User:AlidaW/sandbox

Article Evaluation

Article: Gaza Strip

Tone seems neutral, There are many sources and the links seem to work well. Most sources are neutral as well, although there is a video from the Russia Times which can be unreliable. The article is organized well and is clear, and headings give clear idea of what the subject will be. In the talk page, the article is not rated. The page is locked for editing by by editors with few edits or whose account have not existed longer than 1 month. There is an intense discussion on the talk page about the inclusion of the Palestinian flag in the article. Some of the language used by a few editors goes against what we learned about how to interact on talk pages.

Article Selection

Edited work (reviewed)

Added Section:  The Influence of Gender Roles on Female Representatives

While in the Knesset and government, women have been shown to introduce bills and to work on issue areas that are different from their male colleagues.^[1]  A study conducted by Reut Itzkovitch-Malka and Chen Friedberg found a gender division in the bills introduced, with bills proposed by women more often centered on issues involving the family or women’s rights as opposed to defense and national security, areas in which women tend to be less involved than their male counterparts.^[1] Itzkovitch-Malka and Friedberg state that this divide may exist  because women are excluded from these issues and pushed toward issues more suited to traditional gender roles, or because women in government and the Knesset attempt to use these traditional roles to gain influence in areas of interest for their constituents.^[1] Additionally, in the governments themselves, women have often been appointed as cabinet ministers in positions which follow the ideology of traditional female roles.^[1]  The ministries of Education and Communications have both been lead by female ministers, and are seen as an area in which it is more acceptable for women to participate and a ministry of secondary importance respectively.^[2]

Added: Representation of Women in Political Parties

The Labor party has a 20 percent quota on the number of women it puts on its list, while other parties such as the Likud do not have formal quotas and do not ensure places for women on electoral lists.^[3]  Before 1989, the common practice in the Labor party was that a woman had to be included in the first five people on a list, and another had to be included within the first ten people.^[3]  The effects of this quota and policy are disputed. First, the quota is potentially the reason why most of the female representatives in the Knesset were from the labor party prior to the 2000s.^[3]  However, over time, the proportion of women in the Knesset from the Labor party has declined while representation from other parties has increased.^[3]  On the other hand, the quota represents a minimum of representation.^[3]  Herzog argues that this minimum is not only very low compared to population, but also that once it is met there is little incentive for more women to be included on the list of candidates. Further, Herzog contends that this quota causes women to compete with each other over these limited spots, rather than fighting for inclusion on the list.^[4]

Added to Existing Section: Until the 1970s (to be added at the bottom of the section)

The fact that Golda Meir was able to obtain high positions within the Israeli government is cited as an example of how women in Israel have opportunities to rise in politics.^[4] However, Herzog argues that the fact that Meir has been the only female prime minister, and one of only a few women to rise to a high political position in the government indicates that her time in office did not represent a broader trend in increasing equality.^[4]

To Add to Existing Section: After the 1970s

Added New Subsection: Israel’s Twelfth Knesset

The Knesset formed in the 1988 election was notable in the decided decline in the number of women elected as representatives.^[3]  There were seven women out of the one hundred and twenty Knesset members in this era.^[5] Due to the strong influence of religious parties in this Knesset, when female parliamentarians did advocate for issues involving women’s rights they were often ignored.^[5]  Additionally, the drive to capture the religious votes caused Labor and Likud to take a step back from positions supporting women’s rights.^[5] Furthermore, the newly formed government contained no women at all.^[3] Although no women occupied a position in the government itself, Shoshana Arbeli-Almozlino of the Labor party was selected to be the chairperson of the Economics Committee.^[4]  While this was partially taken as proof of women’s advancement, it only occurred after much protest around the fact that no women were included in the government.^[4]  For this reason, her selection is often seen as a strategic move to soften the lack of women’s inclusion in the government.^[4]

Added New Subsection: 1999 to Present

From the founding of the Knesset until 1992, the number of female representatives in the Israeli Knesset decreased, with the low point following the 1988 election of the twentieth Knesset.^[4]  The 1992 election saw not only an increase in the number of female representatives elected to the Knesset, but also a shift away from female parliamentarians who tended to put party support above advocating for specific issues.  Additionally, many of the women elected in the 1992 election were self-avowed feminists.^[4]

