Gender segregation on rise in Israel

[ensho]

http://news.yahoo.com/gender-segregation-rise-israel-065743297.html


Posters depicting women have become rare in the streets of Israel's capital. In some areas women have been shunted onto separate sidewalks, and buses and health clinics have been gender-segregated. The military has considered reassigning some female combat soldiers because religious men don't want to serve with them.

This is the new reality in parts of 21st-century Israel, where ultra-Orthodox rabbis are trying to contain the encroachment of secular values on their cloistered society through a fierce backlash against the mixing of the sexes in public.

-snip-

Reality is not so shiny. The World Economic Forum recently released an unfavorable image of women's earning power in Israel, and in 2009, the last year for which data are available, Israeli women earned two-thirds what men did.

-snip-

A private radio station went so far as to ban broadcast of songs by female vocalists and interviews with women.

-snip-
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its even happening in their military

it sounds like they are turning into a country like Saudi Arabia

[bemildred]

1. Most of Israel's expendable workers are women

By Merav Michaeli

As usual, discussions about subcontracted work, phrased in masculine plural in Hebrew, euphemistically disguise the fact that as in the cases of teachers or social workers, the people in question are exploited women laborers. These women workers earn starvation wages, and are treated like merchandise by their employers.

Yes, once again I am counting the number of women as opposed to men. But reality compels me to do so - and there are no general figures relating to male and female workers employed by contractors in Israel. Yet a sample of 12,000 wages of such subcontracted workers discloses that more than two-thirds of them are women.

The three primary areas in which workers are engaged by such contractors are security protection, caregiving and cleaning. Virtually all workers in these areas are employed by contractors; and the vast majority of laborers in them are women. Moreover, in cases of employment via such contractors, male laborers earn more than their female counterparts.

Out of the 12,000 salaries that were examined for us by Oketz Systems, a company that specializes in wage management, the distribution among caregivers was 15 percent men and 85 percent women. The average salary for men was NIS 3,892, as compared to NIS 2,859 for women. The cleaning sphere, in which women constitute 93% of the workers, is the only one in which employees earn less than the minimum wage: 21.45 NIS per hour. In parallel, this is the branch in which the average number of monthly hours is the highest. In other words, women are forced to work many more hours as cleaners in order to obtain compensation levels enjoyed by men as security guards.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/most-of-israel-s-expendable-workers-are-women-1.394277

[no_hypocrisy]

2. My friend's daughter was just commissioned as an officer in the Israeli Air Force.

I'd like to see what would happen is SHE were shunted onto a separate sidewalk . . . .

[ensho]

3. women have worked their fingers to the bone for Israel and now

they are trying to make them second class, less then men?

what's that saying - used and abused

[pennylane100]

4. I have read about this problem before.

These religious morons need to be stopped in their tracks before they get too powerful.

[King_David]

17. Yes I agree ,Disgusting !

What about in Gaza?

Think we should support recognition of a country where the State actually discriminates against Gays and Women?

[oberliner]

5. Turning into a country like Saudi Arabia?

Can you seriously believe that?

[shira]

6. Yeah, it could really happen!

:eyes:

[holdencaufield]

10. Let them Spend Five Minutes...

on the beaches of Tel Aviv and Eliat or take a stroll around Dizengof, and they'll see the idea of wide-spread separations of sexes is ludicrous.

[Dawson Leery]

7. The Ultra Orthodox are exempt from military service.

They are unwilling to serve their country, yet they want to dictate the terms of how the nation is run. Typical right wingers indeed. :puke:

[shira]

8. More are starting to serve. That's why this is starting to happen. n/t

[Scurrilous]

9. Ousted Jerusalem councilwoman: Israel surrendering to extremists

Rachel Azaria was dismissed from the city council to her High Court petition against the segregation of men and women in Mea She'arim during Sukkot.

<snip>

"With a quivering voice and tense face, Rachel Azaria, freshly ousted from the Jerusalem city council, gave a speech the other day summarizing her campaign against gender segregation in the capital. She had received notification of her firing two days earlier in a laconic e-mail from the office of Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat. Her exit has no economic consequences because council members don't receive salaries, but Azaria lost her position as the person responsible for preschool education and community councils.

The official reason for the dismissal was Azaria's High Court petition during Sukkot against the separation of men and women in Mea She'arim, the ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem neighborhood. Yet the hostility against her from the Haredi community is surely a factor.

The Hadri Haredim website described her firing as a "day to celebrate." "I didn't think (the Court petition) would have personal consequences," she told Haaretz. "I definitely felt that we (she and Barkat) were partners. This is disappointing."

The disappointment after her dismissal was offset somewhat by shows of solidarity: More than 7,000 people have signed a petition protesting the dismissal, and her phone has been ringing off the hook. Opposition leader Tzipi Livni has spoken with her, maybe because Azaria's ouster looks like a capitulation to Haredi dictates.

In her speech at a city council meeting, Azaria spoke about segregation on "buses, streets, health clinics and supermarkets .... This doesn't stay within the Haredi community; it seeps into our side very quickly, and it's threatening to women."

