Minister Gamliel presented awards for outstanding contributions to Ronit Solomon Avera, a social worker at the Center for Preventing Domestic Violence, and to Yudit Zicklin-Sidikman, CEO of El HaLev, an organization that empowers girls and women who wish to engage in martial arts to raise self-confidence. A prize was also awarded to the Founding Executive Director of Atzum Levi Lauer. Director-General of the Ministry of Social Equality Avi Cohen; Head of the Authority for the Advancement of the Status of Women Eva Madj’iboj; and MK Pnina Tamano-Shata also participated in the event.

In his remarks, the president commented on the video shown which told the story of the 26 women murdered in Israel this past year and said, “We look at the pictures of these women and we know one thing for certain: we must do everything we can so that not a single woman more is killed. We owe a moral debt to these 26 women who were murdered this year in Israel, whose faces we saw just now in the film, to their parents, their children and their sisters. We men have a moral debt to our granddaughters, our daughters, our sisters, our neighbors and our colleagues, our spouses and to Israeli society.”

“Murder does not happen in a moment. It is preceded by sustained and significant violence, and not just physical violence,” continued the president. “Some 200,000 women in Israel are victims of violence. We must support them, plead with them to speak up. We need to listen to them, to create a safe space where every woman who is suffering and in need of help can access the appropriate support. The right kind of response can save lives.”

The president commented on the recent ‘emergency’ protests against domestic violence in which his wife Nechama Rivlin took part, saying “this is indeed a national emergency, because when women do not feel safe on our streets, none of us can feel safe. When women face verbal violence, live under economic duress, even if we do not see it, none of us can feel safe. When women suffer violence, when women are sexually abused, and when women are murdered, none of us – not one of us – can feel safe. Violence against women, the murder of women, is not a women’s problem. Violence against women is a national problem and we must do all we can to prevent it, to fight against it, to expose it and to eliminate it. It must be everyone’s campaign, across gender, political camps and social tribes. As elections approach, we should demand that the leaders of the parties, all parties, to put the elimination of domestic violence and violence against women at the head of their national priorities. And not just to pay lip service to it, but to present a real plan.” The president concluded his remarks by thanking the award recipients for their work.

Minister for Social Equality Gila Gamliel: “We have zero tolerance for violence against women, and we are working in every way possible to eliminate it. Today’s awards are an expression of that. A healthy society should encourage and acknowledge those who fight against domestic violence and that is what we are doing here today.” Gamliel also mentioned the challenges of the children in these households destroyed by violence.