Ultra-Orthodox members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition want to expand the powers of all-male rabbinical courts, and to bar women and men from mixing in many public arenas.
The article is a sobering read, but unfortunately not a surprising one.
Demographically, Israel is split in 3 with secular Jews having a below replacement fecundity, orthodox Jews being off the charts (think 5 or 6 children per woman) and Israeli Arabs being around replacement.
This means that the orthodox community is getting bigger and bigger in the population, and this trend shows no sign of stopping.
Since orthodox women don’t work and orthodox men don’t serve in the army and often do religious studies, this means the community is becoming a bigger and bigger weight on Israeli society.
The current moves seem aimed at trying to appease the orthodox, and stave off an economic collapse in a few decades. Unfortunately by then the orthodox could well be a majority, and women look like the big loosers in this situation.
The article is a sobering read, but unfortunately not a surprising one.
Demographically, Israel is split in 3 with secular Jews having a below replacement fecundity, orthodox Jews being off the charts (think 5 or 6 children per woman) and Israeli Arabs being around replacement.
This means that the orthodox community is getting bigger and bigger in the population, and this trend shows no sign of stopping.
Since orthodox women don’t work and orthodox men don’t serve in the army and often do religious studies, this means the community is becoming a bigger and bigger weight on Israeli society.
The current moves seem aimed at trying to appease the orthodox, and stave off an economic collapse in a few decades. Unfortunately by then the orthodox could well be a majority, and women look like the big loosers in this situation.