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/ousted-jerusalem-councilwoman-israel-surrendering-to-extremists-1.393938

[Crunchy Frog]

11. The biggest threat to Israel from Iran isn't their nukes, it's their attitudes rubbing off.

[AverageJoe90]

12. adorable kids. =) nt

[Shaktimaan]

13. fukin' Hasidim...

This reminds me of the time that Hasidic newspaper pjotoshopped out hillary clinton from a photo because the newspaper's policy was to never show any depictions of women, ever. They tried to defend their actions by pulling out the old, tired "this isn't discrimination, mwn and women simply have different, distinct roles in our society" bullcrap. Yeah, "different roles"... Men can do business, go out in the world, be seen, etc. Women must stay at home and raise children, cover their hair, cover their legs and arms, etc. lest they inadvertently arouse some passer-by.

The allegations that religious Jews denigrate women or do not respect women in public office, is a malicious slander and libel. The current Secretary of State, the Honorable Hillary R. Clinton, was a Senator representing New York State with great distinction 8 years. She won overwhelming majorities in the Orthodox Jewish communities in her initial campaign in '00, and when she was re-elected in '06, because the religious community appreciated her unique capabilities and compassion to all communities. The Jewish religion does not allow for discrimination based on gender, race, etc. We respect all government officials. We even have special prayers for the welfare of our Government and the government leaders, and there is no mention of gender in such prayers.

In accord with our religious beliefs, we do not publish photos of women, which in no way relegates them to a lower status. Publishing a newspaper is a big responsibility, and our policies are guided by a Rabbinical Board. Because of laws of modesty, we are not allowed to publish pictures of women, and we regret if this gives an impression of disparaging to women, which is certainly never our intention. We apologize if this was seen as offensive.

http://jezebel.com/5800144/hasidic-newspaper-explains-why-it-airbrushed-out-hillary-clinton

Right... it in no way relegates them to a lower status. Women aren't allowed to become rabbis, God forbid! But they are being prevented from doing certain jobs in a GOOD way. See they were RESPECTING Hillary Clinton here by NOT showing her. Get it?

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it sounds like they are turning into a country like Saudi Arabia

Believe it or not, that sentence was far and away the most retarded thing in your whole post. This discrimination is evident in a small, ultra-religious fraction of the population. Israel remains one of the most equal nations with regards to gender.

[Violet_Crumble]

14. Sorry, but claiming women need respect and protection is so paternalistic, imo...

They're fucking misogynists, and they're using the same arguments that have been used in the past (to deny women the right to vote etc) that women need protection and respect in order to discriminate against them.

Having said that, and going off on a bit of a tangent, I still think Matisyahu is pretty awesome...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChV5BZ8SmS0

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[King_David]

18. I agree

Think we should recognize states where this is institutionalized ?

[Violet_Crumble]

19. You'd have to understand what I said to be able to agree with it...

You don't seem to be comprehending that the discussion's about the Haredi, because yr question is even more bizarre than those you usually throw out there...

[King_David]

20. Nah I think you understand only too well

;)

Do not be coy now ;)

[Violet_Crumble]

21. I do. The thread is about the Haredi and gender segregation....

I understand what I was talking about. I'm doubtful given the response you gave that you understood what I was talking about...

[King_David]

22. I do

And I am liking what you say about 'minority rights' . I agree.

[Violet_Crumble]

23. Did you watch the video I posted? What did you think of it? n/t

[King_David]

25. It had a virus .. Couldn't open it nt

[Violet_Crumble]

26. No it didn't. It's a stock standard YouTube music video.

Shame. You don't know what yr missing coz Matisyahu's pretty amazing...

[holdencaufield]

24. No, you have it wrong

We need to concentrate on states where a few Jews might do it. DU priorities

[Violet_Crumble]

27. No, you have it wrong...

We need to divert attention away from any criticism of Israel that we level endlessly at Arabs. I/P forum priorities...

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Scurrilous]

28. Israel's Gender Wars: A Week of Changes

<snip>

"It was small, low-key and the participants numbered in the hundreds, not the thousands. But a crowd of Israeli women took to the streets to speak out — or, more accurately, sing out — against the continuing attacks by religious extremists on women’s right to be seen and heard freely in the public square.

The November 11 action was a long time coming. Too long. As Sisterhood readers know, for months the situation has become increasingly disturbing. There has been: bus segregation, harassment of schoolgirls in Beit Shemesh, streets free of females in Mea Shearim during Sukkot, soldiers walking out on ceremonies that include women singing in the IDF and women soldiers being excluded from Simchat Torah celebrations, in addition to disappearing and defaced images of women on Jerusalem billboards. None of it is new.

Astoundingly, until now, no Israeli women’s organization took the initiative to organize a public event of any kind to express the anger and frustration of Israeli women at these developments. So the 11-11-11 singing protest, created single-handedly by intrepid blogger Hila Benyovich-Hoffman, and promoted on her Facebook page, finally brought some objection to the public square was sorely overdue.

At the singing protest, held in the country’s four major cities, women stood and sang so that their voices wouldn’t be ignored."

Read more: http://blogs.forward.com/sisterhood-blog/146351/#ixzz1dzPrp6WR