Hypocrisy and deception: The gender segregation bill - opinion

This past week, the Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved its support for a controversial private member’s bill initiated by MK Limor Son Har-Melech (Otzma Yehudit). The bill seeks to expand and legitimize gender segregation in Israel’s institutions of higher education – beyond what the High Court has permitted and in clear contradiction to the principles of gender equality. Numerous substantive arguments against the bill have been raised in the media and the courts, that we have joined in voicing. 

I wish to highlight another reason why this proposal should have been rejected outright: It reeks of hypocrisy and deception, and it is time to set a moral barrier against such dishonest legislation.

The issue at hand is not new but is particularly glaring in this instance. The bill’s explanatory notes claim that it is “based on the recognition of freedom of religion and conscience... as a broad fundamental right.” On the surface, this language appears commendable and worthy of support, especially during these turbulent times when we look to the “day after” and the reimagining of Israel as a truly Jewish and democratic state. After all, Israel’s Declaration of Independence, promises “freedom of religion and conscience” alongside “equality of rights... regardless of religion, race, or gender.”

However, the hypocrisy of MK Son Har-Melech and her party could not be more blatant. While claiming to champion freedom of religion, they actively oppose the very principles of freedom of religion and conscience guaranteed by the Declaration of Independence. Her insistence that the bill reflects “the recognition of freedom of religion and conscience as a broad fundamental right” is the most grotesque form of hypocrisy and deception. 

It recalls the Talmudic adage attributed to Alexander Yannai: “Fear not the Pharisees, nor the non-Pharisees, but the hypocrites who appear to be Pharisees; their deeds are like those of Zimri, yet they demand the reward of Phineas.” 

"Freedom of religion"

The “freedom of religion” invoked by MK Son Har-Melech is not the universal principle recognized by enlightened democracies. Instead, it is a narrowly defined freedom for a specific brand of religious Jews to enforce gender-segregated university programs at the expense of gender equality while subverting  Supreme Court rulings. This is not freedom of religion as a “broad fundamental right”; it is a blemish on Israeli academia, a discriminatory policy benefiting Son Har-Melech’s religious and ideological allies while denying religious freedom and freedom from religion to others – Jews and non-Jews alike.

In other areas, MK Son Har-Melech and her party actively perpetuate religious coercion, discrimination, and assaults on individual liberties and human dignity, all while trampling the very principle of freedom of religion they claim to uphold. 

Well-known examples include their opposition to freedom of marriage in Israel, which denies hundreds of thousands of citizens the right to marry. They impose the authority of the Orthodox Chief Rabbinate on all Jewish citizens, despite its extreme  Orthodox interpretation of Jewish law, which is rejected by an overwhelming majority of Israeli and world Jews. Similarly, they oppose public transportation on Shabbat, infringing on the freedom of the majority who support such services and hurting segments of the population who do not have private cars or are unable to drive.

Consistent polling, including the annual Religion and State Index published by Hiddush, reveals that 65–75% of Israelis support marriage freedom and public transportation on Shabbat. These majorities also endorse all other aspects of religious freedom and conscience, all of which are systematically undermined by MK Son Har-Melech and her allies. They cynically claim to base their legislation on “broad fundamental rights of freedom of religion and conscience,” while promoting gender segregation in higher education in direct contradiction to democratic and egalitarian values.

This is not about religious freedom but about expanding the exclusion of women and eroding the fundamental principles of a democratic and egalitarian society. In addition to all other justified objections to this bill, it is time to introduce an ethical threshold that blocks such proposals at the outset. 

Legislation that is so deeply rooted in hypocrisy and deception should not be considered by the legislative bodies of Israel. 

The writer, a rabbi and attorney, heads Hiddush – for Religious Freedom and Equality.