The recent battle over whether women can be told to sit in the back of a public bus in Brooklyn to uphold Orthodox Jewish rules against the mingling of the sexes gave New Yorkers a very small taste of the battle that’s currently going on in Israel. Though ultra-Orthodox Jews are a minority in the country, they’re pushing to apply their religious rules in more public areas, and secular Jews are balking at the idea of sanctioning gender segregation.
While Israel is known for having strong female leaders such as Golda Meir and an army in which women have the same rights as men, gender is still a thorny issue within the country thanks to the conflict between the secular and ultra-Orthodox communities. The Associated Press estimates that of Israel’s 6 million Jews, about half are secular and the rest are evenly split between Orthodox and traditional Judaism. Yet, the Ultra-Orthodox have a disproportionate amount of political power and their population is growing, particularly in Jerusalem. Now many secular Israelis fear that they could start forcing them to adhere to their rules on modesty and appropriate behavior.
Source.
If you would like to read about the current issue in NYC on bus segregation.Click here
I find this interesting for two reasons.
- Why is this not all over US news? If hijab becomes a red flag of extremism than why is this not a blazing flag of inequality?
- CIVIL RIGHTS anyone? The idea of African Americans forced to sit in the back if the bus, is an extremely sensitive topic in US history. So is history repeating itself, except it’s a gender problem this time?
Discuss.