MK Merav Michaeli is Israel’s Minister of Transportation and Road Safety, a member of the security cabinet and head of the gender equality cabinet that she established. She was elected leader of the Labor Party in January 2021. A Member of Knesset since 2013, Merav Michaeli served as an opposition MK on the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, including its subcommittees, and the House Committee.
Michaeli’s activities have extended over many issues and sectors, including; socio-economic discourse, gender equality, the relationship between state and religion, LBGTQ rights, labor rights and promoting the peace process. Prior to her election to the Knesset, MK Michaeli was a senior journalist at Haaretz, regularly publishing op-eds and interviews. She also edited and hosted news and entertainment programs on both television and radio. MK Michaeli was involved in the establishment of Galgalatz and Radio Tel Aviv radio stations and served as a lecturer in universities and colleges on media and gender.
In her political and parliamentary activity, MK Michaeli continues her professional and ideological path. For over 20 years, MK Michaeli has been involved in feminist activism, seeking to promote women’s equality and opportunity. She also works to promote the rights of minorities, labor rights and the peace process. In 1997, Merav Michaeli founded "Ezrat Nashim", a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide support for victims of sexual assault. She is a member of the executive committee of the Israel Peace Initiative, a member of the management board of the Israel Women’s Network and headed the Knesset’s subcommittee for the fight against trafficking of women. She successfully spearheaded legislative initiatives providing support to workers and to individuals in substantial debt to Israel’s national debt collection agency, and protecting the rights of members of the LBGTQ+ community. MK Michaeli has been ranked as one of the most prolific and most socially-oriented legislators.