An Israel Hayom exclusive on the efforts undertaken by the National Religious Party and United Torah Judaism parties to roll back gender equality reforms after a new right-wing government takes office caused a political firestorm on Sunday.
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Israel Hayom had reported that the two parties, which are in the midst of intense coalition talks aimed at swearing in a Likud-led government, have indicated that any government they join would have to legislate rules that undo the rules, including those set by the attorney general and Supreme Court, that prohibit gender segregation at public venues in almost all cases that are considered to be affiliated with the state or its resources.
Prime Minister Yair Lapid took to Twitter to warn that this would be tantamount to state-led discrimination. "While the brave women of Iran fight for their rights, in Israel the national Haredim and Bezalel Smotrich [who heads the National Religious Party] are trying to send women behind barriers and to legislation segregation." He then continued and asked rhetorically, "Where is the Likud? Why is it silent? Israel is not Iran."
A whole host of politicians on the Left also joined Lapid in condemning this. "There is no such thing as separate but equal," Labor leader Merav Michaeli wrote on Twitter, adding, "We warned that a coalition without women would hurt women, and now they want a law that would put women in the back; but women are not worth less, we are equal. No one has any right to tell us where to sit, what to wear, and whether to carry out an abortion or not. This is a struggle over our democracy."
