"I really hope that he will find an advantage in female leadership in Israel, but I am realistic," Batia Gottlieb tells me, at the very beginning of the interview, I am the only woman in the race for the presidency of the Golan Council, with receipts for managerial achievements, but I am also the least shrewd, and a marketer.
I am a mother of five with a husband in the reserves, my energy is used for practice, not for noise and ringing.
In the end, the burden of proof is on me."
Batia Gottlieb, 39, married to Asher, a reservist, and owner of an independent business, and mother of five, from the ages of two to 18, did not come to this interview, in order to strengthen her chances as a contender, she had already done the math herself: "The men use their ranks , sometimes even a cynical and inappropriate use, in order to get votes, even though there is no connection between public management ability and a military role, believe me, I know I have no ranks to wave at, as far as the state and the public are concerned, the women of the reservists are at the bottom of the credit ladder."
Batia Gottlieb/official website, photo: Ricky Giovanni
less than 6%
This war proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that women are a decisive force on all fronts, there are already enough studies that indicate that the presence of women in key positions will create a much healthier equation, a
survey by the Rafi Smith Institute conducted in January 2024 and commissioned by the Knesset member Mati Sarfati (Yesh Atid), on the issue of female leadership in the local arena and in the "Iron Swords" war, points out that there is a broad consensus in the public on the issue of the integration and contribution of women in warfare and in key positions.
There are almost no differences between men and women on this subject according to the survey, except among the ultra-orthodox public.
"Approximately 72% of the respondents in the survey I commissioned believe that there is a need for the participation of women in the war cabinet. There is also an increase in the preference for female candidates in the local elections compared to a previous survey conducted for me before the war."
The Knesset member is quoted from the survey.
But still, when it comes to women in key positions in the public sphere, the data are bleak: according to data published by "Forum 31" - a non-partisan social initiative to double the number of women at the head of authorities:
there are currently a total of 14 head of authorities in Israel, out of 257, less than - 6% In the previous elections, 72 women ran, of which 14 women were elected, today 85 women are running, a record number, we will see in the end what the results will be.
Batia Gottlieb considers herself part of the "Forum 31" struggle and she will not stop fighting: "A few months ago there was Here, one of the government ministers for a tour of the Golan settlements, which I led, as part of my initiative to anchor the Golan Development Law.
He arrived accompanied by about 30 staff members, all men.
I was the only woman on the tour."
I asked him about this, 'How is it that there is no female representation in your office?', he answered that there is indeed: I have several clerks in the office, he told me, word for word"
Batia Gottlieb in an activity for soldiers/courtesy of those photographed
northern woman
I met Batya by chance, one of the times I volunteered together with a team for the matter, to prepare food for the soldiers in the Ma'ale Gamla settlement, it turns out that when they come north, she has been a regular volunteer since the outbreak of the war.
And no, you won't see a post or a story about it, or some kind of PR, the truth is, it didn't even cross her mind. She came as a mother who takes care of the soldiers, and is all happiness. While waving the barbecue and cutting the salads, she tells me that that morning, Aviv Gefen Released stories of support on social networks, Aviv wrote: "This woman deserves to win"... he knows what he is saying.
But the fact that she is running as a woman, and the conversation we had about women in the reserves and the female role in public positions, made me ask her to sit down with me for an interview. Batia Gottlieb She has been a resident of Yonatan for 13 years, an agricultural settlement in the center of the Golan. Before that, she lived with her family in the center of the country. Her field of activity is the management of the health systems in the north of the country. By virtue of this position, she also managed government relations which she was able to exercise with the Ministry of Health.
For the past five years, she served as Batia , as Chief of Staff and Director of Government Relations, in the Golan Regional Council -
a council that includes the 33 Golan settlements from Move Hama to Neve Ativ.
As part of the position, she led a government move that would greatly change the trajectory of her life: "Until Trump's announcement of Israeli recognition of the Golan, I was a very private person, working in the service of the council in managing and promoting processes. After the announcement, I initiated the government's decision 864, to strengthen the settlement of the Golan, the scope of the program was A budget of NIS 750 million. But two years have passed since then and nothing has been realized."
