Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
religious schools and the secular state schools. In Israel, the movement has more than fi fty
congregations.
The Reform movement in Israel began with the founding of the Leo Baeck school in Haifa
in 1939. The fi rst modern Reform synagogue in Israel, the Harel synagogue in Jerusalem,
was founded in 1958, and the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism, a grouping of non-
Orthodox synagogues, was incorporated as a movement in 1971. Today the movement com-
prises twenty-eight congregations, two kibbutzim, and a communal settlement.
Both the Reform and the Conservative movements provide alternatives to Orthodox ser-
vices. They each have their own
beit din
s (religious courts) for conversions, although the state
does not accept the conversions they supervise within Israel for immigration or personal status
purposes. Advocates from these two groups argue that their version of Judaism is well suited
to non-Orthodox Israelis looking for a level of observance outside a total commitment to Or-
thodoxy. They have also tried to appeal to Russian-speaking immigrants. But few native-born
Israelis show enthusiasm, since they already live in a Jewish environment, speak Hebrew, and
receive basic Jewish education in school.
WOMEN IN SOCIETY
In Israel, the formal acceptance of women's status as equal to men's dates back to the pre-state
years, when socialist ideals of equality and a challenging new environment provided ample op-
portunity for women to play important roles in working and fi ghting. Women are and always
have been equal in Israeli doctrine. The pioneering woman and the woman warrior are staple
historical images.
Israel has offered paid maternity leave and affordable child care services since the 1950s. But
Israel also lagged behind many Western countries in ensuring women's equal status during the
latter decades of the twentieth century. Once the myth that gender equality had already been
achieved was successfully challenged in the 1970s and 1980s, legislation was passed that has
helped women take advantage of the same opportunities as men.
Still, equality between the sexes varies depending on the population sector, with Arab
women playing much more traditional roles, according to their community's norms, than Jew-
ish women and being almost completely absent from the political scene. Among the Mizrahim
and later the Ethiopian immigrants, women also fi lled more traditional roles, with concomi-
tant lower education rates and lower workforce participation. Gaps between men and women,
and between native-born women and immigrant women, have declined over time.
Elements of sexism are still present in Israeli society, especially in the workplace. In ad-
dition, while women's overall participation in the workforce is high, more women than men
work part-time and in lower-paying jobs. Domestic abuse is a problem on a par with that
in other Western societies, and several shelters exist to help victims. There is also illicit sex
traffi cking, although Israeli authorities are becoming stricter about punishing those involved,
including clients.
Some challenges to full equality between the sexes in the society stem from the patriarchal
nature of both traditional Judaism and Islam given the lack of separation between religion and
state. Religious courts have jurisdiction over personal status matters for each religious com-
