One night in July 1997, the Knesset made history by passing the first reading of the Law to Prevent Sexual Harassment. It was met by all sorts of catcalls and sexist remarks by many of the legislature’s male members. Knesset member Yael Dayan had presented the innovative law in her capacity as chair of the Committee to Advance the Status of Women. At the time, she had to push back against warnings from Knesset members who argued that the legislation would prevent men and women from talking with each other. Rehavam Ze’evi, a major general in the reserves, seriously argued that women actually like to turn men down just to keep them trying.

It is safe to assume that the men sitting in the Knesset at the time did not understand why the law was of significance. As far as they were concerned, it was a feminist whim that posed a threat to the familiar, old existing order. Dayan, representing the Labor Party, and various other female Knesset members, including Likud's Limor Livnat, were fully aware that it was a historic breakthrough on an international scale.

Half a year later, on March 19, 1998, during the first Netanyahu government, the proposed law passed its second and third readings and entered the Israeli law books. At that moment, the attitude toward sexual harassment in Israel made a 180 degree turn. In many ways, the law was ahead of its time internationally as well. Israel had been a country dominated by men in both politics and the military, so the passing of the law was an enormous social achievement. Its passage can be credited to the women in the Knesset, who joined forces despite party differences and won the support of many of their male counterparts. Very few laws can be called a real “breakthrough” for the way they change priorities and social norms overnight. The Law to Prevent Sexual Harassment, which marked its 20th anniversary Feb. 27, is one of them.

The law was considered revolutionary because until then, the issue of sexual harassment was an open one, without established boundaries or definitions. The problem was typical of the ingrained culture in the workplace, particularly in official environments such as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Police, where women were exposed to sexual harassment, humiliation and objectification starting at a very young age. They were not always able to grasp the intensity of the harm done to their dignity, bodies or rights, and they had nowhere to turn for support or defense. It was only days ago that former Police Commissioner Assaf Hefetz admitted that while serving as the country’s highest-ranking police officer, he had had relationships with women who were his subordinates, before such relationships were criminalized. Hefetz was no exception either. In fact, he was the norm.