Womenetics, a new media platform that dedicated to connecting, inspiring, and ultimately, empowering women, this month profiled our colleague Anat Hoffman, Director of the Israel Religious Action Center and co-founder of Women of the Wall. In recent months, Anat made news when she wore a tallit, or prayer shawl, at the Western Wall, carrying a Torah and praying aloud with Women of the Wall. She was detained by Israeli police and questioned about breaking the Regulation on Holy Places, which prohibits individuals from performing religious acts at the Western Wall that upset others.
Womenetics asked Anat, “What are the biggest issues for females in Israel today?” Her response is quite fitting today, which is Equal Pay Day here in the United States: a day that symbolizes how far into 2010 women must work to earn what men earned in 2009 (you can write to Congress about this injustice now). Anat answered:
First, equal pay for equal work. In some institutions,
like insurance and banks, women get 90-percent less than men. That’s an
extreme case, but there are many instances, like in the municipalities,
where women get 40-percent less. This doesn’t come from base salaries,
but perks that are very male oriented, like extra hours. Pensions are
more equal because there are no perks, but if a woman works extra
hours, she usually doesn’t get paid; it’s considered volunteer. Yet, on
average, women are more educated and more loyal. The second issue is
freedom to get divorced because of the religious courts. There is no
civil marriage (or divorce) in Israel. A woman can’t grant herself a
divorce; the man has to grant it. Third is coercion of religion against
women. We see this in what is happening at the Western Wall (where
women’s rights to pray are limited), and the segregated (by sex) buses
and sidewalks, and the enforcement of modest dressing. The fact is that
the two groups most under-represented are women and minorities. The two
groups that are over-represented are immigrants (primarily Russian
immigrants who are more right wing) and the ultra-Orthodox.
For
more of Anat’s answers on Israel’s “macho society,” her arrest at the
Kotel, and how American women (and men!) can help secure equal rights
for women in Israel, visit Womenetics for the whole
interview. You can further your support by visiting the Israel
Religious Action Center online at www.irac.org or by following them on Facebook,
where they regularly showcase IRAC in the media and ask Jews across the
world to send their photos and messages of solidarity.