Eliminate Violence against Women! Haifa, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv to Rally

In commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which will be marked next Sunday, November 25, three demonstrations will take place in Israel: in Haifa on Thursday the 22nd, in Jerusalem on Saturday the 24th, and in Tel Aviv on Sunday the 25th.

In addition, the Chairwoman of the Knesset’s Parliamentary Committee for the Advancement of the Status of Women and Gender Equality, Hadash MK Aida Touma-Sliman (Joint List), initiated a special event that was held in the Knesset yesterday, November 19 and another that will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, the 21st around the problem of violence against women.

Young Communist demonstrators in Haifa during an event organized for a past International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women; from right to left: “Every man and every women is entitled to a life of dignity and respect”; “It’s my right to live”; “We will never be silent - Your silence is a crime”

Young Communist demonstrators in Haifa during an event organized for a past International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women; from right to left: “Every man and every women is entitled to a life of dignity and respect”; “It’s my right to live”; “We will never be silent – Your silence is a crime” (Photo: Al Ittihad)

During yesterday’s event in the Knesset, MK Touma-Sliman related how “The commemoration of the day, November 25, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly is important and we observe it every year to remind us all about the importance of leading a decent and non-violent life, and to raise society’s awareness about domestic violence in general and in particular violence against women.”

On the special events scheduled to take place in the Knesset, Touma-Sliman said: “On Monday and Tuesday, we are holding a photographic exhibition organized by the Slovenian ambassador to Israel. In our Parliamentary Committee for the Advancement of the Status of Women and Gender Equality we will be holding a session on the phenomenon of violence against women, during which we will discuss ideas and programs from around the world on how to deal with these phenomena and reduce them.”

Touma-Sliman told how she intends to stress throughout the special event at the Knesset the importance of escalating the struggle that she is leading to compel the government to assume its responsibility and carry out its duties to protect women and implement a five-year plan to combat domestic violence.

Women’s rights activists in Israel have observed November 25 as a day against gender-based violence since 1981. This date was selected to honor the Mirabal sisters, three political activists from the Dominican Republic who were brutally murdered in 1960 on orders from the country’s pro-imperialist dictator, Rafael Trujillo who was in power from 1930 to 1961.

On December 20, 1993 the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 48/104, the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, laying the groundwork for the ultimate eradication of violence against women and girls worldwide.

On February 7, 2000, the General Assembly adopted resolution 54/134, officially designating November 25 as the International day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and in doing so, encouraged governments, international organizations as well as social and women’s movements to join together and annually organize activities designed to raise public awareness of the phenomena on this date.