The right to elect and be elected which Jewish women in Palestine have enjoyed for the last decade is questioned in the new municipality ordinance shortly to be proclaimed in Palestine as a preliminary to the establishment of a Legislative Council.
The new ordinance grants the High Commissioner the power to decide at his discretion whether or not a woman has the right to active and passive participation in municipal elections.
Under the present practice, Jewish women, in contrast to Arab women, have been permitted, in centers populated by Jews, to take part in municipal elections on an equal status with the men.
In a number of such centers, particularly in Tel Aviv, they have been elected to important municipal posts, especially to such posts as are connected with child care, education and social service.
Such rights may be cancelled in the future inasmuch as the High Commissioner may not find it politic to make distinctions between Jewish and Arab women. The latter are prohibited by religious tradition from participating in public functions.
Jewish women of Palestine do not however intend to permit the cancellation of their rights to be carried out without putting up a stiff campaign.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
