ZAKA is a series of voluntary post-disaster response teams in Israel, each operating in a police district. They are recognized by the Israeli government. The full name is "ZAKA – Identification, Extraction and Rescue – True Kindness". The two largest ZAKA factions are Zaka Tel Aviv and ZAKA Search and Rescue.
Linor Abargil is an Israeli attorney, actress, model and beauty queen who won the Miss World 1998, shortly after being raped. Since then, she has become a global advocate in the fight against sexual violence. She was crowned by her predecessor Miss World 1997, Diana Hayden.
Israel Gay Youth (IGY) was founded in 2001 in Israel as a non-profit NGO, branching off from the Israeli Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Association.
Benny Sela is an Israeli serial rapist.
The Aguda - The Association for LGBTQ Equality in Israel, known commonly as the Aguda, is an Israeli non-profit LGBT rights organization. Founded in 1975, the Aguda is based in Tel Aviv and focuses on volunteer-based initiatives and services for the LGBTQ community.
Yair Qedar is an Israeli documentary filmmaker, social activist and former journalist. In his project "the Hebrews", he had been Chronicling the lives of Jewish and Israeli figures of the modern Hebrew literary canon, Qedar's 19 feature length documentaries have all premiered at film festivals and have won the director over 30 prizes. Also, Qedar is a leading LGBTQ activist. He created several Queer films and the first Israeli LGBTQ newspaper.
Women in Israel comprise 50.26 percent of the state's population as of 2019. While Israel lacks an official constitution, the Israeli Declaration of Independence of 1948 states that “The State of Israel (…) will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex.”
Chaim Eliezer Walder was an Israeli Haredi author of literature for children, adolescents, and adults. In 1993, he became an Israeli publishing sensation with his bestselling first book, Yeladim Mesaprim al Atzmam, which revolutionized literature for Haredi children by introducing young protagonists who speak openly about their problems and feelings, and opened the door for many more writers to produce original fiction for Haredi youth. Walder was a long-time columnist on social issues for the Hebrew daily Yated Ne'eman, an educational counselor, and manager of the Center for the Child and Family, operated by the Bnei Brak municipality.
The response of the Haredi Jewish community in Brooklyn, New York City, to allegations of sexual abuse against its spiritual leaders has drawn scrutiny from inside and outside the Jewish community. When teachers, rabbis, and other leaders have been accused of sexual abuse, authorities in the Haredi community have often failed to report offenses to Brooklyn police, intimidated witnesses, and encouraged shunning against victims and those members of the community who speak out against cases of abuse, although work has been done within Jewish communities to begin to address the issue of sexual abuse. Additionally, the existence of sexual abuse has also been used to promote stereotypes or fuel Antisemitic conspiracy theories.
Sarah Ben-David is an Israeli Professor of Criminology whose scientific and public activity focuses mainly on victimology and criminology and overlapping areas between these two fields. In recent years, Ben-David has worked to encourage research, awareness and therapy in the field of sexual harassment of men and women, and regarding awareness of the reciprocal nature of intimate partner violence and domestic violence.
SAWA is a Palestinian, non-profit civil society organization established in 1998 by a group of female volunteers active in women's issues.
Debbie Gross is the founder and director of the religious women crisis center Tahel. She founded the organization in 1993 to help women in a time of crisis and now it is a national center in Israel to help women and children dealing with trauma.
Esther Eillam was a central figure in Israeli feminism from its inception. Eillam's activism and her writings on feminism and social justice have garnered her awards and recognition, including an honorary doctorate from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Carmen Elmakiyes Amos is a social and political activist, medical clown, and filmmaker. She is a founder of the "Not Nice" social movement, of the Tor Hazahav Mizrahi political movement. In April 2019, she ran in the national elections for the Knesset as a candidate for the Gesher party, led by Orly Levy-Abekasis.
Iris Stern Levi is an Israeli social activist focused on issues of women's and human rights. She is co-founder of the non-profit organizations Her Academy (2016) and Turning the Tables (2011), both of which work to provide vocational training for women who are survivors of prostitution and violence. Stern Levi is also on the board of Coalition of Women for Peace, co-director of the Testimony Tribunal of Women Victims of Sexual Assault, and was the volunteer coordinator for the Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center for 16 years. She is the recipient of the 2018 Sussman-Joint Award.
Deganit Berest is an Israeli painter and photographer.
The thirty-seventh government of Israel is the current cabinet of Israel, formed on 29 December 2022, following the Knesset election on 1 November 2022. The coalition government consists of seven parties — Likud, United Torah Judaism, Shas, Religious Zionist Party, Otzma Yehudit, New Hope and Noam — and is led by Benjamin Netanyahu, who has taken office as the Prime Minister of Israel for the sixth time. The government is notable for its inclusion of far-right politicians.
The Shomrat gang rape was a series of sexual assaults which occurred in August 1988 at the kibbutz of Shomrat in Israel. The assaults were committed at various locations in and around the kibbutz and continued for a week. The victim was a 14-year-old girl from the kibbutz. The crime was committed by 11 rapists, including both teenage boys and adults, some of them members of Kibbutz Shomrat. The crime led to a change in Israeli law's treatment of rape, which now states that a man must seek and verify the express consent of a woman before having sexual contact with her and that if such permission is not given, it is rape.
During the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Israeli women, girls, and men were reportedly subject to sexual violence, including rape and sexual assault by Hamas or other Gazan militants. The extent of sexual violence perpetuated by militants or whether sexual violence occurred at all during the attacks is disputed. Initially said to be "dozens" by Israeli authorities, they later clarified they could not provide a number. The militants involved in the attack are accused of having committed acts of gender-based violence, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Hamas has denied that its fighters committed any sexual assaults, and has called for an impartial international investigation into the accusations.
Antifa is a political movement composed of left-wing and far-left individuals and groups from Israel, who identify as anti-fascist.
