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Discrimination against Jewish Women in Halacha (Jewish Law) and in Israel

Cohen-Almagor, Raphael

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Abstract

© 2016 British Society for Middle Eastern Studies Democracy is supposed to allow individuals the opportunity to follow their conception of the good without coercion. Generally speaking, Israel gives precedence to Judaism over liberalism. This article argues that the reverse should be the case. In Section I it is explained what the Halachic grounds for discrimination against women are. Section II concerns the Israeli legal framework and the role of the family courts. Section III considers Israeli egalitarian legislation and groundbreaking Supreme Court precedents designed to promote gender equality. Section IV analyses inegalitarian manifestations of Orthodox Judaism in Israeli society today, especially discriminatory practices in matters of personal status. It is argued that Judaism needs to adopt gender equality because of Israel’s commitment to human rights. Israeli leaders should strive to close the unfortunate gap between the valuable aims and affirmations voiced in the 1948 Declaration of Independence and the reality of unequal political and social rights for women.

Citation

Cohen-Almagor, R. (2018). Discrimination against Jewish Women in Halacha (Jewish Law) and in Israel. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 45(2), 290-310. https://doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2016.1258543

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 10, 2016
Online Publication Date Dec 2, 2016
Publication Date Mar 15, 2018
Deposit Date Oct 10, 2016
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal British journal of Middle Eastern studies
Print ISSN 1353-0194
Electronic ISSN 1469-3542
Publisher Routledge
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 45
Issue 2
Pages 290-310
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2016.1258543
Keywords Women in Jewish law
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/443984
Publisher URL http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13530194.2016.1258543
Additional Information This is the accepted manuscript of an article published in British journal of Middle Eastern studies, 2018. The version of record is available at the DOI link in this record.

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