Public lifeויקי קנפו

Vicki Knafo

Vicki Knafo is an Israeli social activist who led the 2003 protest of single mothers against cuts to welfare allowances.

born 1960The 2003 single mothers' protestMarch from Mitzpe Ramon to JerusalemAn 18-day hunger strike

Born: 19 July 1960
Occupation: activist

Vicki Knafo was born in 1960

Vicki Knafo was born on July 19, 1960. She lives in Mitzpe Ramon, is divorced and has 3 children. She has worked in housekeeping at a residential school and at a hotel in the town.

On July 2, 2003, she began a march from her home to the Ministry of Finance in Jerusalem, carrying an Israeli flag. The walk of about 205 kilometers took a week, and other single mothers joined her. She protested cuts to allowances and income support set by finance minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

In Jerusalem she joined a protest camp of single mothers near the government offices, and groups of disabled and elderly people joined the protest. In August she held a hunger strike for 18 days. She left the camp in September 2003 and found she had been fired from her job.

In 2003 she was part of the Israeli delegation to the launch of the Geneva Initiative. In 2011 she became spokesperson for the Mega Bull supermarket chain, a move that drew controversy. In 2016 she led another march, and in 2019 she took part in the celebrity edition of Big Brother.