As a North American-based organization, JOFA has generally refrained from taking an independent position on the issues facing Orthodox women in Israel.  Rather, JOFA has stood, and continues to stand, in full support of its Israeli counterparts in their heroic struggles on behalf of Israeli women.  Nonetheless, faced with the recent barrage of misogynist developments in Israel, we must issue an unequivocal condemnation of the incidents of gender segregation, exclusion of women, and anti-women violence in Israel.  These incidents range from women’s images being removed from advertisements, women being forced to sit in segregated areas on buses, women prizewinners forbidden from accepting their prizes, and, most recently, the violence against young girls attending the Religious Zionist Orot school in Beit Shemesh (read more here).

We trust that our JOFA members are equally outraged by these developments and we offer the following concrete steps that may be taken to express that outrage:

1.   Please sign the on-line petition protesting the gender segregation of women in Israel published by Kolech, the Orthodox Jewish feminist organization in Israel, here

2.   Please participate in The New Israel Fund’s campaign to restore images of women in advertising in Jerusalem here

3.   The RCA, OU and IRF have recently issued statements condemning the violence against girls in Beit Shemesh.  JOFA applauds these rabbinic organizations for their strong stand on this issue.  Thank your local rabbi for his support and encourage him to advocate within his rabbinical organization to take an equally strong stand in opposition to gender segregation and the exclusion of women in Israel.

In the Boston area? Attend the The Woes of WOW, a Hadassah-Brandeis Institute program on related issues, January 23rd.