Israel Orders Ultra-Orthodox To End Discrimination Against Women
Israel’s Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein dropped a bomb in the realm of Haredi-secular relations on Wednesday, when he instructed government ministers in a sharply-worded statement to immediately stop the exclusion of women in the areas under their authority.
At the end of several meetings in his office, Weinstein adopted the recommendations of a report by the team led by Sarit Dana, outgoing deputy attorney general in charge of civil affairs, that boldly calls for an end to discrimination in every area of public policy.
Weinstein explicitly ordered Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat, Communications Minister Gilad Erdan, Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Religious Affairs Minister Naftali Bennett, Health Minister Yael German and Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz to eliminate the exclusion of women from the public sphere.
Additionally, a report by the Justice Ministry determined that segregation in cemeteries and the prohibition against women delivering eulogies at funerals constitute illegal discrimination and the Religious Affairs Ministry must put an end to them immediately.
Furthermore, no state-sponsored event, such as those organized by any of the ministries, or public authority may segregate men and women. Same goes for buses, which last year became a battleground for the issue.
For more go to Haaretz
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
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. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO