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Religious Rights for Women
Elberon, NJ June 8, 2000 Aaron H.
Schectman
THINKING ALLOWED
Essays on issues, ideas and reflections on the times. Published now and
then. Opinions pro or con are welcome.
I Just sent this out over e-mail to: rohm@pmo.gov.il
To: Prime Minister Ehud Barak
It is time for Israel to fulfill the expectations of all Jews around the
world. The government of the only Jewish State must support the rights of
women to have the same rights as men. If Israel is a democratic nation it
must finally deal with the authoritarian, non-democratic religious minority
that has had a monopoly on religious expression. Israel must declare equal
rights for all. These rights include religious expression by women.
Women who wish to worship at the Kotel should have the same freedoms as
men. When did the Western Wall become the exclusive property of one
religious sect? It is illogical and basically against the notion of God as
the father of human life to differentiate between His children with only
males as capable of religious expression. There cannot be one kind of
religious expression for men and one kind for women. This is not equality.
So-called "traditional" Orthodox practices are such only in the minds of
those who wish to impose them on everyone else.
The discriminatory activity of denying women the same rights as men to wear
kipot, talisim, and t'filim does not make men any more righteous because
they wear them. Scheduling prison terms for women sharing in the use of
religious practices has brought down shame on the government of Israel and
on narrow-minded political ministers and rabidly exclusionary religious
leaders advocating ridiculous punishments.
When will Israel open its eyes and see the scorn of a world that expects
this bastion of democracy to live up to its promise?
Aaron H. Schectman, Professor Emeritus Monmouth University
West Long Branch, New Jersey USA
Carol's Evaluation: 10 out of 10
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