Online The view of Shlomo Hamelek Street in Bnei Brak, an Israeli city of about 200,000 people known as the center of ultra-Orthodox Judaism, is not so spectacular.
No sign of the dispute that broke out over the narrow asphalt road surrounded by residential buildings has been seen yet. A few pedestrians are visible on the sidewalks: mostly Orthodox Jews wearing frock coats and black hats, and a few women.
And it is about the freedom of movement of pedestrians that a big debate has arisen.
According to local reports, the Bnei Brak municipality has already begun widening sidewalks, erecting barriers and installing signs in the city east of Tel Aviv, aimed at physically separating male and female pedestrians from each other. This would make Bnei Brak the first city in Israel to have gender-segregated streets.
But apparently the work was stopped after severe criticism. The signs that were already installed were removed.
conservative religious lobby
Less Orthodox Israelis fear that Bnei Brak could set a precedent that would further strengthen Orthodox fundamentalists in society, especially just before the upcoming elections. A parallel bill is being debated in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, which also questions gender equality, even though it is guaranteed in Israeli Supreme Court rulings.
Gender discrimination is not unusual in Judaism. Orthodox synagogues have separate areas for men and women and Orthodox practitioners do not touch members of the opposite sex even in greeting. At holiday celebrations and weddings, Orthodox Jewish men and women usually sit in separate areas.
The proposed gender segregation on the streets of Bnei Brak arises from the latter issue. In that neighborhood, banquet halls are usually booked for weddings and the local rabbi wants guests to arrive in advance, separated by gender. The problem is that Israeli taxpayers’ money would be used to enforce segregation in public – and therefore supposedly neutral – spaces.
Israeli media reports say city administrators have now backed down. They say they will temporarily rearrange the roads when larger events are planned.
Israeli demographics have been changing for some time in favor of more Orthodox Jewish groups in the country. Orthodox Jewish families have a higher birth rate than non-Orthodox families. This is putting political pressure on the country. While Israel guarantees equality for citizens regardless of gender, the country’s founders also promised to follow some important religious rules that give priority to more Orthodox Jewish communities.
Previous attempts to enforce gender segregation have been rejected by the country’s Supreme Court. A 2011 ruling stated that there could be no mandatory segregation on public buses, even those serving predominantly Orthodox neighborhoods, and there should be no pressure on women to sit at the back of the bus.
In 2017, the court ordered the city of Beit Shemesh to remove so-called “decency signs” that dictated women’s dress codes and told women to avoid certain sidewalks around religious schools attended by Orthodox men. However, the city was slow to remove the signs and religious extremists repeatedly put up new signs.
Opponents of gender segregation in Bnei Brak expect the Supreme Court to rule on this case as well and have filed an urgent appeal.
Knesset approves controversial laws
Gender equality is under attack in other areas as well.
Last Thursday, the Knesset approved a law that essentially allows universities and colleges to offer separate master’s and doctoral degree programs. This permission previously existed for many undergraduate courses and was intended to help more Orthodox students integrate into tertiary education, as well as provide opportunities to Orthodox women who would not otherwise be able to continue their education. The same argument is being made about the law which extends the permission of different courses even to higher degrees.
The new rule is to be implemented on a voluntary basis and is not intended to facilitate segregation outside of classrooms.
Local universities opposed this legislation before the vote because, they argued, it could weaken academic standards in fields such as medicine and health and actually make it more difficult for women to access highly specialized professions.
The vote on desegregating university courses was one of the last votes on which the current Israeli parliament worked.
The Knesset has been dissolved to pave the way for new elections on October 27 this year.
Some other votes were equally controversial. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling right-wing, religious-nationalist coalition also decided to limit the Prosecutor General’s powers over the government, passed a law that critics say would give the government greater influence over the media, and voted through a law that makes the study of the Torah, one of Judaism’s holiest books, a “fundamental value” of the country’s constitution. This was seen as a move by conservatives to prevent gay men from performing military service.
The latter debate has been particularly divisive for Israeli society over the years. All indicators suggest that, in the upcoming elections, such fundamental debates about the nature of Israeli society will have a significant impact.
This article was originally published in German.