Stories
Proposed Knesset Bill Targets Free Speech . . . Again
NIF has come out in opposition to the proposed ‘NGO Bill’, according to which Israeli NGOs would be taxed at different rates based on the content of their speech.
Major Conference on Gynecology Excludes Women
NIF is at the forefront of a campaign against a conference on innovations in gynecology, which will exclude women speakers. The Puah Institute, which helps couples with fertility, medicine, and Jewish law, held its 13th national conference in Jerusalem this week, with the theme “Innovations in Gynecology and Halachah: Judgments, Dilemmas and Challenges.” In previous years, female experts were barred from speaking at the annual conference, leading many doctors to cancel their participation in protest. This year, the Puah Institute refused to reveal the list of speakers, presumably in an attempt to stave off criticism regarding its exclusion of women.
Asylum Seekers March to Jerusalem
A group of around 200 Sudanese asylum seekers marched to Jerusalem in an attempt to gain official recognition of their refugee statuses. Most of the marchers have been imprisoned for almost two years and none of their asylum requests – which were filed with the assistance of NIF grantee Hotline for Refugees and Migrants (previously Hotline for Migrant Workers) – have been answered. Following the protest, they were arrested and transferred to Saharonim Prison, where they will be detained for two months before being returned to the newly established Holot detention center.
High Court of Justice Warns State on Incitement
Last Wednesday, the High Court of Justice demanded an explanation form the state as to why it has not indicted rabbis Yitzhak Shapira and Yosef Elitzur for their authorship of the highly controversial book Torat Hamelech.
Immersion and Empowerment
A new training program for mikva (ritual bath) attendants in Israel is an important step forward for women’s rights. The new training program, which will be run by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, was agreed upon following a campaign by Advot (Ripples), a group of women’s rights activists.
Campaign Saves Historic Inbal Center
A successful grassroots campaign will prevent the closure of the historic Inbal Cultural Center in Tel Aviv. Due to funding criteria established by the Ministry of Culture, the Center, which is devoted to Mizrachi dance and performance art, was under threat of having its budget removed.
Promoting Equal Pay for Women in the Workplace
As part of its efforts to equalize wage gaps between women and men in Israel, SHATIL has declared 2014, which marks the 50th anniversary of Israel’s underused Equal Pay Law, as “Equal Pay Year”.
Israeli activists gather in strength to fight racism
At a sold-out conference in Jaffa, Israeli activists gathered to discuss, learn, and strategize on efforts to fight racism in Israel.
Profile: Roni Hazon Weiss
Roni Hazon Weiss has had a fascinating journey to become one Jerusalem’s leading religious feminist activists. Born and raised in a modern Orthodox family in Maaleh Adumim, and active in Bnei Akiva, her first turning point came when she studied at Midreshet Lindenbaum, one of the pioneers of Talmud study for women.