Since she was appointed minister of social equality just a few months ago, Gila Gamliel of the Likud Party has appeared before the Committee to Advance the Status of Women no less than three times. This rate is exceptional, considering her busy schedule, and is about more than just her involvement in the struggle for gender equality. It also has to do with the excellent relationship she has nurtured with that committee’s chair, Israeli-Arab Knesset member Aida Touma-Sliman of the Joint List.
As the first female Arab Knesset member to serve in this position, Touma-Sliman found the Likud minister to be a committed partner in her struggle to reduce the disparities that Arab women have long experienced between them and their Jewish counterparts. For her part, Gamliel found in Touma-Sliman a partner in the liberal spirit of feminism and the effort to advance the status of women overall.
