Dafina Galili works as a volunteer for the Ayelet Hagalil Domestic Violence Project in the Central Galilee region.  For many individuals what we are passionate about in our youth follows us throughout adulthood.  Hence, as a child Dafina used to align herself with feminist ideology, but it was not until she was older that she had a better grasp on her feminism as well as her liberal political affiliation.  Much of her strength and ambition came from her Zionistic upbringing. 

Dafina's mother immigrated to Israel from Germany with her family in 1936 at the age of twelve.  Moreover, her parents met when they enlisted in the British military to fight against Nazi Germany; her mother as an Israeli and her father as a British national.  The strong will instilled in her by her family combined with feminist theory fused in college; "When I went to university in Haifa I studied sociology, and it was here that I became aware of the political and financial issues that restrict women."  After her studies Dafina became involved with many volunteer programs which helped to empower women to take control of their lives.
 
As she explained, her current work with domestic violence is not just restricted to helping women escape from their abusers; "We are dealing with self-respect, cultural/social differences, and poverty."  Women who are abused come from all backgrounds as do their abusers.  Battered women are not limed to the uneducated they also include doctors, school principals, and other well respected members of society; this holds true for their assailants as well.  Helping women to escape the cycle of abuse and teaching them how to survive on their own; extends past the walls of any office.

Dafina has been known do everything from making court appearances by her clients' sides to leaving her house late at night in response to a frightened telephone call.  Recently Dafina picked up the receiver one night to hear a panicked woman on the other line because her abuser was at the front door.  The woman's first instinct was to call Dafina, who in turn called the police; "The fact that she called someone, even if it was not the police right away, shows how far she has come.  Just to know that you are around…no official can be called at night, but we can." 

Fighting against domestic violence is an exhausting job with rewards and downfalls.  For Dafina the most important part of her work is addressing and working to eradicate the problems; "(You) can't change it or erase it, but can bring to the surface; that the men are not doing the right thing.  And to teach the women that it is not necessary that women will/should be beaten."