The 2000s have seen a shift in the representation of women in the Knesset.^[1]  Although the trend after 1999 has been one of increasing representation for women in the Knesset, this representation has largely come from parties on the left side of the political spectrum.^[1]  After 2003, this representation expanded to other political parties.^[1] At the same time, women still have not been able to run for Knesset membership in some religious and Arab parties.^[6]

New Subsection: Women in Religious Parties

Due to the rejection of female candidates by ultra-Orthodox parties, In 2015 the first Israeli political party dedicated to ultra-Orthodox women was unveiled, called "B’Zhutan: Haredi Women Making Change."  Led by Ruth Colian, the party hopes to bridge the gap in representation of issues relating to women in the Haredi community, while still maintaining an ultra-Orthodox, religious perspective.^[7]

With the support of secular, orthodox and ultra-Orthodox voters along with soldiers from the area, Aliza Bloch became mayor of Beit Shemesh in 2018^[8].  Her victory was notable due to this unique coalition of support, and because she ran as a Modern Orthodox woman.^[8] Bloch was able to appeal to a wide spectrum of voters by running on a platform of improved social services, and by emphasizing the efforts which she has made to improve the city rather than focusing on her own image, which would have made her vulnerable to criticism from ultra-Orthodox voters who believe that the role of women in public positions should be limited.^[8]

Added New Subsection: Women in the Thirty-Fourth Government

Ayelet Shaked, Miri Regev, and Gila Gamliel were appointed as cabinet ministers when the Thirty-Fourth Government [NS2] formed in 2015.^[9]  Ayelet Shaked of Habayit Hayehudi was appointed Minister of Justice, while Gila Gamliel and Miri Regev of the Likud were appointed Minister for Social Equality and Minister of Culture and Sport respectively, and Tzipi Hotovely was appointed Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.^[10]  In 2016, Sofa Landver was appointed Minister of Immigration Absorption.^[9]  Most recently, in 2019 Yifat Shasha-Biton became Minister of Construction and Housing.

Ayelet Shaked, as a member of the Jewish Home party, has advocated a far right ideology in her role as Minister of Justice. As the Minister of Justice, Shaked also leads the committee charged with filling court vacancies.  This has been a frequent task for Shaked, due to high turnover as judges retire.  Shaked, who has expressed the belief that the courts of Israel carry out a left wing ideology, has been firm in pushing candidates whose views are more conservative. Additionally, she has attempted to pass measures that limit the power of the supreme court. Shaked has been successful at building support, which caused speculation that she could replace Netanyahu as Prime Minister after the April 2019 election.^[11]

However, regardless of any support she had, Netanyahu continued as Prime Minister following this election.

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[NS2]Links to other Wikipedia articles? Here and other terms that have Wikipedia entries.

Unedited Work

Ideologies in Government

While in the Knesset and government, women have been shown to introduce bills and work on issue areas that are different from their male colleagues.  A study conducted by Reut Itzkovitch-Malka and Chen Friedberg found that women tend to focus on issues traditionally related to the role of women, such as those related to the family or women’s rights.  At the same time, on issues such as defense and national security, women tend to be less involved than their male counterparts. This may be because women are excluded from these issues and pushed toward issues more suited to traditional gender roles, or that women in government and the Knesset attempt to use these traditional roles to gain influence in areas of interest for their constituents. Additionally, in the governments themselves, women have often been appointed as cabinet ministers in roles which follow this ideology of traditional female roles.  The ministries of Education, Justice, and Communications have all been lead by female ministers, and are all seen as areas in which it is more acceptable for women to participate.

The Labor party has a quota on the number of women it puts on its list, at 20%.  Additionally, in the years leading up to 1989, the common practice in the Labor party was that a woman had to be included in the first five people on a list, and another had to be included within the first ten people.  The effects that this quota and policy have had are disputed. First, the quota is potentially the reason why most of the female representatives in the Knesset were from the labor party prior to the 2000s. On the other hand, the quota represents a minimum of representation.  Some contend that once this minimum is met, there is little incentive for more women to be included on the list of candidates. Further, Herzog contends that this quota on a minimum of women’s representation cause women to compete with each other over these limited spots. Over time, the proportion of women in the Knesset from the Labor party has declined, while representation from other parties, especially those labeled as independent, has increased.

