Women's equality in Israel is directly connected to issues of religious coercion: while most Jews around the world believe Israel is a Jewish  State and a homeland for all Jewish People, the Government of Israel only recognizes Orthodox Judaism in its official bodies and actions.

Orthodox religious law is the law of the land: Only a man can marry a woman, only a man can grant a divorce. And because of Orthodoxy’s systemic exclusion of women from positions of power—its refusal to allow women to be rabbis, or to recognize female Reform and Conservative rabbis—the interests of women have been disregarded.

We the undersigned call upon the Government of the State of Israel to  broaden the tent in Israel, and stop discriminating between Jews based on their denominational background. 

Specifically, we call on the Government of the State of Israel to take actions to restore a healthy balance of power between the Rabbinate and the Knesset. We call upon both bodies of law and policy to provide fair and equal options for the non-orthodox population with regards to life-cycle events such as birth, marriage and death. And we call upon Jewish organizations worldwide to make it clear that they cannot provide financial, political or social support to a Government that discriminates between Jews and tacitly supports the segregation of Women from public life.

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