4 | APRIL 6 • 2023
for openers
Will That Do?
essay
Israeli Women’s Key Role in History
W
e are all familiar
with the Golden
Rule: Do unto
others as you would have
them do unto
you. A cynic
once told me
that it should
read; Do unto
others BEFORE
they do unto
you. Be that
as it may, take
note of how often our expres-
sions rely on a key word,
“Do.” Explain? Don’t mind if
I do.
As youngsters, we may have
often heard that we should do
what we were told. We may
have been encouraged to do
our part (do our bit) or do a
good turn for someone. Being
reluctant, we may have said,
“No can do.”
If we acted properly, we
were told that we would do
our parents proud. Pride
would also follow asking
someone to do the honor of
making a blessing, giving a
talk, representing us in some
capacity.
If we knew of a solution to
a problem, that would do the
trick. We had to have the will
to do it, however.
Having the expertise for
something would enable us
to do it justice. Following
through would show a do-or-
die attitude. Encouragement
is always there to do our own
thing. For any who try to
face us down, we may chal-
lenge, “Do you want to make
something of it?”
On the negative side, a
wrong sense of competition
may lead us to try to outdo
someone or to do him out
of something. Hopefully,
we were not tempted to do
someone in.
If you completely change
your demeanor, you were
said to do an about face.
Maybe you planned a big
do and then canceled. Well,
do yourself a favor, recognize
that it was a fine how-do-
you-do and get on with your
life.
With any undertaking that
fails, you realize that you
won’t do that again in a hurry.
As usual, I will end with
some “humor” (the best I can
do):
How much wood would a
woodchuck chuck if a wood-
chuck could chuck wood? As
much dew as the dewdrops
drop when the dew drops do
drop dew.
Editor’s Note: Noa
Tishby, appointed Israel’s
first Special Envoy for
Combating Antisemitism and
Delegitimization by former
Prime Minister Yair Lapid, said
April 2 that she was fired by
the Netanyahu government for
publicly criticizing its judicial
reform plan. This article was
written prior to her firing.
W
omen’s History
Month just ended,
and it was a great
opportunity to
celebrate the
contribution of
Israeli women to
female freedom,
dignity and inclu-
sion.
The idealistic
Jews who built the Zionist soci-
ety in pre-state Ottoman and
British Mandatory Palestine
gave social status and rights
to women that were ahead of
virtually every contemporary
society.
In 1898, ahead of the Second
Zionist Congress, visionary
leader Theodor Herzl decided
that women would have the
right to vote in institutions cre-
ated by the Zionist society in
the Land of Israel — the Yishuv.
Debate on universal women’s
suffrage began immediately
with the British liberation
of then-Palestine from the
Ottoman Turks in 1917 and
when 25 women were elected
to the Yishuv’s first Constituent
Assembly in 1925.
My grandmother was one of
the strong women who came to
Israel to live at the first kibbutz
— Degania Alef. This kibbutz
granted women equal rights to
men, including, of course, the
vote, in 1911 — the year after it
was founded. My grandmother
had made a harrowing jour-
ney to escape the Bolshevik
Revolution in Russia and par-
ticipate in the building of a pro-
gressive Jewish society in Israel.
In the fight for Israeli inde-
pendence in 1947-49, women in
the elite Palmach often fought
on the front lines. To this day,
the Israel Defense Forces are
renowned worldwide for the
complete inclusion of women,
including in the mandatory
draft and even in combat roles.
In 1951, just three years after
the modern State of Israel was
established, the First Knesset
successfully passed the Women’s
Equal Rights Law, which guar-
anteed the equal status of men
and women. Women’s equality
in Israel was based upon the
new country’s Declaration of
Independence, which specifies
equality for everyone with no
discrimination based on reli-
gion, race or gender.
One of the great icons of
20th-century women’s leader-
ship was Israeli Prime Minister
Golda Meir. From 1969-1974,
she provided bold leadership in
turbulent times, including the
treacherous surprise invasion by
the Egyptian and Syrian armies
on the national fast day of Yom
Kippur in 1973.
Meir was also renowned for
the wisdom and humanity of
Sy Manello
Editorial
Assistant
Noa Tishby
JNS.org
PURELY COMMENTARY
continued on page 9
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