Heritage Minister Opposes Progressive Agenda in Golda Meir Memorial Bill, Vote Postponed
The vote on a bill to commemorate former Prime Minister Golda Meir was postponed on Tuesday following a dispute between Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu and bill sponsor MK Merav Michaeli over the bill's wording and implementation responsibility. During the fourth committee discussion in the Education, Culture, and Sports Committee, Eliyahu unexpectedly announced his ministry's opposition to the current draft, claiming it was advanced without coordination and included value-based changes he found unacceptable. He criticized the bill for promoting what he called Michaeli's "progressive agenda" and insisted that memorial legislation must be coordinated with the Heritage Ministry, which oversees professional heritage work.
Michaeli rejected the criticism, stating that the fight for women's equality is not a "crazy progressive struggle" and apologized for any personal offense. Representatives from the Prime Minister's Office clarified that commemorations of prime ministers and presidents are currently under their ministry's responsibility, as in previous cases. However, the committee's legal advisor noted that the bill's wording allows the prime minister to assign another minister to oversee implementation, potentially transferring responsibility to the Heritage Minister.
Recent amendments included replacing a gender studies academic representative with a public representative, mandating a woman to chair the new council for the first two terms, and reducing government representatives, which removed the Heritage Ministry's representative. Following the discussion, the bill's sponsors agreed to reinstate the Heritage Ministry's representative. The Heritage Ministry's legal advisor opposed the clause requiring a woman to chair the corporation, citing gender exclusion.
The Golda Meir Institute, which currently manages commemorative activities, digital archives, and ceremonies, also opposed the bill's wording. Its representative, Amir Basha, requested explicit mention of the institute in the law and inclusion of three institute representatives on the new council to avoid financial harm.
The proposed budget for implementing the law is at least 7.194 million shekels annually starting in 2026, with the Finance Ministry seeking funding sources. The bill aims to establish the "Golda Meir Center for the Study of Society in Israel" as a statutory corporation including a memorial site, archive, museum, and possibly a research institute. It also proposes designating the date of Meir's death, the 8th of Kislev, as a national memorial day observed in schools and IDF camps. The vote was deferred to a later date.
