Esther Eillam facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Esther Eillam
אסתר עילם |
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| Born | 1939 |
| Died | August 1, 2023 |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Alma mater | Tel Aviv University |
| Known for | "Founding Mother" of Israeli feminism |
| Movement | Achoti - for Women in Israel |
Esther Eillam (in Hebrew: אסתר עילם; 1939 – August 1, 2023) was a very important person in Israeli feminism from its very beginning. Feminism is about making sure women have the same rights and opportunities as men. Esther Eillam worked hard for women's rights and fairness for everyone. She won many awards and was recognized for her work, even getting an honorary doctorate from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Esther Eillam helped start The Feminist Movement in Tel Aviv in 1971. She also helped create Ahoti - for Women in Israel, which is a Mizrahi feminist group. "Ahoti" means "my sister" in Hebrew. She was active in many areas of Israeli feminism, including politics, culture, and education. She organized big events in Israel to fight against gender violence (violence against people because of their gender). She also worked for peace.
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About Esther Eillam
Esther Saporta was born in 1939 in Tel Aviv. Her parents were Sephardic Jews from Saloniki, Greece. She was the second of four children. In 1964, she married Zohar Eillam, who was a psychologist and writer.
Esther studied psychology and philosophy at Tel Aviv University. She earned her first degree in 1972. Later, she continued her studies. She researched how people think about gender roles in society. She also studied "Women Leaders of the Yishuv Era," which was about important women in Israel's history before it became a country.
In 1970, Esther realized how much her life was shaped by being a woman in a patriarchal society. This means a society where men usually have more power and control. After this, she decided to work for change. She wanted to make society fairer for women. She kept working towards this goal as an activist and in her studies.
What She Did for Feminism
Esther Eillam is known as one of the "founding mothers" of feminism in Israel. In 1972, she started the first feminist group in Tel Aviv. It was called The Women's Liberation Group. After three years, it became a nonprofit organization called "The Feminist Movement in Israel." She was the leader of this group until 1992.
In this group, she helped women share their experiences and feelings in "consciousness raising groups." These groups helped women understand how society affected them. She also gave lectures and trained students. Esther wrote the group's newsletter and spoke for the group in the media. She worked to make sure people talked about feminist ideas in public. One of her big projects was campaigning for the Basic Law on Equal Rights for Women. This law would make sure women had equal rights by law.
In 1975, the Prime Minister asked Esther to join the Namir Commission. This group looked into the status of women in Israel. She studied how gender stereotypes appeared in elementary school textbooks.
In the 1980s, Esther continued to start and join groups that worked for women's rights and social justice. She was part of the political party Meretz. She also helped organize "Women Against Violence Against Women." This group started events like "Take Back the Night" marches. These marches were part of a worldwide movement to stop violence against women. She also helped create the first women's counseling center in Israel. This center offered special therapy for women.
Esther was also a founding member of the Israel Women's Network. This group works to improve the status of women in Israel. In 1985, she started the Women's Guard. This was a self-defense group for women in northern Tel Aviv. She became a peace activist after attending a big United Nations conference in 1985. Since then, she worked for peace, especially with Palestinian women.
In 1990, Esther helped with "Operation Witnesses." This project gathered stories from victims of violence. She also learned about "nonviolent communication." This is a way of talking that helps people understand each other without fighting. She also helped start the Women's Community School. This school teaches about different cultures.
In 2000, Esther helped found the "Ahoti - Women for Israel" movement. This group focuses on fairness for women from all backgrounds in Israel. Esther worked on many projects within this movement. These included "Women Building a Culture of Peace" and "Developing a Feminist Economy." She also worked to stop the trafficking of women. Her work on preventing violence was even used in school programs by the Ministry of Education.
In 2013, Esther joined "Women in Yellow." This group of women walked the streets of South Tel Aviv to help keep women safe. In 2018, she spoke at a big protest against the government's plan to send away African refugees.
Her Work in Politics
From 2008 to 2014, Esther Eillam was a member of a local political party called Ir Lekulanu (A city for all of us).
In 2018, she joined another local party called Anachnu HaIr (We are the city) for city elections. Her party won seats on the city council.
Her Research and Writing
Esther Eillam always included feminist writing and research in her work. She wrote about politics, how to do research, and how to look at different topics from a feminist point of view. She believed that feminism should include everyone. She thought that the way feminism was often talked about, especially from the United States, didn't always help all women.
She believed it was important to understand that women have different levels of power and access to resources. This depends on things like their background, their family's wealth, and other parts of their identity. This idea is called intersectionality.
Esther also worked to bring feminist ideas into universities. But she also thought that sometimes, when feminism became too academic, it could make it harder for the voices of women from less powerful groups to be heard. She believed that activism on the ground was where feminism truly began.
Awards and Recognition
Esther Eillam received many awards for her important work:
- 1995: Israel Women's Network’s Honorary Award
- 2000: Distinguished Citizen by ‘Ha-ir’, a local newspaper
- 2001: ‘Dor-Shalom’ Award for volunteers
- 2002: Honorary Ph.D. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- 2004: The annual Joint-Zusman prize for volunteer work
- 2006: She was a recommended candidate for Israel's Presidency as part of a campaign to elect a woman president
- 2010: Distinguished Citizen of the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, for her lifetime of feminist work
- 2011: Special honor for contribution to Mizrahi Culture from the ‘My Heart is in the East’ coalition
- 2014: Rappaport prize for A Groundbreaking Woman in Israeli Society
