A report on the position of the Jewish woman in Israel was presented here today at the International Socialist Women’s Conference by Rachel Shazar, Israeli delegate.
Mrs. Shazar emphasized that when the Histadrut, Israel’s Federation of Labor, was established, it had 7, 000 women among its members. At present there are 200,000 women in the Histadrut, most of them members of the Israel Labor Party which controls the Histadrut.
The working women in Israel, Mrs. Shazar stated, are organized in a special council which defends the professional interests of the women in the country and also conducts a large-scale program of social welfare, including the establishment of agricultural training farms, kindergartens and children’s homes. Immigrant girls are receiving vocational and language training in institutions maintained by the Council of Working Women, Mrs. Shazar reported.
The Israeli delegate said that special attention has been devoted to the situation of the Arab women in Israel. The Jewish State had been the first state in the Middle East to grant voting rights to women, Mrs. Shazar pointed out. She also reported that Socialist women in Israel are active in the country’s political life and are represented in the parliament by seven deputies who are responsible for securing legislation for women’s rights.
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