WUNRN
ISRAEL - INTER-MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE
TO DEAL WITH EXCLUSION OF WOMEN
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The Ministerial Committee on the
Status of Women has appointed an inter-ministerial committee to suggest ways to
deal with the exclusion of women from the public domain.
The
committee will be led by Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat and will
submit its conclusions within about two months. (Kobi Nahshoni)
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Israel - Committee to Combat Discrimination of
Women |
Committee
moves to advance steps to halt rising trend of exclusion of women from the
public sphere • Specialized inter-ministerial panel is expected to submit
recommendation on the matter within two months • Transportation Ministry and
the Prime Minister’s Office both expected to create hotlines for women • Rabbi
Yosef Shalom Elyashiv: Segregation cannot be imposed in the public sphere.
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December 14, 2011 - Israel - The ministerial committee on
the status of women, headed by Culture and Sport Minister Limor Livnat (Likud),
held deliberations Tuesday night to discuss the marked increase in incidents of
women being excluded from the public sphere. The committee voted to create an
inter-ministerial panel that will take two months to submit recommendations for
combating the phenomenon.
The committee also agreed that
the Civil Service Commission should formulate and publish clear procedural
guidelines for state and governmental ceremonies, a move that comes after a
group of religious IDF soldiers walked out of a military ceremony several weeks
ago rather than stay and listen to women singing. The new guidelines will aid
officials in preventing women from being excluded from appearing on stage or
sitting in an audience, from being blocked from participation in award
ceremonies or from being blacklisted from any other aspect of ceremonial protocol.
Additionally, it was decided that the Religious Affairs Ministry, aided by the
Justice Ministry, should amend the licensing procedures granted to burial
societies to guarantee the right of women to deliver eulogies and maintain
access to cemetery grounds.
The
Transport Ministry affirmed that it would set up a telephone hotline to address
female passengers' claims of discrimination and harassment on any and all bus
companies in Israel. A second hotline will also be installed for women who work
in the Prime Minister's Office and have similar complaints.
"There is no place for the exclusion of women in the
state of Israel," Livnat said during the meeting. "This issue
contradicts the very principles of democracy and those of Jewish tradition. I
want to put an end to this very serious phenomenon."
The only other minister at the
meeting was Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar (Likud), who said, "These
deliberations make us question just what type of society we want to live in.
Israel will remain a progressive state, one that strives for equality and one
that believes in human freedoms and the need to protect them."
Meanwhile, during a tour of the
Ramat Hovav industrial zone in the county's south, Internal Minister Eli Yishai
(Shas) made light of the issue, saying, "The phenomenon of the exclusion
of women is marginal in nature, yet it is receiving excessive public attention.
We are discussing the issue for hours upon hours, as if there is nothing else
to deal with."
A rather surprising comment came
on Tuesday from Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, the reputed leader of the
Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox community. Elyashiv's longtime aide, Haim Cohen, said
the rabbi felt the imposition of gender segregation in the public sphere was
unacceptable. Speaking about the segregated buses, Cohen said, "The rabbi
believes that a barrier can be useful on private buses, but it is impossible to
make public bus companies follow suit. They might be able to be convinced to do
it if a financial benefit was involved, but you can't force them to do
it."