: ISRAEL - RELIGIOUS COURTS : Background Report 5-46441 : By Shoshana London Sappir, in Jerusalem : Voice of America via http://www.mantra.com/newsplus : Sunday, June 4, 2000 : Introduction : Israeli women have been struggling for years to have a : say in the religious courts that are in charge of : marriage and divorce. Now, as Shoshana London Sappir : reports from Jerusalem, women have begun working in these : previously all-male courts. : Text : Israel has many laws that guarantee the equal status of : men and women. But it preserves the right of religious : courts to judge according to ancient laws that treat men : and women differently. : Israel has acknowledged the conflict between religious : and civil laws on many occasions. When it signed the U-N : Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against : Women it submitted reservations regarding the rights of : religious courts. : There is no option of civil marriage or divorce in : Israel, so religious courts belonging to the various : denominations perform all marriages and divorces. Women : activists have been saying for years that these male-only : courts are more sympathetic to men and keep women at a : disadvantage. : Esther Sivan is the legal advisor for the Israel Women's : Network, which advocates opening religious courts to : women. : Sivan: : "Religious law in Israel discriminates against women of : all religions, I am afraid. First of all, the main : problem I think is everything concerning marriage and : divorce. Rabbinical courts and Sharii courts of Jewish : and Muslim women in Israel have unique jurisdiction on : matters of marriage and divorce and the laws that apply : especially on divorce are discriminating towards women. : Women do not have the same rights as men, they can not, : they can not stop their marriage as men can do, and : sometimes, too often, we see actual blackmail in divorce : proceedings. Men have the right to have a marriage : permit to another women where women are not permitted to : marry another man till they divorce from their own : husband and that makes women in a very low rank." : Ten-years ago, women scored a victory when they persuaded : the Jewish religious establishment to let women advocates : represent men and women in the rabbinical courts. These : women are called 'rabbinical pleaders' and undergo : special training on Jewish religious law. Ms. Sivan says : their presence has had a real impact in the court system. : Sivan: : "First of all, 'till women pleaders came into religious : courts there were hardly any women since judges in : religious courts are not, women are not permitted to be : judges in religious courts whatsoever, so the women's : voice was hardly heard. Religious pleaders, rabbinical : pleaders, and sharii pleaders, women, make a change since : they have the women's agenda on their agenda in court and : that makes a great change. I think even the judges : themselves would agree with me that some change was made, : although they had to fight a lot to get into the courts. : At least rabbinical pleaders, women rabbinical pleaders, : had quite a struggle until they were permitted to come in : and represent women and men in courts." : Based on the success of the Jewish pleaders, Muslim women : are now poised to upset the traditional balance of power : in Muslim courts. The first group of Sharii pleaders has : just graduated from a training course on Muslim law. : Tagrid Jahshan is an advocate who has worked with these : pleaders. : Jahshan: : "These women have not got a license yet to practice in : the courts, but at least we know that we now have a group : of 15 Muslim women pleaders that can work even in these : courts or in other places. We hope that these women can : also work outside the courts, have meetings with other : women explaining to these women their rights. Even if : they do not enter inside the courts we hope there will be : another side to their training - especially in regions : where women are completely unaware of their rights, : especially in the Negev where Bedouin women live. We : have two Bedouin women who participated in the Sharia : pleaders course and we hope that they are pioneers to : working with Bedouin women, explaining to them their : rights as well as representing them in the Sharia : courts." : These women activists do not see challenging the : religious establishment as the only way to advance : women's rights. Many women are themselves religious and : want to promote their rights within the system. Jewish : and Muslim women, together with men who are committed to : equality, are looking for ways to help women within : existing religious law. Members of both faiths are : seeking new interpretations of the ancient laws to : produce rulings that favor women. Israeli delegates to : the U-N Beijing plus five Conference on the Status of : Women in New York (June 5-9) will report on steps to : improve women's standing. : (Signed) neb/sls/ge/dw/rae : 4-Jun-2000 9:31 am EDT (4-Jun-2000 1331 hours UTC) : Voice of America, via News Plus : http://www.mantra.com/newsplus : Om Shanti : ''VOA will present the policies of the United States : clearly and effectively, and will also present : responsible discussion and opinion on these policies.'' : - U.S. Public Law 94-350 : Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational : purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post : may not have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the : opinion of the poster. The contents are protected by copyright law : and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works. : <A HREF="http://www.mantra.com/newsplus/"><B>Jai's News Plus</B></A> : Panchaang for 3 Jyeshtth 5101, Sunday, June 4, 2000: : Vikrama Nama Samvatsare 5102 Uttarayane Nartana Ritau : Vrishabha Mase Shukla Pakshe Bhanu Vasara Yuktayam : Punarvasu Nakshatra Ganda-Vriddhi Yoga : Gara-Vanija Karana Triteeya-Chaturthee Yam Tithau : Jai's News Plus : http://www.mantra.com/newsplus : Hindu Holocaust Museum : http://www.mantra.com/holocaust : Information about Hindu life, principles, and philosophy : http://www.hindu.org : http://www.hindunet.org : Information about Islam : http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate : PayPal is a no-cost service that lets you 'beam' money : https://secure.paypal.com/refer/pal=mantra%40mantra.com : For-pay Internet distributed processing : http://www.ProcessTree.com/?sponsor=17423 : Open a no-cost, no-obligation real gold worldwide money account : http://www.e-gold.com/e-gold.asp?cid=108077 <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html <A HREF="http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
