Minister of Environmental Protection Idit Silman is poised to introduce this summer new gender-segregated bathing tunes in some natural springs in Israel as part of a pilot program that is to be run separate outside the official operating hours for those sites, Israel Hayom has learned.
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The pilot program will initially include only two government-run attractions run by the Israeli authorities: one in the Ein Tsukim Nature Reserve near the Dead Sea, and the other in Gan Hashlosha National Park (Shane) near Beit Shean.
Video: Concern over the Dead Sea's receding water levels / Noam Badin
The program, which seeks to touch on a sensitive issue as more religious circle call for segregated bathing hours while liberal groups see this as a slipper slope toward the sidelining of women, will not impact the existing arraignment for mixed-gender bathers as it will take place only between 6 pm to 9 pm and later. Israeli natural springs are usually closed for bathers by 5 p.m.
Earlier this year, United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni introduced draft legislation that calls for having at least 15% of operating times allotted for gender-segregated bathing. Silman's pilot program appears to cater to the Gafni's Haredi constituency as well as other conservative Israelis.
A previous attempt to introduce such a scheme at Ein Tsukim was struck down by the Justice Ministry for being discriminatory.
Silman told Israel Hayom that "Israel's natural resources belong to everyone, and therefore upon assuming office I put an emphasis on finding creative solutions to make public spaces and parks accessible to all publics, including the Haredi populations."
She added, "The pilot program will only run outside the official operating hours and will give more sectors the chance to enjoy the natural springs that have stayed away until now because of their lifestyle – but without impacting the members of the general public who bathe there during normal hours."
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