Giant sports events such as the World Cup tournament traditionally constitute a massive growth engine for the local consumer market, from electronics chains to the largest consumer clubs in Israel, which rush to leverage the football celebration for the benefit of concentrated experiential events. However, a special marketing initiative by the Hever club – which serves tens of thousands of career service women and men, retirees, and their families in the security forces – has turned over the past 24 hours into a widespread storm, which ended in a full retreat by the club's management.
The storm began when the Hever club announced the production of a mass viewing event for the World Cup final match, planned to take place at the amphitheater in Rishon LeZion, while in the official invitation details distributed to members it was explicitly written: "All events are intended for men only, it is not possible to register women."
The decision to exclude half of the population of female service members and members from a major cultural and leisure event sparked great outrage, and the CEO of the "Women's Lobby", Gali Singer, fiercely attacked the move: "Discrimination is not a game. When Hever prevents a woman from being part, solely because of her gender, they are breaking the law. The Women's Lobby will continue to fight against the exclusion of women, in every place and in every framework."
Following a turn by Walla to the management of the Hever club and the receipt of the findings, the club held a renewed situational assessment. A few hours later, the company announced a complete change of direction and the opening of the amphitheater gates to all male and female members without distinction of gender.
Hever: "Strongly reject the claim of discrimination"
The Hever club stated: "The Hever club strongly rejects the claim of discrimination of any kind and operates throughout the year for all its female and male members. It is important to note that this year alone, over 30 events dedicated to women only took place on the occasion of Women's Day, with the participation of tens of thousands of female members, including vacations, pampering days, and content events across the country and abroad, as part of a tradition that has been ongoing for about 20 years. Alongside this, in light of numerous requests that arose from the club's members to hold events similar to the Women's Day events and out of the desire to listen to them and provide a real response to their needs, especially in this complex period, it was decided to hold Men's Day events. At the same time, we are aware and attentive to public sentiment and therefore re-examined the format of the event and it was decided to open it to all male members, female members, and their families. The club will continue to offer a wide variety of activities, out of commitment to the well-being and in accordance with the needs of the service men and women in the security forces and their families."