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MIDDLE EAST>Israel
Middle East | Israel | Religion

Orthodox Jews try to disrupt women’s service at Israel’s Western Wall

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Thousands of Orthodox Jewish men and women attempted to disrupt a group of progressive women from conducting a prayer service Monday at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem. Police estimated between 1,000 and 2,000 female seminary students, primarily from religious Zionist high schools, tried to block the women from praying at Israeli's holiest site. Male students standing in the men's section attempted to drown out the women's prayers with shouting, cursing and blowing whistles. The ultra-Orthodox Jewish men and women were protesting the women wearing tefillin, yarmulkes, and p
Middle East | Israel | Leadership

Esther Herlitz, who broke the glass ceiling many times over, dies at 94

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Esther Herlitz, who died on Thursday at age 94, played many roles in the creation and building up of the state – as a diplomat, establishing the women’s army unit in a besieged Jerusalem, a member of Tel Aviv City Council, an adviser to Golda Meir, founder of the Center for Volunteer Services, a MK, and taking a senior role in Na’amat. She was honored last year for her “lifetime of achievement and special contribution to society and the state,” the only woman among the Israel Prize recipients for 2015.
Middle East | Israel | Military

The women warriors that broke the IDF’s glass ceiling

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For International Women's Day, four female IDF warriors that serve in core IDF combat positions have shared with us how they trail-blazed into places reserved almost exclusively for men. Captain Lieutenant (Capt.-Lt.) Omer Haham, who serves in a combat role in the Navy, is the first female officer to serve on a helicopter assistance unit for Sa'ar 5-class missile corvettes. "My advice for women is that they not try to carry out their jobs differently because they are girls. The job is the same for men as it is for women and it must be done to the highest standards," she said.
Middle East | Israel | Religion

Historic deal allows men and women to pray together at Western Wall

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A battle lasting more than a quarter of a century over the Western Wall, the religious site revered by Jews all over the world, has resulted in a historic deal to create a space where men and women are permitted to pray together in equality. On Sunday, the Israeli government approved the creation of a permanent and official separate area for mixed gender praying at the site in Jerusalem’s Old City. Liberal and reform Jews hailed the move as a victory for Jews everywhere. Women of the Wall has campaigned for equal prayer rights at the Western Wall for the past 27 years, holding monthly
Middle East | Israel | Politics

Swedish minister ‘not welcome in Israel’ after comments

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Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom will not be welcome in Israel following her call for investigations into the killing of Palestinians by Israeli forces and other critical comments, a top Israeli official said Wednesday. Israel's fiery deputy foreign minister, Tzipi Hotovely, harshly criticised Wallstrom, calling her comments "a mix of blindness and political stupidity".
Middle East | Israel | Religion

Netanyahu agrees with haredim not to allow Women of the Wall to read Torah at Western Wall

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apparently “forgot that women make up half of all Jews,” the Woman of the Wall organization responded Tuesday to reports that he agreed with the coalition’s haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties that women should not be allowed to read from the Torah in the women’s section of the Western Wall. The prime minister met with the heads of the haredi political parties last week and decided that WoW’s demand to be able to read from the Torah at the site would not be met, Army Radio reported on Tuesday morning.
Middle East | Israel | Law

Israel’s AG Says Women Can Apply to Be Head of Rabbinical Courts

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Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein has overruled the position of Israel’s Sephardi chief rabbi in order to allow women to apply for the position of director general of the country’s rabbinical courts. Weinstein was ruling on a petition by Mavoi Satum and WIZO-Na’amat demanding that women be given a “substantial opportunity” to contend for the post. The rabbinical courts have been without a director general since 2010, when Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan stepped down after 21 years. The courts’ legal adviser Shimon Yaakobi is acting director general. Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef has
Middle East | Israel | Activism

