NCJW Calls on Israeli Court to Endorse Report Ending Bus Segregation
October 30, 2009, Washington, DC -- The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) applauds the recommendations of the Israeli government’s advisory committee that any bus segregation on publicly funded Israeli buses must be strictly voluntary. NCJW President Nancy Ratzan issued the following statement, urging the Israeli High Court to adopt the principles of the report:
"The report of the committee appointed by the Israeli Transportation Ministry to study and make recommendations regarding gender segregation on public bus lines is a welcome step toward regaining lost ground for women. The committee was set up in response to a petition to Israel's High Court filed by the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC) and noted author Naomi Ragen that objected to the humiliation of women on dozens of sex-segregated bus lines set up over the past decade. The treatment has included verbal and physical abuse of women who chose to sit in the front of the bus or who wore clothing to which some men violently objected.
"NCJW calls upon the High Court to adopt the committee’s outline of a solution to gender segregation that would permit women to choose to access the rear of the bus through a rear door at which fares could be collected, while upholding the right of all women to sit and enter the bus where they please.
"We have acted vigorously to support Israeli activists in the long drawn-out struggle against gender-segregated buses. Thousands of letters were sent by NCJW members to authorities in Israel, and then-NCJW President Phyllis Snyder added her voice in an op-ed published in 2007. We are therefore especially pleased that the committee stressed that every member of the public has the right to use every public bus equally, in accordance with the basic human rights of equality and freedom of movement."
The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) is a grassroots organization of volunteers and advocates who turn progressive ideals into action. Inspired by Jewish values, NCJW strives for social justice by improving the quality of life for women, children, and families and by safeguarding individual rights and freedoms.
Contact:
Emily Alfano
202 296 2588 x5; emily@ncjwdc.org