Interior Minister Eli Yishai
Photo: Amit shabi, Yedioth Ahronoth
Yishai downplays issue of women's exclusion
Interior Minister believes that phenomenon of excluding women from public sphere is marginal, receives excessive public coverage
Interior Minister Eli Yishai seems to believe that the phenomenon of excluding women
from the public sphere is marginal and receives excessive public debate and coverage. Addressing the issue himself on Tuesday he said: "They take a small group in the population and include everyone. Like we don't have other things to deal with that we deal with this."
The minister also reacted to the incident in which a group of IDF troops walked out on a ceremony while women were singing on stage: "These are men from the national-religious sector, it is their decision. They aren't telling women not to sing.
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"We need to find a way to bring both sides closer and not ways to increase tensions, to overcome obstacles. You can't force the secular or religious lifestyle on anyone. We need to find a way to live together."
The Ministerial Committee on the Status of Women announced that it has appointed an inter-ministerial committee to suggest ways to deal with the exclusion of women from the public domain.
The committee will be led by Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat and will submit its conclusions within about two months.
Meanwhile, Vice Premier Silvan Shalom said that "the exclusion of women is intolerable and we must fight against the phenomenon."
Attila Somfalvi contributed to the report
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