On 7th October, Israeli women were murdered, sexually attacked, abducted from their homes and tortured by Hamas terrorists.
Bar-Ilan’s Rackman Centre have been working tirelessly to seek justice for the victims of 7th October and the tens of thousands of Israeli women who face new threats to their rights and security at home as a result of the war and domestic threats pre-dating 7th October.
Before 7th October, Israeli women faced great injustice, in particular, in matters of family law. Israeli family law is governed by both civil and religious law. Unfortunately, religious law is written, interpreted, and applied only by men, leading to frequent discrimination against women.
All too often, women and their children have their rights severely infringed by Israeli courts in matters of family law, including child custody, property rights, economic stability, personal security, social freedoms, and more.
The current government is exacerbating issues with their promotion of gender-biased policies, including the weakening of the Supreme Court (the historical protector of women’s rights) and the expansion of the jurisdiction of the Rabbinical Courts to include civil matters.
Since 7th October, women’s rights especially in family law have not been a priority, even though women are at the front lines, both in war and at home.
With the international community of women’s rights organizations fundamentally abandoning Israeli women, it is up to us to ensure that – whatever the “day after” looks like – justice for the victims and equal rights for women in family law will be protected.
- If you believe that it has never been more important – now, in the wake of the sexual atrocities committed by Hamas and in the face of an expected increase in domestic violence following war – that Israeli women be protected…
- If you feel that, when it comes to marriage and divorce, women deserve equal rights under Jewish law…
- If you want to see women involved in leadership positions in Jewish religious life in Israel…
- If you care about the rights of women in Israel…
…then join the Rackman Centre in leading the struggle for gender justice.
Help change the system of injustice and discrimination against women in Israel by supporting the Rackman Centre. For so many women, there isn’t a moment to lose.
