Tel-Chai Nation

The Knesset's Shaked committee has focused on how Haredis enrolling in the army has affected the status of female officials:

Female soldiers have already been harmed by haredi enlistment, Culture and Sport Minister Limor Livnat warned on Wednesday.

Livnat, chairwoman of the Ministerial Committee on the Status of Women, took part in a meeting of the Shaked Committee on haredi enlistment, on how the policy will affect women in the IDF. The meeting focused on article 26a of the bill, which states that the IDF must “defend the dignity, integration and status of women.”

“Unfortunately, people seem to have the impression that this is a battle of Amazonians versus macho men,” Livnat quipped.

The minister recounted that she demanded to be on the ministerial committee that drafted the legislation on haredi enlistment to make sure it would be sensitive to women in the military.

“My goal is not only to integrate women in the IDF but to protect their dignity,” Livnat stated. “We already see more than a slight decline in women’s status in the IDF, even before significant numbers of haredim enlisted.”

The clueless Haredi MK Moshe Gafni continued with his hypocrisies:

MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) said that in haredi society, women are respected more than men.

Some of the research I've blogged about suggests the opposite. Even in Israel.

“We have no problem with the bill having an article requiring that women’s dignity be protected, as long as haredim’s dignity is preserved as well,” Gafni said, reasoning that “if such an article is authorized [without including haredi dignity], it could mean that a woman will go to the High Court to complain she could not serve at a base with haredim and the court will require she be allowed on the base because the law says only her dignity is protected.”

MK Michal Biran (Labor) took issue with the concept of women-free military bases.

“I refuse to accept that people will look at me or at any other person like he or she is a disease,” Biran said. “Just as women can’t be thrown out of Knesset committee meetings because there are haredim in the room, women can’t be pushed out of IDF bases.”

If the government is trying to convince thousands of haredim to enlist, they have to accept their lifestyle and the fact that many of them don’t want women around, UTJ MK Meir Porush told the committee.

“If you want to change our lifestyle, say it outright in the bill,” Porush challenged the MKs.

Okay, Gafni, you got it. I want to change your insular lifestyle, which is harmful and destructive to Torah education, contrary to what you think. Poor fellow just can't understand that it's not like they'll be barging into their personal bedrooms and using the same toilets as they have. Nor will they be having sex with them, and I doubt many soldier girls would care to ask men with such poor color of character out on a date.

Gafni would be helping himself and others a lot more by just shutting up.

Labels: haredi corruption, Israel, Knesset, military, misogyny, Moonbattery