Israeli society worships childbirth. So much so, that often it treats women who don't have children as defective or cursed. If a woman doesn't have children, society will think she must have done something wrong. Some will look at her with pity – the poor woman who will grow old alone. Others will encourage her to get pregnant as soon as possible, or at least freeze her eggs before it's too late, or she will regret it later on.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
The womb of the Jewish woman is part of a demographic struggle. As members of a small nation surrounded by enemies on all sides, it is our duty as women to bring as many children into the world as possible.
The media plays along to this with its praise of motherhood: newspapers never miss an opportunity to interview a celebrity who has recently given birth. Such interviews are always accompanied by statements like "I never felt like this before I became a mother" alongside descriptions of the miracle of childbirth.
The idea that a woman can choose not to have children is shocking to the core for people who believe women absolutely have to have children, and their role is, first and foremost, to become mothers.
They cannot comprehend that there are women out there for whom motherhood is neither an aspiration nor a highlight of their lives.
Men are threatened by women like that because they go against the traditional gender roles society assigned to them.
Some remind their wives every Friday night of the values the "perfect women" should possess. She must be "a woman of valor: loyal, taking care of her home, smart and pious. It cannot be otherwise for her job is to "oversee the activities of her household."
Therefore, it is no trivial matter that in one of his posts this week Dr. Avishai Ben Haim mentioned that Labor leader Meirav Michaeli has no children.
Despite his claim that there is nothing wrong with that, the very mention of Michaeli's marital status constitues passing judgement. In a country that has special grants for the mothers of multiple children children and whose public funding for fertility treatments is one of the most generous ones in the world, a childless woman cannot be trusted.
It doesn't matter if she is an honest, decent, and loving person who has proved herself as an exemplary parliamentarian. As long as she chooses not to have children, she is suspicious. If she chose to give up that right, something must be wrong with her.
There are dozens of politicians out there who have children, but I am not interested in having them represent me. The fact that they are parents doesn't mean they cannot be obscene people, liars, and opportunists driven only by their ego. The fact that one of those senior politicians is a father of three does not change the fact that he is currently facing three corruption charges.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
