On Thursday March 6, 2014, the Ambassadors’ Club of Israel , the Government Press Office and Na’amat – Movement of Working Women & Volunteers marked the day of International Women’s Day in a special event for foreign ambassadors and foreign Journalists posted in Israel. This is a joint initiative of the Ambassadors’ Club led by ambassador Yitzhak Eldan and Press Government Office led by Mr. Nitzan Chen to mark in Israel throughout the year international days recognized by United Nation.
The event that was dedicated to the International Women’s Day held on March 8 focused on strengthening women and cooperation between Jewish and Arab women. The foreign dignitaries included representatives from the embassies of Italy, El Salvador, Moldova, Spain, Paraguay, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Taiwan, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Philippines, Nepal and the Republic of Congo.
The group visited the Na’amat Hashalom daycare center in Jaffa, a bilingual center for Jewish and Arab children and Na’amat Glickman Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Domestic Violence in the Family in Tel Aviv. The event was in the presence of official guests among them: Ms. Elpida Rouka, chief for regional affairs, Office of the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, UNSCO and Ms. Vered Swid, director of the Authority for the Advancement of the Status of Women at Prime Minister Office; and Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai.
Adv. Ruth Amit-Fogel, a board member of the Ambassadors’ Club and Honorary Consul of Paraguay – spoke on Behalf of Ambassador Yitzhak Eldan about women in general and cooperation between Jewish and Arab women:
On the International Women’s Day which is marked every year for the struggle of women around the world.
Struggling for equality, for opportunities, for equality between men and women, for equal incomes and equality in their position and representation; Here in Israel, we regard the equality between Jewish and Arab women.
In my opinion, there is still a gap, which is mainly in their participation in the labor market. I must point out, that in recent years great efforts have been made by the Israeli Government and other non-governmental organizations, in order to integrate Arab women into the labor market and to decreasing the gap between Arab and Jewish women.
As long as their participation in the labor market increases, it will lead to a financial growth, thus the economy and society will improve. Already today, one can see a considerable increase in the education level of Arab women. This eases their integration and involvement into the labor market.
My work for many years at Na’amat, The Movement for the Advancement of Women, as the advisor for the head of Na’amat, exposed me to the mutual relations and cooperation today between Jewish and Arab women, the advancement of women as leaders, the cooperation of women as central decision makers on a national level; the advancement for the struggle for equal income between men and women as well as equal education for Jewish and Arab children. This cooperation is carried out through courses, workshops and joint meetings in mixed groups. We noticed that as long as the activity is carried out by women side by side, reaching the goal is more successful.
The journey to reaching equality is like climbing a mountain. Each year, on International Women’s Day, we mark another step in our ascent, a step which brings us closer to the summit and to reaching our goals which we placed before us. I hope and believe that within a few years, we will reach this goal to bring full equal rights to every sector and to every status.
Honorary Consul of Paraguay
Invitation to the Event
The Event in the Media
- Foreign dignitaries mark Int'l Women’s Day in Israel with tour of NA’AMAT shelters - The Jerusalem Post
- Foreign dignitaries tour with Na’amat, Ambassadors' Club and Press for International Women's Day (Hebrew) - Israeli Government Press Office
