Housewives In Israel Have Own Union

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28531, 10 March 1958, Page 2

Housewives In Israel Have Own Union

[By JESSIE ASH ARNDT in the "Christian Science Monitor.”]

Homemakers in Israel have recognized status as members of the General Federation of Labour, according to Mrs Yehudit Simhoni, director of the Educational and Cultural Department of the Working Women’s Council of that new country. Preferring not to be designated as “housewives,” the women are organized as the National Association oi Working Mothers, but a census taker would never be able to I write “unemployed” after their names; they are union members and entitled to union benefits. Every woman whose husband pays* union dues automatically becomes a member of the General Federation of Labour through his affiliation with it. Enthusiasm Shown

Mrs Simhoni, who has been in the United States for several weeks—having come to Boston for the national meeting of the organization of Pioneer Women, which subsidises much social work in Israel—reflects in her own enthusiasm and hope for the future the ideals of her country. As the United States has. since its foundation, taken new citizens from all ever the world, offered them its way of life, and opportunities to study, to work, and to participate in the government, so Israel on a much smaller scale is trying to do. One saw in talking to Mrs Simhoni that she and those like her, who had the vision of the progressive country Israel might be long before it became a state, are now striving valiantly not only to train the newcomers who are still pouring into the country at the rate of 10,000 a month, but also to imbue them with the will to help build and contribute to progress.

The Working Women’s Council, in which Mrs Simhoni heads the Education and Cultural Department, is an. autonomous body, affiliated with the General Federation of Labour. Of the 570,000 members of the federation, 270,000 are women. It initiates projects and also functions in a consultative capacity in the fields of welfare, vocational and educational training for women, youth and children.

Full Employment In the small country, which already has full employment, new jobs must be made for the women coming into Israel. The council first determines what the women are able to do and in which direction their talents lie, and then initiates training to develop specific skills, and it provides jobs. The council also interests itself in housing in a consultative and advisory capacity. It is concerned for the welfare of single women whose needs are often overlooked in planning housing for families. Hostels are maintained for single women immigrants while they learn the language and gain work skills. The council is studying the question of whether to recommend that small units for single persons be included up to a certain number in general housing projects or whether it is better to plan special housing especially for single women. Sewing Workshops

Sewing workshops are conducted in various areas for both women and girls, including those of the Arab population. Part of the support for these sewing workshops comes from the government departments which place orders for such work as the women can do. Thus they get training and at the same thime a small income, for

many need to earn while they learn. In these communities where there are Moslems, Druze, and Christian Arabs, the leadership comes chiefly from the Christians who have been trained in missionary schools, says Mrs Simhoni. Last summer her department organised a seminar for Arab .women in the Tel Aviv school of the Federation of Labour. There 16 women leaders came for the week-long seminar—women who five or 10 years ago would not have thought they could leave their homes for such an event. Brought by Relative

They were brought in each case by husband, brother, or father who also called for them at the end of the week. This indicated not alone the restrictions under which these Arab women still live, but also the fact that the men of the families approved of this departure from tradition in the interest of education, Mrs Simhoni pointed out. Otherwise they would not have given permission for the women to attend. Mrs Simhoni was born in the province of Hersen, southern Russia, and crossed the border illegally in a hazardous but successful effort to reach Palestine. She reached Eretz in the summer of 1921. Having studied agriculture after completing high school in Russia, she, with her husband. Mordechai, after a few months m Palestine, were among the founders of Nahalal, the first cooperative settlement in Israel. After 10 hard years there, they moved with their children to Kibbutz Tel-Yosef. She learned the language, became affiiliated with the Labour Party and the Working Women’s Movement, and soon was active in social welfare which she has since followed. She also gave guidance and training to youth brought in by the Youth Aliyah Movement from its beginning.

Her first visit to the United States and Canada was in 1938 when she came to address the Pioneer Women. Since then she has maintained close contact with this group.

With the establisment of the State of Israel, Mrs Simhoni was appointed to the high command of the Women's Section of the Israeli Army as head of the educational and welfare department, and soon after was elected to the first Knesset or Parliament. She is a vigorous, earnest person, eager to get on with the vast work to be done.