Israel City of Ashdod Bomb Shelters Ordered To Allow Women
Women and men mix in a Tel Aviv bomb shelter. A more conservative city of Ashdod was ordered to stop segregating shelters by gender. Image by getty images
Several bomb shelters in Ashdod were ordered to remove signs indicating they are for men only.
In response to a complaint lodged by Knesset member Stav Shaffir, the Rabbinical Courts Administration ordered the removal of the signs, the Times of Israel reported.
“The thought that women who sought a secure refuge from rocket fire and encountered a closed door just because they were women is unthinkable,” Shaffir said in a news release issued Thursday.
In her complaint to Religious Services Minister Naftali Bennett and Deputy Attorney General Dina Zilber, Shaffir demanded they ensure that gender segregation not be practiced with regard to bomb shelters or secure rooms anywhere in Israel.
The Times of Israel said Hebrew media outlets were reporting that the Rabbinical Courts Administration blamed the signs on “the private actions of an employee without the knowledge of the management,” and said it would take disciplinary steps against those involved.
“In practice, gender segregation was not implemented, nor will it be implemented when [it comes to] entering bomb shelters,” the administration said.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
