Not self-evident: The struggle and processes that enabled women in Israel to vote and be elected

A historical article about the struggle for women's suffrage and eligibility to be elected in the Jewish Yishuv, ahead of the 2026 elections. It covers the ultra-Orthodox opposition, proposed compromises (double vote for men, separate polling stations), and the 1926 Zionist majority decision for full equal rights. Key figures mentioned include Sarah Azaryahu, Ada Geller, and Fania Matmon-Cohen.

The article reviews the historic struggle for women's suffrage and eligibility to be elected in the Jewish Yishuv in the Land of Israel, ahead of the 2026 elections. It notes that the right to vote and be elected is not self-evident, and that even today many countries deny women these rights. New Zealand was the first to grant women the right to vote in 1893, and Finland the first to grant full rights to vote and be elected in 1906. Jewish women received the right to vote at the Second Zionist Congress in 1898, even before European parliaments. With the establishment of the state in 1948, women were granted equal voting rights, and in the first Knesset elections in 1949 they officially voted. However, the struggle began during the Yishuv period: in the first elections to the Assembly of Representatives in 1920, 14 women were elected out of 314 delegates. The prolonged struggle was led by the 'Hebrew Women's Association for Equal Rights in the Land of Israel', facing ultra-Orthodox and Orthodox religious opposition. Compromises such as a double vote for men or separate polling stations were proposed, but women's movements rejected them. In 1926, the Zionist majority decided in favor of full equal rights. The article mentions key figures: Sarah Azaryahu, Ada Geller, Fania Matmon-Cohen, Hemda Ben-Yehuda, Manya Shochat, and Rachel Yannait Ben-Zvi.