the kiverstein Institute
מכון קיברשטיין
معهد كيبرشتاين
proudly feminist
The Kiverstein Institute
Proudly Feminist
The Kiverstein Institute is devoted to supporting and strengthening the feminist arena in Jerusalem. Our goal is to advance the status and increase the influence of women in every field of activity and in all sectors of Jerusalem society.
In Jerusalem, our complicated, colourful and beloved city, we see the full range of diversity – political, religious and socio-economic – that can be found nation-wide. We believe that this diversity can be our strength but that it needs the contribution of women from every sector, their creativity and capabilities, to be harnessed to heal the present rifts and raise the city to its potential.
The Kiverstein Institute was founded in November 2018 by Melinda Jones, a human rights lawyer from Melbourne, Australia. It is named in honour of Melinda’s mother, Geraldine Jones nee Kiverstein.
Our Spheres of Activity
Women in
Jerusalem
Feminist Activism
in Jerusalem
Inclusivity, Values, Human Rights
Jewish Women in the Diaspora/ Women in Judaism
Women, Peace
and Security
Women in the
Political Arena
Our Projects
Our Team
Melinda Jones
Founder and Director
Peta Jones Pellach
Senior Fellow
Hamutal Gouri
Senior Fellow
Yiska Oppenheim
Digital Media and Marketing
proudly feminist
proudly
feminist
The Network of Jerusalem Women Community-Builders, an initiative of the Kiverstein Institute, is a platform for highlighting the incredible and diverse work of women in this city, for supporting women’s initiatives, for raising awareness, enabling collaborations and helping each other shine.
Jerusalem women of influence on a national, city-wide or local level are all invited to join.
The Minhalim Project
Advancing the Representation of Women in Communal Administrations
We undertook this project in order to radically alter the picture of women’s representation at the level of the communal administrations in this city. Jerusalem’s model for governance is unique. The city is divided into 31 communal administrations and through them, the City Council implements its decisions and governs. The administrations have responsibility for implementation of decisions on issues such as infrastructure, education, social welfare and use of public space. This makes membership of the administrations significant. Each administration has nine members elected by residents and a further six members appointed by and representing the City Council. After nearly a decade without elections, in 2020, three rounds of elections were scheduled for 2021-22. Prior to elections, the representation of women stood at just 14%.
Our goal was to significantly raise the number of women elected.
At the end of the three rounds, completed in April, 2022, we had made some progress towards our desired outcome. Although still a long way from 50%, we were encouraged by the incremental increase of women candidates and electoral turnout. We still have work to do.
events
The Time Has Come to Make a Difference
“Portrait”
"Why Peace is a Woman's Issue?"
(6:00pm Melbourne)
