Image by Haaretz/Emil Salman

By Naomi Zeveloff December 14, 2016

Forty female Israeli parliamentary aides and advisers showed up to work in miniskirts and black leggings on December 14 in protest of new Knesset modesty rules.

Their protest was sparked by two incidents in recent weeks when women were either turned away or delayed at the Knesset by guards because of what they were wearing.

New Knesset rules took effect last month barring people “in inappropriate clothing, such as … short skirts or dresses, clogs, etc.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

At the Wednesday protest, 10 women were not allowed to enter the Knesset. The rest were, but stayed outside as part of the demonstration, Haaretz reported. Zionist Union lawmaker Manuel Trajtenberg stripped down to an undershirt in solidarity with the women.

Here’s video of @ManuelTraj at the miniskirt protest: You’ll all have to come in burkas! pic.twitter.com/5xtz7hUT9K

— Lahav Harkov (@LahavHarkov) December 14, 2016

Before the mini skirt protest, the union representing the Knesset aides met with Knesset director Albert Saharovitch but the two sides failed to come to an agreement with Saharovitch maintaining the need for the new dress code to “preserve the honor of the Knesset.”

Contact Naomi Zeveloff at [email protected] or on Twitter @naomizeveloff

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re in the middle of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount