The legal revolution: "Dramatic days - also for the status of women" - Voila! native

This week we celebrate International Women's Day.

Every year I write and am interviewed on the subject and I always make sure to end my words by saying that my hope is that next year we will no longer have to celebrate a special day to raise social awareness of women's rights.

This has been my hope for many years and every year I feel that we are getting a little closer to this goal.

And yet, we know that in every issue and social struggle a woman is harmed "double" - once in the relevant context (for example: living in the periphery, belonging to a minority group or sexual preference) and in any case, by the very fact of being a woman.

Today it is no longer necessary to explain the progress and the advantages inherent in creating an egalitarian social reality.

Many studies show a significant increase in productivity and profitability of large companies that have increased the representation of women on their boards of directors.

Dr. Galit Shaul - head of the Emek Hefer Regional Council, (photo: official website, photo: Shlomi Amsalem)

There are currently 4.5 million women living in Israel

Leadership of women in key positions has proven and is proving itself again and again to be effective and groundbreaking.

For example, countries led by women (New Zealand, Finland, Norway, Taiwan, Germany, Denmark and Iceland) have been significantly more successful in dealing with the coronavirus than countries led by men around the world.

And despite all this, these days a "subversive" thought is creeping into my mind, completely contrary to my optimistic ways;

A thought that receives inspiration from the events of the last few months, and that is that next year Women's Day will not be celebrated at all in our districts - but not because it is not needed, but simply because we will not be allowed to celebrate it at all.

In the days when Israeli society is divided over the issue of changes in the Israeli justice system, the gender issue, once again, is not considered in the public debate.

On the contrary: the current reality indicates a trend of significant weakening and deterioration in the status of women, in their representation in the public sphere and in many and varied areas of life.

There are currently 4.5 million women living in Israel, who make up 51% (of which approximately 600,000 are ultra-Orthodox and 900,000 are Arab).

That is, it is the largest social group in the country.

And yet, this is the social group that the legislative changes in the various areas of life should hurt the most.

Haredi and Arab women will disappear from the public sphere

The practical meaning and results of the proposed legislation will be seasoned to a situation where women, mainly ultra-Orthodox and Arab women, will disappear from the public sphere.

The labor market (with all the complexity that exists in it in the context of women's status, there has still been progress) will be blocked for women.

A review of the proposals for legislative changes of the coalition partners paints a very bleak picture of the future according to which it will be possible to exclude women for religious reasons, which will lead to the cancellation of the legal protections that guarantee women's right to equality and freedom in the public sphere, and will reduce their autonomy.

The amendment to the law, which will allow discrimination on the grounds of religious belief, will give every business owner the ability to exclude women, both as customers and as employees.

Increasing the powers of the chief military rabbi and subordinating him to the chief rabbinate will lead to a reduction in the integration of women in combat professions, while instructing soldiers wearing kippahs to refuse to serve with and near them.

The meaning of expanding the powers of the rabbinic courts is the formation of a comprehensive legal system of Torah law, parallel to the civil legal system, which discriminates against women and excludes them from its ranks.

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"Even political survival has red lines!"

The coalition agreement between the Likud and the religious Zionist party includes a commitment not to join the Istanbul Convention - the Council of Europe's convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.

And in an overall view, harming the power of the court to stop discriminatory legislation and give relief to the minority groups, will particularly harm the rights of women in minority groups (minorities, etc.).

I have no doubt that this is the time to rise above the camps of the right or the left and look at the meanings and consequences of the proposed legislation, first of all, on the day-to-day lives of the daughters and granddaughters of each and every member of the Knesset.

This is the time to show leadership and say loud and clear: "Even political survival has red lines!".

The State of Israel and Israeli society was and is still being built on the basis of values ​​and a vision to be a model society and a light to the Gentiles.

We were a society and a country that promoted women's rights in many areas of life, before many enlightened societies in the West.

This is a North Star that has guided us over the years as a society and we must not stop striving to reach it.

Advancing legislation, which will lead to harming the rights and status of women in Israeli society, will be a fatal blow to the resilience of Israeli society.

And in the spirit of Purim and the Book of Esther, he says to the members of the Israeli Knesset, "Who knows if at such a time the kingdom will come" (Esther 4:14).

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