La'Isha

La'Isha is an Israeli weekly magazine published by the Yedioth Ahronoth group. Founded in 1947, it became for decades one of the country’s most prominent and widely read magazines. Although it was aimed primarily at women, its readership and public presence extended well beyond that original audience. It was read in homes, hair salons and waiting rooms, and became a familiar source of interviews, personal stories, fashion, entertainment and reflections on Israeli society.

From a Yedioth Ahronoth supplement to an independent weekly

On 22 January 1947, Yedioth Ahronoth added a four-page supplement titled “Yedioth Ahronoth for Women.” Within months, the supplement developed into an independent publication. On 23 July 1947, “La'Isha” began appearing as a separate weekly, edited by Hemda Nofekh-Moses, a lawyer by profession. Its first issue had a print run of 200 copies and sold for 20 mils.

The transition from a small newspaper supplement to an independent weekly reflected the growth of Hebrew journalism and the demand for a publication devoted to women’s experiences, concerns and interests in Israel. Over the years, the magazine moved among subjects including family, work, culture, consumer life, beauty and identity. In doing so, it recorded not only changing fashions but also broader changes in Israeli society.

Putting women at the center

In its early years, La'Isha’s covers featured working and active women: teachers, soldiers, nurses and agricultural workers. Paula Ben-Gurion, the prime minister’s wife, appeared on the cover on her first day at Sde Boker. Such choices presented the Israeli woman as a participant in the building of the state, in the workforce and in public life.

Later, the covers increasingly focused on celebrities, beauty queens, models, singers and actresses. This shift reflected the rise of celebrity culture and the expanding role of popular journalism in Israel. The model Galit Gutmann appeared on the cover 27 times, more than anyone else. During the magazine’s first seventy years, only about ten men appeared on its cover, among them Tzvika Pik, Yair Lapid, Yehuda Levi and Lior Ashkenazi.

La'Isha did not limit itself to glamour and entertainment. One of its most unusual and significant covers featured 22 women who had experienced sexual assault, under the headline “You Will Not Rape Us into Silence.” The cover gave public visibility to women and to an issue that had long been difficult to discuss, demonstrating how a popular weekly could participate in a wider social conversation.

An imprint on Israeli culture

For many years, La'Isha was Israel’s most widely circulated weekly magazine. It could be found in many public places, including hair salons and the waiting rooms of doctors and lawyers. This visibility broadened its reach: alongside regular readers and subscribers, many people encountered it casually while waiting or being served.

The magazine’s broad presence made its name part of Israel’s cultural vocabulary. In Yoram Taharlev’s 1967 song “There Are Girls,” the line appears: “There are girls who read, without shame, the nonsense in La'Isha—and that, if you ask me, is their whole cultural world!” Even as a humorous reference, the lyric shows how familiar the weekly had become in Israeli everyday life.

The Beauty Queen contest and public memory

In 1950, La'Isha organized Israel’s first beauty queen contest. The event became a long-running tradition and one of the publication’s most recognizable institutions. It brought together journalism, fashion, entertainment and images of Israeli femininity, while helping make La'Isha an influential participant in popular culture and in the public presentation of well-known women.

As a media institution active through successive periods in the country’s history, La'Isha also preserves layers of social memory: the image of the working woman in Israel’s early years, the rise of entertainment and celebrity culture, changes in women’s status, and the growing willingness to give space to personal testimony and social issues.

Why this legacy belongs in Moreshet

La'Isha merits inclusion in Moreshet because it is more than a commercial weekly: it is a media institution that reflected and influenced Israeli society for decades. It gave visibility to working women, creators and public figures; established cultural traditions such as the Beauty Queen contest; and brought women’s stories to a broad audience across the country.

Its importance to Moreshet.com also lies in the historical continuity it represents—from the first supplement in 1947, through its establishment as an independent weekly, to its enduring place in popular culture and social discussion. Its covers, stories and public role help document changing women’s lives, ideas of femininity, forms of entertainment and the development of Israeli media. In that sense, La'Isha belongs to the broader record of Israeli society and the culture it built.