This week, at a late-night session while Israel was under missile attack, the Knesset passed a law giving all-male rabbinical courts the power to arbitrate in civil matters. (It already had power to rule in marriage and divorce cases.) Several Hadassah Foundation grant recipients, including the Rackman Center for the Advancement of the Status of Women and Israel Women’s Network (IWN), fought hard to prevent the law’s passage and will seek to repeal it. Only 16 percent of Israeli women support this law; in a wide-ranging presentation to the Hadassah Foundation board on several pressing challenges facing women, IWN CEO Tal Hochman explained why this new law is so problematic. (We recommend you watch the entire presentation, but the section on this law begins at 13:10.)
In a Facebook post, the Rackman Center explained that the law is dangerous because “it’s about creating a parallel judicial system, without transparency, without appeal and without civil criticism. A system not committed to the principles of equality and human rights.”
Below are a few recent news articles about the law.
- Editorial: A New Israeli Law Expanding the Powers of Religious Courts Is a Threat to Women (Haaretz)
- Knesset Passes Law Expanding Powers of Israel’s Rabbinic Courts to Arbitrate Civil Matters (Jerusalem Post)
- Theocracy in Israel? The Halakhic State is Here (Times of Israel)
As Tal Hochman noted in her presentation, the new law is one of many examples highlighting the importance of bringing more women around decision-making tables.