The senior member of Torah Judaism, MK Moshe Gafni, put on the Knesset table with members of his party, Deputy Minister Uri Makleb and MK Yaakov Asher, a bill to regulate separate bathing hours for men and women in springs and nature reserves of the Nature and Parks Authority. According to the bill, at least 15 percent of the bathing hours of these sites will be segregated.
In 2020, the Nature and Parks Authority tried to hold a pilot of separate bathing hours in the Ein Tzukim Nature Reserve, but the Ministry of Justice asked to freeze the holding of the pilot.
This is on the grounds that the Authority's authority to have gender-segregated bathing should be ascertained.
The Ministry of Justice also claimed that separate bathing could harm other populations.
The Step Pool in the Jerusalem Mountains, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
In the explanatory notes to the law it is stated that in Israel there are at least 20 percent of the population of all religions, who for religious reasons avoid bathing in places that do not have separate bathing hours.
As a result, this population was prevented from visiting and bathing at the sites.
Thus, according to the explanation, these populations are discriminated against.
It is also written that the discrimination intensifies, since these are sites that belong to the state, which in practice do not allow the population to visit and use them.
Therefore, it was proposed to stipulate in law that in every bathing place of the Nature and Parks Authority, separate bathing hours for women and men will be established.
At the same time, the coalition determined that Gafni would head a team to prepare a law prohibiting discrimination, which would state that gender segregation at public events for the ultra-orthodox and religious sectors would not be considered discrimination.
Support conference in Derai
Meanwhile, friction in the Ministry of Defense continues.
Minister of Finance and Minister in the Ministry of Defense Bezalel Smotrich yesterday referred to tensions with the Minister of Defense over the division of powers in Judea and Samaria.
"With all due respect, I did not sign coalition agreements with Galant but with Prime Minister Netanyahu," clarified Smotrich. The minister also emphasized, to a question from "Israel Today," that he supports the evacuation of the Bedouin outpost Khan al-Ahmar.
Deri and Netanyahu, yesterday, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
At the same time, yesterday a support conference was held for Shas chairman Aryeh Deri after his dismissal from the government due to the High Court decision. Netanyahu, Deri, senior members of the coalition and Shas activists from around the country participated in the conference.
"There was a serious damage to democracy here and we will fix it," Netanyahu claimed at the meeting.
"Are judges more reasonable than 63 people elected by law?" Deri wondered in his speech.
"Four judges of the supreme court did not think that there was any unreasonableness in my appointment, so how can it be said that the prime minister acted unreasonably and negated the will of the people?"
In this context, those who are likely to replace Deri in the government ministries are the Minister of Religions Michael Malchiali, who will serve as a deputy in the Ministry of the Interior, and the Minister in the Ministry of Education Haim Biton who will serve as a deputy in the Ministry of Health.
Tensions in the opposition
In the meantime, Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke with Minister of Culture and Sports Miki Zohar, after the latter expressed his intention to cancel the "Israeli Shabbat" project. Netanyahu made it clear to Zohar that all the activities held on Shabbat by the various bodies budgeted by the ministry will continue as usual. Later, the minister claimed because "the only change is that the ministry will not initiate activity on Shabbat, but will continue to finance it."
Compared to the show of unity in the coalition, in the opposition the winds were stormy.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid announced yesterday that he proposed to President Yitzhak Herzog to establish an independent committee to correct and improve the judicial system.
In response, the chairman of the Labor Party Michaeli and the chairman of Yisrael Beytenu Lieberman criticized him and claimed that it was impossible to reach a compromise with the government on the reform of the judicial system.
On the other hand, Lapid dismissed the criticism and claimed that he did not offer a compromise, but to take the issue out of the government's hands.
Michaeli vs. Lapid, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
"200,000 protesters, girlfriends and friends, don't want an independent committee, they don't want to negotiate with a defendant, and they are right and right," Michaeli said at the Labor faction meeting, "to make proposals to Netanyahu, is to surrender to him. I am very, very disturbed by the voices that are being made Gantz and Lapid".
Similar things were said by Lieberman, who called on the leaders of the opposition: "Get out of the film. It is impossible to reach any compromise."
Yehuda Schlesinger participated in the preparation of the news
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