Female IDF soldiers
צילום: דובר צה''ל
Israeli views on women reflect society's divisions
WIZO commissions a poll for International Women's Day to examine Israeli society's attitudes towards women, from IDF service to child custody.
WIZO (Women's International Zionist Organization), one of Israel's largest and oldest women's organizations, commissioned an International Women's Day poll to examine Israeli society's attitudes towards women.
Not surprisingly, the results showed major differences in the way different groups regard women and their place and role in society.
Just over half the population (54%) believes women face discrimination in Israel. Among four groups, only a minority answered that there is gender discrimination in Israel. These are men, people who identify themselves as religious, people who have only a high-school education, and those with less than a high-school education.
Ultra-Orthodox students (File photo: Yoav Friedman) (צילום: יואב פרידמן)
The two main issues the poll addressed were family life, especially relating to divorce and motherhood, and women's roles in the IDF. This is not surprising, given that they are the two most controversial gender rights and role subjects in Israel.
Regarding the role of parents in raising children, 85% said that both should be equally involved. Respondents who said there is gender discrimination in Israel were more likely to support parents being involved equally in raising their kids.
Divorce law in general, and this law in particular, has been generating growing controversy. Since Israel has no civil marriage, marriage and divorce are subject to religious courts, which rule according to Jewish and Islamic, not civil law.
This puts women at a disadvantage, since religious law is inherently not gender neutral. The most conspicuous issue is agunot (chained women), the term used to describe a woman who is separated from her husband, but cannot get a divorce.
Under Jewish law, a divorce can only take place once a husband grants his wife a bill of divorce (get). If he refuses, there is no legal remedy, since rabbinical courts will not issue a get without the husband's explicit consent. This means that a man can use this as leverage to coerce financial concessions from the woman.
Custody, however, is handled by family courts according to civil law. Israel is one of the few countries still to have a law that does not recognize joint custody. Under Israeli law a child under 6 automatically goes to the mother, who has full custody.
Only in very rare cases, when the mother has been declared unfit, will the courts give custody to the father. Men who want joint custody have to wage prolonged and prohibitively expensive legal battles to get some level of custodial rights, since under the current law, joint custody is a privilege, not a right.
Seventy percent of the respondents said they were in favor of changing Israel's custody laws so both parents have the right to equally involved in raising children after a marriage's dissolution.
Female IDF soldiers (Photo: IDF Spokesperson) (צילום: דובר צה''ל)
Regarding the role of women in the IDF, another contentious issue in Israeli society, 58% of the respondents said that they supported women serving in combat roles if they want to. 23% were opposed, and the rest had no opinion one way or another.
One of the main reasons cited by those who oppose women serving in combat units is that their presence prevents more Haredim (ultra-Orthodox) from serving in the army, especially combat units, since they refuse to serve in combat units with women, claiming it is inherently incompatible with their lifestyle.
Sixty percent of the respondents said that they opposed the demands that IDF institute gender-segregated units to accommodate the Haredim.
The IDF has been gender-integrated since its inception in 1948, reflecting a tradition and legacy going back to the pre-state undergrounds and militias such as the Hagana, the Palmach and the Irgun, which all operated and fought in gender-integrated units .
After the end of the War of Independence (1949), women were gradually removed from combat roles. Only in the 80s, when the women's liberation movement began to seriously impact Israeli society, did things begin to change, and women who wanted to serve in combat roles were able to do so. Today women serve in a broad range of combat units, including as pilots and submarine crews, both considered elite units.
Article reprinted with permission from TPS
