Merav Michaeli

Merav Michaeli (Hebrew: מרב מיכאלי; born 24 November 1966) is an Israeli public leader, politician, journalist, media personality, TV anchor, radio broadcaster, feminist, and activist. She is currently serving as a member of the Knesset for the Democrats, which was formed in 2024 by a merger of Labor and Meretz. She served as leader of the Labor Party from 2021 until 2024, as Minister of Transport in the thirty-sixth government of Israel and a member of the security cabinet. Michaeli began her public career in Israeli media as a television and radio presenter, and later worked as a columnist for Haaretz. In 1997, she founded Ezrat Nashim, a public initiative associated with rape crisis centers, sexual-assault awareness, and support for survivors. Her activism focused on sexual violence, gender equality, civil rights, and Israeli-Palestinian peace advocacy. Michaeli was first elected to the Knesset in the 2013 election as a member of the Israeli Labor Party. During her parliamentary career, she initiated, co-sponsored, promoted, or supported legislation related to sexual harassment, legal aid for victims of sex offenses, equal pay, domestic violence, family law, debtors’ rights, Holocaust survivor assistance, disability rights, and public-service protections. In the twentieth Knesset, she served as opposition whip and helped establish an opposition coordination forum. She was elected leader of the Labor Party in January 2021 and led the party into the March 2021 election, in which it won seven seats. Labor subsequently joined the thirty-sixth government of Israel, and Michaeli was appointed Minister of Transport and Road Safety and a member of the security cabinet. In December 2023, she announced that she would not seek another term as leader of the Labor Party. Michaeli is also known for her long-standing use of gender-inclusive Hebrew and for her role in normalizing feminist language and sexual-violence advocacy in...