Israeli elections are expected to take place by November this year, and there is a growing push to ensure more women will join the upcoming class of Knesset members. The 5050 Initiative, founded by gender equity activist Yael Yechieli in 2022 and today part of the Tzedek Centers social justice organization, hopes to be one of the drivers of that change.

“The next Knesset must include significantly more women,” said Yechieli, who, as executive director of the initiative, helped secure a core grant from the Hadassah Foundation in 2025. “Israel is facing a profound national crisis, and the upcoming elections are critical for rebuilding the country.”

Today, 31 women sit in the 120-seat Knesset, about 25 percent of members. The improvement in women’s representation that had occurred between 1999 and 2015—when women went from nine to 36 seats—has stalled over the past decade, according to data compiled by the Israel Democracy Institute.

​Supporters of the initiative are encouraged to ask politicians to commit to gender equality, sign petitions, organize locally and demand equal representation—meaning that 50 percent of local and national political roles should be filled by women.

Targeting the upcoming Knesset elections, one of the project’s newest goals is to recruit parties to adopt “zipper lists.” Under this system, if a man is placed first on a party list, the second candidate must be a woman, followed by a man and so on down the slate. Yechieli said it is not enough to place equal numbers of men and women on a party list if the women appear far down on the slate. Under Israel’s proportional representation system, voters pick a party list, not individual candidates. The list’s order heavily influences who enters the Knesset.

Women “need to be in top positions, such as between one and 10,” she explained.

The 5050 Initiative, which recently brought on prominent comedian Adi Ashkenazi as a spokeswoman, has secured public statements of support from several newer political parties, including the Yashar Party, led by Gadi Eisenkot, a former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, and one expected to be helmed by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

The group is also working with Arab parties to help ensure female representation on their slates, hiring Arab Israeli women Hanan Alsana and Rasha Ismail to bring the 5050 message to that community.

“For us, the work is not only about gender equality,” Yechieli said. “It is about building a healthier democracy and better decision-making at a moment when Israel needs it most.”