Haredi city council lays down law on modesty, gender separation

An ultra-Orthodox municipality sent out a modesty rule book that prohibits men and women from traveling together or sitting near one another at work, rules out informal greetings such as “hello” and “goodbye,” and bans joking together or discussing issues not directly related to work.

06/02/2018 10:49

Tags: gender equality · dscrimination · women · women's rights · Modiiin Illit

Women in burkas, source: Pixabay, photo by: Jusch

If Israel negotiates over an exchange of territories and settlements with the Palestinian Authority, it should also consider negotiating with Iran over turning the Modi'in Illit municipality over to its auspices. There is no doubt that the modesty regulations published by the Modi'in Illit municipality for its employees are more appropriate for Iran than for Israel!

Even after the Supreme Court ruled it illegal to run bus lines that require women to sit at the backs of buses, the Modi'in Illit municipality issued a similar dictate, one even more extensive and offensive, to its employees. As Haaretz recently reported, the Modi'in Illit municipality sent its employees a "code of modesty" with a long list of restrictions:

Men and women may not eat together, and should they share a vehicle (God forbid!) the men must sit in the front, and the women must sit in the back.

Among other things, the regulations stipulate that male and female employees are forbidden to joke with one another or to discuss issues that are not directly related to their jobs. They stipulate that men and women may not eat together, and should they share a vehicle (God forbid!) the men must sit in the front, and the women must sit in the back.

This is an utterly discriminatory policy. It violates the autonomy of the individual, the value of gender equality, freedom of expression, and the most basic values of democracy, while flying in the face of Israel's laws. There is no doubt that the municipality of Modi'in Illit feels that the laws of the State of Israel do not apply to it, and the dictates of extremist rabbis substitute well for the laws of the state and the rulings of the courts. When an extreme interpretation of religion becomes an official standard of conduct in the public sphere and in local government, it is clear that it is becoming a threat.

Anyone who thinks that the line about negotiating with Iran is nothing but a joke should think again.