NCJW Israel Program Report, April 2008

In this edition:

• Message from Shari Eshet, Director of NCJW's Israel Office
• Women to Women: NCJW's Empowerment Initiative Grants
• The Israel Plenary at NCJW's 44th National Convention

Dear Friends,

Divorce Laws

On January 8th, a Knesset committee voted overwhelmingly for an amendment to the Division of Property Law that would provide equality for women in Israeli divorce laws. The amendment would allow for the division of assets before the granting of the get (the divorce) in cases where the proceedings have exceeded  12 months. The amendment was to have been voted on in the Knesset at the beginning of February. In an action alert, NCJW members and supporters urged the Knesset to pass this amendment. However, the vote was postponed, as it has been for the past several years. NCJW will continue to monitor this issue.

The Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved a bill recently calling for the expansion the authority of rabbinical courts in property cases, over the objection of the Minister of Justice. Because of the opposition of the women's organizations and other civil rights parties, the bill was withdrawn and it is expected to go back to the Ministerial Committee for Legislation.

Gender-Segregated Buses
Nearly a year ago, the Israel Religious Action Center filed a challenge to the gender-segregated, publicly-funded bus lines that operate in Israel. Originally intended for strictly Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods, these buses are now employed across and between several cities, without any alternative public bus service. In February, the High Court of Justice handed down a decision, giving the Israeli Minister of Transportation one month to look into the issue and suggest a solution. NCJW members and supporters used the NCJW Action Center to voice their concern over gender-segregation in Israel, joining with the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC) and the author Naomi Ragen, a plaintiff in the case. We look forward to a new change in public policy.

Abortion
Every now and then (the last time was in 1997) the issue of abortion is raised in Israel. Last month, a religious party in the Knesset authored a new bill which would dramatically change standing abortion laws in Israel. If ratified, the bill would outlaw the termination of a pregnancy after its 22nd week. Abortion laws in Israel are based on Jewish law and are generally lenient. A free and legal abortion must be approved by a special health committee but are often automatically authorized if the pregnant woman is younger than 17 years of age or older than 40, if the conception was a result of rape, incest or extramarital relations, if the pregnancy is likely to endanger the mother's physical or mental wellbeing, or if the fetus has been diagnosed with a possible birth defect. Contraceptive devices and medication as well as over the counter medications (such as the morning after pill) are available freely at any pharmacy.  The vote on this issue as well was withdrawn within a few days of its being introduced. Most political analysts agree that all of these personal status issue bills that are being introduced and then withdrawn recently are another attempt by some of the religious parties to use these issues as bait in order to force compromises on other issues. We join the women of Israel in rejecting these tactics and using the rights of women as political fodder. This is another example of the tension resulting from religion and state not being separate in Israel.

As director of the NCJW Israel Office, I continue to monitor these events and work with Israeli women on issues that are at the heart of the work of NCJW, both in the US and in Israel.

Shari Eshet
Director of NCJW's Israel Office

In November 2007, NCJW completed its granting cycle for the 2008 calendar year. A major grant was given for a new feasibility study of Israeli women and their impact on public-policy making decisions both on a local and a national level. This NCJW grant will support the following new initiative:

In November 2007 the Center for Israeli Women in Politics embarked on one year feasibility and planning project to prepare a comprehensive concept and plan for creating a national think tank/resource center, devoted to designing and implementing a multi-faceted strategy for substantially increasing women's representation in decision-making positions in Israeli Politics. The NCJW grant will support a feasibility study this year that will give special attention to the grassroots level. The three major targets for this study are:

NCJW celebrated Israel's 60th anniversary with a celebratory plenary session. The Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert, sent a special video greeting to the delegate body in Chicago congratulating them on 61 years of commitment to the at-risk populations of Israel.