You will be surprised to hear that the demand to move to live in the Golan (33 settlements - from Move Hama to Neve Ativ) is much greater than the supply, and this is actually the problem it is burning to solve, for its council: "The rate of development here is too slow, the infrastructure is inadequate, the employment opportunities are few, Instead of developing at the rate that the Golan can and should, everything is stuck in place.
Bringing change is not something in the sky, it's things that can be solved at an administrative level.
There is already a decision, there is already a plan, we are waiting for the budgets to arrive."
Batya went to the trouble of writing a comprehensive work plan, concerning education, employment, agriculture, and health infrastructure, what she calls "settlement supporters" that today are missing in the Golan and a short push away from existence:
"I I would like to receive the administrative powers that will allow me to implement the plan that has already been approved, as soon as possible, and to bring more and more plans that the Golan requires.
I have already received approval for two large projects that will provide more than 1000 jobs in the north and south of the Golan:
Project 1: Tourism in the Kunitra Valley - The Kunitra area is a large area of existing buildings, in which it is planned to carry out conservation and improvement, in order to establish a huge guest house of about 600 Beds. Such a magnitude has never been here before, and it is an important response to large groups like "Tagalit" who come to stay in the north, it will probably also provide a lot of jobs.
Project 2: Establishing a medical home in the south of the Golan, which combines conventional medicine with holistic medicine. This A project in cooperation with the owner of the Six Senses luxury hotel", the project is still in final procedures before closing.
A cynical use of war
In the context of the elections, I like the term "candidate" better, because running is something that is usually forced upon us and the nomination was done voluntarily.
In the other aspects of the current situation, I face quite a few challenges: Batia is running an election campaign in an emergency recipe, while her husband is in the reserves and other staff members, a challenge that the State of Israel has never known.
"There were no elections in Israel during a war. In the macro, we are currently mobilized for the benefit of all Israeli citizens on the war front and at the same time in the micro, the good of the Golan and its residents stand before my eyes."
Running for the presidency of the council, managing a lack of headquarters and managing a house without her partner, do not drive her crazy, as does the cynical use of uniforms and ranks by the male candidates: in front of me, a candidate who uses his uniform.
"I hear similar stories from other candidates and unfortunately there are public opinion leaders who give it reinforcement, for example Hanoch Daum who published a post calling for candidates who served in the war without knowing their capabilities."
We were pushed back again
Public opinion is also reinforced by the state, the Ministry of the Interior only refers to candidates who serve in the IDF. For them, the elections were postponed, for example
. alone and at the same time required to run a campaign.
There is no one to share the burden, there are no emotional appeals, it is impossible to really run a comprehensive campaign.
I continue to manage a house and am not really free, my most significant auxiliary force, currently helping the state.
No one sees it, because I'm not in uniform.
Every woman who sits at home and her partner sits in the reserves, is a real hero, it's an emotional upheaval even for a home that doesn't have children.
The wives of the reserves are required to maintain normal activity, at work and in all tasks without the partner and without assistance."
"I also have mothers of servants who work beside me, how can they be expected to promote action when their minds are not free at all.
Why did I open up and say I'm realistic?!
Because in a period like this, inequality returns and even intensifies, those in uniform get priority.
point.
Despite all the frustration she holds deep in her stomach,
this is the first time she gives expression to these feelings, she decided at the very beginning, that there is something here that is bigger than us and she mobilizes all her mental strength for it: this is the order of the hour, to unite and not defy, not to divide.
I chose not to hold any parade to show off my achievements, no home club or bickering, and this comes at a price: "I don't come to whine, I come from a place of female strength, but the current elections are not democratic, they are flawed, the lack of equal opportunities. As reserve women We are also fighters on the home front, but this does not give us any points in front of the public."
Hillel Dalai Beach, in collaboration with Golan Clean and Valuable
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