On Tuesday evening, February 25, in a conference held in Tel Aviv, party leaders and MKs from across the political spectrum discussed policies to advance the position of women in society. At the event, organized by the Israel Women’s Network, the Partnership of women’s organizations, and the online women’s magazine Onlife, lawmakers and candidates from all non-religious parties answered questions posed by Channel 2’s Dana Weiss.

Aida Touma-Sliman (Photo: Activestills)

Aida Touma-Sliman, a leading activist from the Communist Party of Israel and slated fifth on the Joint List, linked together all forms of oppression saying that, in addition to ending war, the occupation, and bloodshed, a feminist agenda must include fighting for the rights of anyone who is oppressed, regardless of gender. “Why do women suffer from the economic situation? Because the money is invested in the occupation,” said Toma-Sliman. “I can’t agree with the notion that women’s power will be used to support wars.” According to the number one woman candidate on the Joint List, most contract workers are women, and one of the first laws she plans to sponsor in the Knesset is one requiring government offices to directly hire all employees.

“This Joint List is the most effective answer to the racist intentions of Lieberman who wanted to keep Arabs and communists out of the Knesset,” Touma-Sliman said. “Our response was to band together and become even stronger than we were before.”