We must not let the dam burst // Michal Aharoni

Many times I want to be only around women. There are times when the presence of a man causes me and my friends to behave differently. They undermine our balance, and place restrictions and limitations.

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We have a women's only Facebook group, girls' nights out, and outings where we talk and act like we would never do around men. However, it is our choice to create this safe space, we decide when and how it will take place.

This is the routine that we set for ourselves at any given moment. It changes depending on the situation and how we feel. Because women, even though they "cannot contemplate complex ideas," know very well when they want to be alone and when they want to be together. You don't need a law for that, you can just ask them what they want.

When MK Bezalel Smotrich, head of the Religious Zionist Party, and Yitzhak Goldknopf, head of United Torah Judaism, come and demand that gender segregation not be considered discrimination, this is already problematic. How can two men, one from a party that does not even allow women to be a part of it, join together to lead such an initiative? How is it possible that these kinds of demands always come from men? How is it that no woman has ever raised the banner of this demand?

Segregationist Judaism

The answer is clear: These are two men who think that they know what's right and what's good for women. Goldknopf has also never had any women from his religious sector who want to have any influence from within the Knesset; as far as he is concerned there is not even one.

And Smotrich? He has engraved the concept of segregation on his political banner, the crux of his Judaism is distinct and differentiating. A Jew who is not prepared to have an Arab doctor touch her baby because he "desecrates" the moment of birth, the Judaism that pushes women to the back of the bus and forgets that "God created male and female" side by side. Not one behind the other.

So, yes, Knesset members and rabbis, and religious adjudicators always think that they know what is best and right for us. They have ownership over wisdom and morality and justice. They are here to do good for women, while, God forbid, never marring their status. It's just that all this good they are showering on us, such as not permitting women to enlist into the army, not to sing in front of men, not to attend mixed events, and a million and one other examples, always amount to what is forbidden for women to do. What men claim that they are doing in favor of women, always ends against them.

If ultra-Orthodox women come and demand segregated events, I'd be the last one to say no. But in the end, whenever decisions and rulings are made for and about women – for some reason, it's the men who are making the decisions.

And the moment that the law is enacted, the floodgates will open for a torrent of separated events. The hole in the dam, which we anyway stop with our little finger, just like the Dutch girl, will burst. Then women will not only be removed from positions of power and influence, their voices will not only be banned in public – they will not be heard at all.

What is permitted for the secular // Merav Sever

Outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid had no free time to support the vital struggle of women in Iran; that is until yesterday. That is when Lapid came out with a populist and shallow statement, comparing the demand of the Religious Zionist Party and United Torah Judaism to change the law so that gender segregation in public events on religious grounds is not considered discrimination, to the atrocities taking place in the Islamic Republic.

The sad part of Lapid's outrageous statement is not the fact that he did not bother to read the article to the end, nor the clear reservation that this is an important amendment for ultra-Orthodox and religious women, who want to enjoy cultural events with gender segregation, in accordance with their faith and lifestyle. The sad part here is that Lapid knows the truth, yet chooses to create rifts, incite and lie, all in order to stir up the Israeli public, who are absolutely terrified of the government that is about to be formed, making them believe that the Revolutionary Guards of the Modesty Police will be present at Shlomo Artzi and Omer Adam's performances forcing the audience to sit separately.

This is especially infuriating when knowing that in recent years Lapid's wife, Lihi Lapid, has personally held several cultural events for women only. MK Merav Ben Ari, of the Yesh Atid party, also organized an event in the last elections for ultra-Orthodox women only, where she promised to answer their questions.

Under the Radar

Under the embarrassing and groveling title " The wisest of women – each one built her house" (Proverbs, 14:1), they were joined by Merav Michaeli, who set up an ultra-Orthodox section in the Labor Party and invited ultra-orthodox women to participate in a gender-separate conference that she organized.

In fact, in October, even the left-wing Meretz party held a conference at Beit Jann with gender segregation. The conference, organized by MK Ali Salalha, passed quietly under the radar because the Arabs are allowed to hold events according to the lifestyle they believe in. Michaeli and Ben Ari are also allowed to take the votes of ultra-Orthodox women, but, God forbid, they are not allowed to live according to their faith.

On the other hand, Motti Steinmetz's performance in Afula during the summer, as well as the concerts of Hanan Ben Ari, Of Simhas, and Kobi Aflalo in Bat Yam, were canceled in 2019 following a vexing petition by women's organizations.

The petition denied ultra-Orthodox and religious women the opportunity to enjoy a segregated performance, due to the rapacious attempt to impose a secular lifestyle on them. Not one enlightened woman from any secular women's organization thought to ask an ultra-Orthodox woman what she wants.

