Politicsזהבה גלאון

Zahava Gal-On

Zehava Galon is an Israeli politician who led the Meretz party and served in the Knesset from 1999 to 2017.

born 1956Leading the Meretz partyCo-founding B'TselemFighting trafficking in womenFounding the Zulat Institute

Born: 4 January 1956, Vilnius
Occupation: politician
Party: Meretz
Education: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Beit Berl College, Bar-Ilan University
Rank: Sergeant
Founded: B'Tselem (1989), Zulat Institute for Equality and Human Rights (2019)

Zahava Gal-On was born in 1956 in Vilnius

Galon was born in 1956 in Vilnius, then in the Soviet Union. Her parents were Holocaust survivors. In 1960 the family immigrated to Israel, lived in a transit camp and later moved to Petah Tikva.

She served in the IDF as a clerk in the Paratroopers Brigade. She earned a degree in special education from Beit Berl College and a master's in philosophy of education from the Hebrew University. She also began doctoral studies in gender studies at Bar-Ilan University.

In the 1980s she led a campaign against religious coercion in Petah Tikva. She was secretary general of the Ratz party and co-founded B'Tselem, becoming its first executive director.

She entered the Knesset for Meretz in 1999 and headed a committee of inquiry on trafficking in women. She lost her seat in 2009 and returned in 2011. In 2012 she was elected Meretz chair, and she resigned from the Knesset in 2017.

She later wrote a column for Haaretz and founded the Zulat Institute for Equality and Human Rights. In 2022 she was again elected Meretz leader, but the party did not pass the electoral threshold. She lives in Petah Tikva, is married and has 2 sons.