jordan pulse -

​OCCUPIED JERUSALEM
​The Israeli Knesset has recorded a historic milestone with the election of 33 women out of 120 lawmakers—accounting for 27.5% of the legislature—with the overwhelming majority concentrated in parties opposing Benjamin Netanyahu, reflecting a widening gap between the two political camps.
​According to an analysis by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), women represent 39% of the bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot and Arab parties, compared to just 13% within Netanyahu’s bloc. A comparison with 2020 reveals a stark divergence: female representation in Netanyahu’s camp dropped from 21% to 13%, while it rose among the opposition from 29% to 39%.
​Party Breakdown and Leadership Gaps
​A report by the Hebrew daily Haaretz noted that low female representation inside Netanyahu’s camp stems largely from the inclusion of the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties, both of which exclude women from their electoral lists. Currently, no Israeli political party is led by a woman.
​Opposition Parties: Gadi Eisenkot’s party is the only faction where women constitute a majority, while gender parity was achieved in both the Yachad ("Together") and The Democrats parties. Out of 26 women elected from the "Change Bloc" parties, 17 are entering the Knesset for the first time.
​Netanyahu’s Camp: Representation across pro-Netanyahu parties is limited to just seven women, only one of whom is a newcomer. Within Likud, the largest party, only four women were elected out of 27 lawmakers. Former Likud MK Keren Barak told Haaretz that religious extremism within the party—citing figures such as Shlomo Karhi—and internal policies led by figures like Haim Katz contributed to reducing the number of female lawmakers.
​Demographics and Ministerial Experience
​The absence of women from top leadership positions was underscored during the swearing-in ceremony, where no women appeared in the traditional commemorative photograph featuring party leaders alongside the President, the Supreme Court President, the interim Prime Minister, and the outgoing Knesset Speaker.
​Thon Ashkenazi, Director of the Center for Democratic Values and Institutions at the IDI, described the rise in female Knesset members as welcome news, noting that little progress had been made since 2015 while other public sectors experienced setbacks. She emphasized the need for this increase to translate into appointments to key Knesset and ministerial roles, calling for legislation to enshrine equal representation.
​The IDI analysis further highlighted notable demographic and experience gaps between male and female lawmakers:
​Age: Newly elected female MKs are younger on average than their male counterparts, with a mean age of 51.1 years compared to 54.3 years for men.
​Newcomers: Overall, 55% of elected women are first-time lawmakers, compared to 33% of men.
​Ministerial Experience: Only five women (15%) have previously held ministerial posts, compared to 33 men (38%).
​Source: Haaretz / Rum News Agency