Lapid and the women's organizations want the ultra-Orthodox women to be obedient and submissive. But instead of obeying Jewish law, these women must obey how others think they must live. They should not dare to enjoy a separate event for women.

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An Israel Hayom exclusive on the efforts undertaken by the National Religious Party and United Torah Judaism parties to roll back gender equality reforms after a new right-wing government takes office caused a political firestorm on Sunday.

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Israel Hayom had reported that the two parties, which are in the midst of intense coalition talks aimed at swearing in a Likud-led government, have indicated that any government they join would have to legislate rules that undo the rules, including those set by the attorney general and Supreme Court, that prohibit gender segregation at public venues in almost all cases that are considered to be affiliated with the state or its resources.

Prime Minister Yair Lapid took to Twitter to warn that this would be tantamount to state-led discrimination. "While the brave women of Iran fight for their rights, in Israel the national Haredim and Bezalel Smotrich [who heads the National Religious Party] are trying to send women behind barriers and to legislation segregation." He then continued and asked rhetorically, "Where is the Likud? Why is it silent? Israel is not Iran."

A whole host of politicians on the Left also joined Lapid in condemning this. "There is no such thing as separate but equal," Labor leader Merav Michaeli wrote on Twitter, adding, "We warned that a coalition without women would hurt women, and now they want a law that would put women in the back; but women are not worth less, we are equal. No one has any right to tell us where to sit, what to wear, and whether to carry out an abortion or not. This is a struggle over our democracy."

The post 'Israel is not Iran,' PM says after Israel Hayom reveals initiative to allow gender segregation appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

A recent concert by Steinmetz in the city of Afula, which took place with the audience segregated by gender, sparked a national controversy about gender segregation at public events, even those held for the ultra-Orthodox community.

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On Sunday, the Haifa District Court discussed another petition submitted against another scheduled Steinmetz concert, scheduled to be held at the Haifa International Convention Center on Monday.

"It's infuriating. People who assume to understand how the haredi public's mind work come in and try to dictate how we should live in a Jewish state. I think that the minimum [they can do] is let people who adhere to a 3,000-year-old tradition, who keep the Jewish fires burning, live according to their beliefs," Steinmetz says.

"A musical event is holy, in my eyes. Every time I sing at a concert, I thank God in song … it's a kind of prayer. So as far as I'm concerned, the concert hall is a kind of synagogue, and above all, there needs to be separation [between men and women]," Steinmetz says.

Q: What kind of responses did you get after you announced that you would not appear in Afula unless there was gender segregation?

"Before the concert, [Interior Minister] Aryeh Deri and MK Moshe Gafni came to me and said, 'Good for you for standing up for your principles and for God."

Q: In the US, you recently appeared before male-only audiences. How was that received?

"It only shows the hypocrisy here in Israel. In non-Jewish countries, all over the world, we appear before audiences with full [gender] separation, and receive public funds. We even held a show at a park abroad, with full separation. People everywhere understand that there is an audience that wants this, and there is acceptance and understanding that people think differently. But not in Israel."

The post 'I don't exclude women,' says haredi singer at heart of gender segregation storm appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The issue has made headlines in recent weeks after several public events catering to the ultra-Orthodox and religious sectors called for the separation of men and women in the audience. The move was seen as a step to exclude women, sparking a backlash from various rights groups that argued that religious customs aside, gender-segregation had no place in the public sphere.

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A segregated event that took place in the northern city of Afula last week was even the subject of a High Court of Justice appeal after a lower court denied a petition to bar it from taking place, a ruling the High court overturned while the event was ongoing – with full separation between men and women.

"After legal steps taken following a cultural event at a city park in Afula, in which men and women were separated, and in light of other such events planned in various places, the attorney general, held an urgent meeting to address the issue of gender segregation at [public] cultural events to reach an interim position on the matter until it can be debated thoroughly," the press release read.

"The general rule is to hold public events without gender segregation, without any authority taking steps to enforce gender segregation. However, there might exist certain contexts in which gender segregation is permissible, [when] aimed at a specific sector of the public, and if the segregation is enforced according to law," the statement read.

"If a local authority wants to hold a gender-segregated event for a sector that wants it that way, it must, first of all, examine the defining characteristics of the local population and whether, depending on the kind of event, gender segregation can be voluntary. Insofar as possible, this option is preferable to pre-planned gender segregation," the attorney general decided.

The post AG: Gender-segregated events permissible in 'certain conditions' appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.