Until the 1970s

The fact that Golda Meir was able to obtain high positions within the Israeli government is cited as an example of how women in Israel have opportunities to rise in politics. However, Herzog argues that the fact that she has been the only female prime minister, and one of only a few women to rise to a high political position in the government indicates that her time in office did not represent a broader trend in increasing equality.

Since the 1970s

Israel’s Twelfth Knesset

The Knesset formed in the 1988 election was notable in the decided decline in the number of women elected as representatives in the Knesset.  There were seven women out of the one hundred and twenty Knesset members. At the same time, due to the strong influence of religious parties in this Knesset, when female parliamentarians did advocate for issues involving women’s rights they were often ignored.  Additionally, the drive to capture the religious votes caused Labor and Likud to take a step back on from positions supporting women’s rights. Furthermore, the government which was formed contained no women at all.^[3] Although no women occupied a position in the government itself, Shoshana Arbeli-Almozlino of the Labor party was selected to be the chairperson of the Economics Committee.  While this was partially taken as proof of women’s advancement, it only occurred after much protest around the fact that no women were included in the government.  For this reason, her selection is often seen as a strategic move to soften the lack of women’s inclusion in the government.

1999 to Present

From the founding of the Knesset until 1992, the number of female representatives in the Israeli Knesset has gone done, with the low point following the 1988 elections.  The 1992 election saw not only an increase in the number of female representatives elected to the Knesset, but also a shift from female parliamentarians who tended to put party support above advocating for women’s issues, to self avowed feminists.

The 2000s have seen a shift in the representation of women in the Knesset.  Although the tendency after 1999 has been one of increasing representation for women in the Knesset, this representation has largely come from parties on the left side of the political spectrum.  After the year 2003, this representation has expanded to other political parties. At the same time, women still have not been able to run for Knesset membership in some religious and Arab parties.

Due to the rejection of female candidates by ultra-Orthodox parties, In 2015, the first Israeli political party dedicated to ultra-Orthodox women was unveiled, called "B’Zhutan: Haredi Women Making Change."  Led by Ruth Colian, the party hopes to bridge the gap in representation of issues relating to women in the Haredi community, while still maintaining an ultra-Orthodox, religious perspective.

With the support of a combination of secular, orthodox and ultra-orthodox voters along with soldiers from the area, Aliza Bloch became mayor of Beit Shemesh in 2018.  Her victory was notable due to this unique coalition of support. Bloch was able to appeal to a wide spectrum of voters by running on a platform of improved social services, and by emphasizing the efforts which she has made to improve the city rather than focusing on her own image, which would have made her vulnerable to criticism from ultra-orthodox voters who believe that the role of women in public positions should be limited.  At the same time, Einat Kalisch Rotem made history for her mayoral victory in Haifa, where she became the first female mayor.

Ayelet Shaked, Miri Regev, and Gila Gamliel were appointed as cabinet ministers when the government formed in 2015.  Ayelet Shaked of Habayit Hayehudi was appointed Minister of Justice, while Gila Gamliel and Miri Regev of the Likud were appointed Minister for Social Equality and Minister of Culture and Sport respectively.  Additionally, in 2016, Sofa Landver was appointed Minister of Immigration Absorption. This means that in the 34th government, there are four female cabinet ministers.

Ayelet Shaked, as a member of the Jewish Home party, has advocated a far right ideology in her role as Minister of Justice.  As the Minister of Justice, Shaked also leads the committee charged with filling court vacancies, a task which they have had to do quite often, due to high turnover as judges retire.  Shaked, who has expressed the belief that the courts of Israel carry out a left wing ideology, has been firm in pushing candidates whose views are more conservative. Additionally, she has attempted to pass measures which limit the power of the supreme court. Shaked has been successful at building support, which has caused speculation that she has the ability to replace Netanyahu as Prime Minister after the April 2019 election.

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/.premium-will-2019-be-a-record-election-for-israeli-women-the-top-female-politicians-to-foll-1.6826473

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/.premium-this-ultra-orthodox-woman-is-looking-to-make-history-in-the-israeli-election-1.6825182

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/.premium-fewer-women-more-generals-what-israel-s-next-government-is-expected-to-look-like-1.6965128

Privatization in Israel

There are sections lacking citations or sources

Cabinet of Israel

Needs additional sources/ info