by Fran Levey, NCJW National Commissioner

We say that 2012 was the year of the “war on women,” but 2013 might well be the “Year of the Woman.” Ninety-eight women will be on their way to Washington this January. And again, I am so pleased to share with you another parallel example of NCJW’s progressive domestic agenda and our work in Israel. Over the last several years NCJW has collaborated with WePower — An Organization for the Advancement of Women’s Leadership in Israel, Changing the Face of Leadership in Israel. Established in 2000, WePower is a non-profit, non-partisan Israeli NGO, promoting women’s leadership, gender integration and equality at all levels of Israeli society. WePower proactively focuses on advancing women to top influential positions at the highest levels of decision-making and elected positions.

WePower provides the tools to make a meaningful leadership change in Israeli society through the following programs:
 
“I Want to be an MK” (Member of the Knesset) is a prestigious nine-month leadership training program which specifically addresses the lack of women’s representation in the Knesset and is designed to prepare women leaders to pursue elected offices in Israel.
 
Municipal Women’s Leadership Program aims to significantly increase the number of women who run for and are elected to city council and mayoral positions in the 2013 municipal elections.
 
“Young Women for Future Leadership” training program strives to build Israel’s next generation of women leaders, by developing personal skills which will allow them to take leadership roles in the municipal arena.
 
The “College for Politics” in collaboration with The Union of Local Authorities in Israel (ULAI), will train women who plan to run for council or mayoral positions in the upcoming municipal elections.

A grant last spring from NCJW’s Israel Granting Program helped fund the Advancing Women’s Leadership in Israel’s Public Arena initiative (which includes the programs mentioned above) to encourage women to run for political office at all levels.

The annual “Israel’s National Women’s Leadership Conference” By generating public and media interest, this program is designed to raise public awareness of the need of women in leadership and the social constraints and barriers they face. Check out WePower’s Facebook page for wonderful photos and reports of this latest conference – and Facebook will translate for you!
 
In the past decade, WePower has trained thousands of female activists who wish to create and lead social change within the municipal and national arenas. WePower substantially contributed to a 30% increase in elected women in the 2008 municipal elections. WePower is accelerating its programs towards the municipal and national elections in November 2013, which are forecasted to have a crucial impact on Israeli social outline. WePower’s goal towards Israel’s upcoming 2013 municipal elections is to increase the number of women elected for Mayoral offices and City Council. Their target is 30 female mayors, and 1,000 councilwomen.

Jewish Women’s funds in the following communities collaborate with NCJW in funding WePower: Miami, Palm Beach County, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, and New York.  If your section is in or near one of those communities, an educational event about WePower is the perfect way to collaborate.
Learn more about the recipient organizations of NCJW’s Israel Granting Program.

Fran Levey is the Immediate Past President of the Greater Miami Section (2009-2011) and now serves as an NCJW National Commissioner. She served for three years on the NCJW Israel Granting Committee and professionally assists philanthropists with their giving in Israel. Fran has a close identification with and love for Israel, having lived and travelled there as often as possible.