"Make room for women’s voices and women’s leadership in decision making processes": EU-financed project in Israel

On 1 January 2025, FES Israel, together with four Israeli CSOs – WePower, The Mossawa Center, Nivcharot and Itach Ma'aki – launched a two-year EU-funded project, “Make Room for Women’s Voices and Women’s Leadership in Decision-Making Processes in Israel”.

The project aims to empower CSOs and women leaders – both established and aspiring – from all parts of Israeli society, particularly underrepresented groups such as Arab and Haredi women, to actively participate in decision-making processes and public discourse. It also seeks to strengthen the capacities of the four co-applicants, foster collaboration and knowledge exchange, and build networks between female leaders from diverse communities.

The project targets more than 800 women: secular, religious and ultra-Orthodox Jewish women, as well as Arab and Bedouin women from across the country.

Legal Forum Conference

A newly established Legal Forum promotes gender equality through legislative amendments, petitions to the courts and leading policy initiatives. On 10 September 2025 the Legal Forum Conference gathered lawyers, CSO representatives and special guests Eduardo Fernandez-Zincke, Head of Cooperation at the Delegation of the European Union to Israel, and Oshra Yosef Friedman, Deputy Head of the Authority for the Advancement of the Status of Women, to explore ways to boost women’s participation in decision-making processes and advance the UN’s “50:50 by 2030” goal.

The project was facilitated by our EU Projects team at the FES EU Office.