding communities, and advocating for justice. Itach-Ma’aki’s Centre for Women, Peace and Security has worked to ensure women’s perspectives are included in conflict resolution. Alongside civil society partners, we successfully advocated for Israel to incorporate parts of UNSCR 1325 into legislation in 2005, but a 2014 government commitment to develop a national action plan remains unfulfilled. Today, with the country in a declared state of war, the 14-member state security cabinet includes only one woman. This exclusion not only undermines equality but weakens policy effectiveness in this vital realm.
History shows that peace agreements are more sustainable when women participate. Their involvement increases the likelihood of an agreement lasting at least two years by 20 percent and the probability of it being sustained for 15 years by 35 percent. Recognising this, we partnered with civil society organisations in the West Bank to train over 100 Palestinian and Israeli women in leadership positions for peace and security negotiations. Through expert-led sessions and networking opportunities, they gained tools to influence decision-making and integrate gender perspectives into future negotiations. Throughout the current conflict, we have continued to support our alumni in their initiatives and participation in “Track II” negotiations involving representatives from governmental agencies, civil society and the private sector.
Building on this success, we are working to ensure women’s perspectives shape any future peace process. Inspired by Colombia’s model of integrating women’s testimonies into negotiations, we launched a pilot project in Masafer Yatta (in the southern West Bank) to amplify the voices of Palestinian women facing occupation, home demolitions and displacement, demonstrating their resilience and understanding of their communities’ needs. This led to tangible impact, including the establishment of a gender-sensitive mobile health clinic with partners and successful advocacy efforts with lawmakers and diplomats.
Seeing the heightened need for this work since October 2023, we launched our online testimonies database, and gathered over 2,000 testimonies from diverse women – Bedouin women from unrecognised villages, Jewish evacuees and women without legal status – to document the impact of the war from a gendered lens. These stories highlight the devastation of the conflict and the critical perspectives missing from policy debates. Women’s voices must be heard to prevent further escalation and build a just and lasting peace.
Our Legal Aid Hotline, which assists 1,700 women annually, reveals the complex crises marginalised women face. We received dozens of calls from low-wage workers evacuated from areas surrounding the Gaza Strip who did not receive adequate compensation from employers; Palestinian citizens of Israel who have lost jobs due to incitement and discrimination; Bedouin women in unrecognised villages enduring war without shelters; and women without legal status who are being deported and separated from their families. Meanwhile, domestic violence has surged, exacerbated by war-related trauma, economic stress and limited social services.
This war has made one thing clear: Israeli and Palestinian women need peace. Women in both societies are enduring unimaginable loss, yet their needs and expertise remain sidelined. The international community must ensure women’s voices shape peace efforts.
Now more than ever, we call on governments, policymakers and civil society to uphold the commitments of UNSCR 1325. Women must not only be protected from war’s harms, they must also be recognised as essential agents in ending it. Without their leadership, there can be no meaningful, lasting peace.
It is time to listen to women. It is time to act.
Hanan Alsanah and Ela Alon are co-directors of Itach-Ma’aki: Women Lawyers for Social Justice