Jewish American activists unfurl banner in support of BDS at the Western Wall

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Tuesday, November 10, 2015 at 11:30 am, Jewish Americans CODEPINK activists, Ariel Gold, of Ithaca, NY and Ariel Vegosen, of Oakland, CA, unfurled a banner near the Kotel (Western Wall) reading, “American Jews support BDS.” Representing the women’s peace organization, Code Pink, the activists goal was to express Jewish opposition to the Israeli occupation of Palestine and endorse the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement as a nonviolent strategy to bring about a just peace in Palestine and Israel. Gold and Vegosen were in Israel/Palestine for a week long CODEPINK delegation
Middle East | Israel | Activism

Israeli fashion show features Palestinian scarves to promote ‘co-existence’

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Israeli models wore clothes made of Palestinian scarf patterns during Tel Aviv’s Fashion Week, a gesture the collection designer Yaron Minkovski considered “a step toward co-existence” between Palestinians and Israelis. The keffiyeh (scarf) is a gender-neutral checkered black-and-white scarf that is usually worn around the neck or head and is meant to provide protection from sun and sand. It has become the symbol of Palestinian nationalism, dating back to the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine. Outside of the Middle East and North Africa, the keffiyeh first gained popularity among a
Middle East | Israel | Ethics

Israeli Minister of Justice, Ayelet Shaked, going after left-wing human rights organizations

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Israeli Minister of Jusice Ayelet Shaked is known to be a supporter of orthodox, right-wing policies. At the beginning of her tenure as Minister in May, she ordered investigations into Israeli left-wing and human-rights organizations, alleging that they do not report all of their donations properly. She did not make the same demands of any right-wing or Orthodox groups. Shaked’s activity is being criticized due to the fact that she herself received donations to her political campaign in the amount of hundreds of thousands of dollars from foreign sources, in addition to receiving donat
Middle East | Israel | Politics

Merkel: Critical of any Comparison between Israel’s Policies Toward the Palestinians and the Nazis’.

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Iran’s ongoing hostility toward Israel and its frequent calls for the destruction of the Jewish state are “unacceptable,” and Tehran must change its stance, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Saturday. In an interview published Saturday on the English website of Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations, Merkel said Germany will keep repeating this message “loudly and clearly” until the Iranian regime understands. The chancellor also acknowledged — and lamented — the poor image that Israel has in Germany, and was fiercely critical of any comp
Middle East | Israel | Culture

Rare view of the lives of the ‘Taliban Women’ in Jerusalem

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A recent report from a leading news channel exposed a phenomenon of extreme religious devotion that even the ultra-Orthodox community declared to be too fanatic. The “Taliban Women” group is controlled primarily by women and its members cover themselves completely in black cloth – including their face. Their young daughters are also forced wear the same burqa-like black outfit due to strict rules of modesty. All members are Orthodox women who have decided to take their faith to “the next level”. An Orthodox female reporter pretended to be in the process of joining the group.
Middle East | Israel | Finance

Israel’s Bank Leumi CEO lands spot on ‘Fortune’ list of most power women

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American business magazine Fortune has listed the CEO and president of Israel's Leumi Group, Rakefet Russak-Aminoach, on its annual ranking of most powerful women in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The Israeli banker placed in spot 23 on the list of 25, which includes major company heads, six newcomers and nine who work in the finance sector. Russak-Aminoach assumed her position at Israel's second-largest lender in 2012, taking over from Galia Maor after 17 years in the post.
Middle East | Israel | Activism

Hunger-striking women’s group hopes to bring peace to Israel

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A week after having concluded their hunger strike near the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem, the activists of Women Wage Peace were invited for a meeting Sept. 1 with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The meeting was organized by the premier’s special envoy, attorney Yitzhak Molcho, at the request of one of the movement’s activists and co-founders, retired Justice Saviona Rotlevy. The female activists started their hunger strike on the occasion of the first anniversary of Operation Protective Edge (July-August 2014) and the movement’s establishment. They called on Netanyahu to

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