There are no ultra-Orthodox women in the Israeli parliament.
Photo by Uriel Sinai/AFP/Getty Images
By Miriam Krule
When it comes to Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish women, we tend to hear mostly about the terrible things that happen to them—from having to sit in the back of public buses to being banned from hosting or even calling into radio shows. Last week, the Israeli ultra-Orthodox newspaper HaMevaser created a stir when it Photoshopped German Chancellor Angela Merkel out of a photo of world leaders at the Paris solidarity march, yet another example of how women are treated or, more accurately, erased from the conversation in many ultra-Orthodox circles.
Which brings us to the current state of the Israeli Knesset. The two ultra-Orthodox parties—Shas and United Torah Judaism—are, unsurprisingly, exclusively male. In 2012, a small protest group formed under the name, “Lo Nivcharot, Lo Bocharot,” (if we can’t be elected, we won’t vote)—a modern-day version of no taxation without representation. The group, nicknamed LoNiLoBo, petitioned Israel’s Supreme Court to make it illegal for a political party to prevent women from running, but it lost. The following year, a few Haredi women ran for municipal posts (municipal elections operate differently than national ones). They received threats, and one woman ended up pulling out as a result, but Shira Gergi won and became the first Haredi woman to sit on a municipal council.
Now, a new group has formed, just in time for Israel’s March elections. Earlier this week, social activist Ruth Colian unveiled “U’Bezchutan: Haredi Women Making Change,” the first-ever Israeli political party dedicated to ultra-Orthodox women. (The party’s name translates to “in their merit,” with “their” having the feminine ending.) Colian described the party, under whose banner she will run, as representing all women who are struggling against Israel’s religious establishment. “There are many walls of fear for Haredi women within their communities. They have nowhere to turn in the Knesset.” (For instance, as the Israeli paper Ha’aretz noted, ultra-Orthodox male representatives won’t discuss breast cancer, which affects a large percentage of Haredi women. The men find the topic “immodest,” so they don’t raise public awareness for early detection.)
Read more at Slate
Categories: History, Human rights, Israel, Judaism, Middle East, Politics, Religion, Sexual discrimination, Women's issues, Women's rights, World history, World news
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I’m not sure exactly why I like this story so much. I suppose it’s because I believe the world would be a better place if we had more women as leaders. I also like the idea of women in very conservative, male-dominated communities causing trouble. It just makes me smile.
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I wish them all the luck in the world. They will need it to fight against the misogyny inheritent in all fundamental forms of religion, including their own.
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