Every year, the New Israel Fund awards the Yaffa London-Yaari Prize to a group of extraordinary women who have established innovative projects working to advance women’s rights in Israel. This year’s four winners, who each receive a grant of $4,100, are as follows:
Meirav Karmi set up the Nahalal farm, which employs teenage girls who have been the victims of sexual assault and are in danger of dropping out of school. The decision to establish the farm was inspired by the #MeToo movement. Karmi is working to expand the range of ages at the farm, to set up a national service program at the farm, and to organize workshops for women from throughout Israel. During the summer, teenage boys will also work at the farm.
Inas Dabour is a social activist who coordinates the Berl Katzelson Fund‘s Shvilim program for young Druze adults. As part of the program, she organized a group of 10 young activists in the Druze village of Beit Jann, who will build a young Druze leadership to help integrate young Druze people into Israeli politics.
Avigail Biton is a teacher and single mother of three children A resident of public housing, Biton cofounded a group campaigning for public housing for the homeless in Dimona. She mainly supports women, the elderly and people with disabilities in their struggles with the Housing Ministry and public housing companies.
Emma Babyov has devoted the past decade to community activism and development young leadership in south Tel Aviv. Her work has been conducted as both a neighborhood activist and through the Hapardes organization, which was founded by graduates of NIF grantee BINA with the aim of closing social gaps in south Tel Aviv. As part of her activities in promoting educational and social issues as well as community activism to improve the quality of life in south Tel Aviv, she launched a program for young leadership among women, a program for parents’ rights within the education system, and a local student leadership program for the Shapira and Kiryat Shalom neighborhoods.
Photo Credit: Anar Green