Published: 24 February 2023
Last updated: 5 March 2024
Raft of bills would give rabbinical courts a status equal to civil courts, allowing religious laws to be applied to divorce, domestic violence and segregation.
Several dozen women, wearing the notable red cloaks and white hats from The Handmaid’s Tale, walked slowly through the crowds of protesters during Monday's mass demonstrations outside the Knesset against the government’s judicial overhaul. Their field of vision blocked by the wide-brimmed head coverings, they walked gingerly, guiding each other carefully.
The women were part of an ad hoc group, Bonot Alternativa ("Building an Alternative"), an umbrella for several local and national organisations intended to draw attention to the effects of these proposed legal changes on women and other minorities.
"These so-called 'reforms' won't be good for anyone," one of the women told Plus 61J Media, whispering quietly and furtively as she continued to act out her role as one of Atwood's handmaids. "But it will be particularly awful for women.
"I'm probably already on a black list," she continued, referring to the list compiled by the far-right Noam Party of feminists and LGBTQ activists before the elections. The list, according to party spokespersons, was intended to be part of their war against those who intend to corrupt traditional Jewish values in the name of gender equality and LGBTQ liberties.
"So this costume doesn't seem so far-fetched, does it?" she added, before rejoining the other "handmaids’.
Despite President Herzog's plea to delay the legislation, and despite the continuing demonstrations, on Monday the Knesset passed the first readings of these provisions by a vote of 63-47. Justice Minister Yariv Levin (Likud) and Knesset Legislative Committee Chair Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism) have made it clear that they intend to fast-track these proposals through the required second and third readings until they become law and to fast-track additional proposals.
