The incoming government will not only be the most right-wing, religious, and anti-LGBTQ but will also turn its back on over 50% of the population. No, I am not talking about the Israelis who voted for the Left, but the women of Israel, both who voted for the Right or Left.
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They are excluded from Benjamin Netanyahu's government. In the best-case scenario, it will have four or five female ministers out of a total of 30. The coalition will include factions that oppose having female members completely. Sephardi ultra-Orthodox Shas party and Ashkenazi Haredi United Torah Judaism faction will not let this glass ceiling be shattered and the justice system will not help. Other parties of the right-wing bloc include women, but they themselves do not believe that women can and should be entering the sphere. And even in the Likud itself, the male lawmakers are expected to control the government and the coalition.
Netanyahu is not known for his gender sensitivity. His associates have always been men, preferably those who speak English well and with an American accent. I don't expect him to change his ways any time soon.
But he is married to Sara Netanyahu, a psychologist with multiple degrees in educational psychology, and I believe she understands the impact of excluding women from the public sphere and the meaning of clear preference for men over women in senior government roles. Surely she also knows the importance of a female perspective before making a decision.
According to reliable sources, Netanyahu consults his wife on many issues, including such important appointments. There were even rumors that the heads of Israel's Mossad and Shin Bet agencies first go through Sara before receiving approval from Netanyahu. And even if these rumors are exaggerated, she undoubtedly holds a position of influence and can affect change.
As such, she is expected to exercise the full weight of her influence: to renew and refresh her position as "the prime minister's wife" and lead this important initiative. Sara Netanyahu herself may never be pushed to the back due to her position, but still, she can certainly prevent that from happening to other women, the right-wing female lawmakers, for instance.
The next few days are crucial, for Netanyahu is to decide who will assume the remaining senior positions in the government. Who will serve in the cabinet and who will sit out the game on the plenary bench.
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