12 Friday, March 5, 1976
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
MOVING?
myth of Liberation: modern Role of Women in Israel
•• HOUSEHOLD SALES
•
IN YOUR HOME
•
: ESTATES LIQUIDATED •
: MARION GASPAS :
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•
IRENE EAGLE
••
•626-4769
626-8907*
By SARAH MORRIS
Executive Director, American
Histadrut Cultural Foundation
Despite the important
gains made by women in the
kibutz it would seem to me
that the traditional concept
of male and female roles in
HAGGADAH - A SEARCH FOR FREEDOM
An Oratorio by Morton Gold
THE OAKLAND UNIVERSITY SINGERS
AND ORCHESTRA
and UNITED HEBREW SCHOOL CHORUS
Conductor: JOHN DOVARAS
Soloists: CANTOR HAROLD ORBACH
CANTOR LOUIS KLEIN
at CONG. BNAI MOSHE
SUNDAY, MARCH 28
Israel was never radically
changed.
Israel no longer leads the
field in women's equality. I
think the answer is to be
sought in the profound
changes that have taken
place in Israeli society since
1948.
Today, for instance, more
than 50 percent of Israelis
come from Islamic coun-
tries. Their treatment of
women as second-class citi-
zens was light years away
from that of the Western
immigrant.
Tremendous changes
have, of course, taken
place over the last dec-
ades, especially among the
Israeli-born generation.
Today, among Israeli-born
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women, the percentage
working outside their
homes is the same what-
ever the origin of their
parents.
A further basic change
has been the growth in the
Orthodox religious estab-
lishment from a minor fac-
tor in 1948 to a political
force wielding considerable
power today, out of propor-
tion to its real strength.
The impact of this devel-
opment on social mores has
been pronounced, particu-
larly as it relates to women.
While secular law proclaims
equality, this does not apply
",,o the marital status which
is determined by the reli-
gious family law. This is one
reason why abortion is still
not legal in Israel except in
cases where there is danger
to the health of the mother.
The female half of the
population is currently
vastly under-represented in
the political and governmen-
tal structure: only eight
women serve in the
120-member Knesset, three
less than in 1948, a situation
that is paralleled in local
government elective offices.
The situation is not
much better in the Histad-
rut, the General Federa-
tion of Labor, where
women comprise half the
membership but are no-
ticeably absent in the pol-
icy and decision making
bodies. Here, however,
there has been some prog-
ress recently.
One unique aspect of the
Mideast
Capsules
Contrary to Arab claims
that U.S. government eco-
nomic assistance to Israel
totaled $1.8 billion, that tax-
exempt dollar transfers
amounted to$2.5 billion and
that the sale of Israel Bonds
had netted $6 billion, a total
of $10.3 billion, the Near
East Report issued state-
ment which verified the ac-
tual amount Israel has- re-
ceived from the U.S.
• Between 1951 and
through 1973, total Israel
Bond sales in the U.S. were
$2.2 billion.
• The total amount con-
tributed to the United Jew-
ish Appeal from 1948 up to
and including 1973 was
about $2.9 billion.
• The totals include the
emergency funds which
were raised by Americans
to help Israel when her
economy was battered and
her survival threatened by a
catastrophic war.
Israel critics fail to distin-
tinguish between loans and
grants or to take into ac-
count that Bond purchasers
pay substantial taxes to the
U.S. Treasury on the inter-
est they receive. Finally, it
must be emphasized that
funds contributed by pri-
vate citizens to the UJA are
used to help resettle Jewish
refugees and that Bond
funds assist in developing
Israel's economy — not to
procure arms as critics of-
ten claim.
Histadrut is that house-
wives are justly recognized
as workers and are accorded
full membership rights
within the organization.
This definition has not
been adopted by the govern-
ment and housewives are
still not included in pension
rights and national insur-
ance benefits.
Inequality is also the rule
on the economic scene, a
fact that was dramatically
demonstrated during the
Yom Kippur War. Few
women had the technical
know-how and training to
run the factories and farms,
and transport and industry
slowed.
Unlike the usual picture
of Israeli women, only one-
third work outside their
homes, a slightly lower per-
centage than in other indus-
trialized countries. They are
mostly concentrated in the
traditional women's fields
— office work, teaching,
nursing and services, but
even in these areas very few
reach the top echelons.
For instance, although
they account for a great
majority of teachers, only
seven percent are school
principals. The situation
is better than in the pro-
fessions, but even in the
universities where they
form half of the student
body, only four percent
become professors.
Statistics show that the
average wage of a woman
worker is 75 percent that of
a man. In industry this can
be as low as 45 percent but
it is counterbalanced by the
professions where equal pay
is generally accepted. Israel
tax law also operates nega-
tively against women since
they permit no deductions
for home help or child care
costs.
However, on the positive
side, women cannot by law
be dismissed from jobs due
to pregnancy and are as-
sured of three months paid
maternity leave with an op-
tion of 12 months unpaid
leave.
It is also accepted practice
in Israel that pre-school
children attend kindergar
ten for half a day. However,
there is still a shortage of
full-day care centers where
meals are provided and chil-
dren kept until the mother
finishes work.
Part of the process of
discrimination may be due
to male reluctance to ad-
mit women to those pre-
serves they consider their
own. But the problem has
deeper
implications.
Women are expected to
meet the demands of their
jobs while carrying on
with the traditional roles
of wife, mother and home-
maker.
While there are voices
advocating radical changes,
it seems clear that the ma-
jority of Israeli women ac-
cept their conventional role
and show little desire for
far-reaching innovations in
society.
Knesset Questions El Al Free Rides
JERUSALEM (JTA) —
The issue of free airline
tickets for privileged per-
sons was recently raised in
the Knesset.
Likud MK Gideon Patt
questioned Transport Min-
ister Gad Yaacobi about an
allegation by Haaretz re-
porter Yair Kotler that El
Al gave out 5,000 free tick-
ets annually to persons with
"protektzia" (political pull).
Patt demanded a list of all
New York Students
Take Uniform Tests
NEW YORK — The
Board of Jewish Education
of Greater New York re-
ports that 1,058 students
from nearly 100 elementary
yeshivot participated in this
year's Uniform Entrance
Examination Program for
yeshiva high school admis-
sion.
The program, adminis-
tered by the BJE Testing
Service, allows eighth grade
students to take only exami-
nation for entrance to any
of the 18 member schools of
the Yeshiva High School
Principals Council partici-
pating in the examination.
ORT Earmarks
Millions for Schools
GENEVA (JTA) — The
World ORT Union executive
committee has approved a
record $45.5 million budget
for 1976, of which nearly
$25 million is earmarked for
ORT schools in Israel and
over $12 million in France.
MKs, government ministers
and senior officials who
have received free transpor-
tation.
An El Al spokesman said
that the 5,000 figure was "a
gross exaggeration." A
spokesman for the Trans-
port Ministry acknowledged
that El Al had issued free
tickets to 3,305 persons last
year at the government's
request, but denied that
government employes were
abusing their privilege of
free air transportation.
The spokesman said the
requests were recognized by
the International Air Trans-
port Association (IATA)
and noted that all govern-
ments frequently made
such requests of their na-
tional carriers. He said that
unlike the situation in many
other countries, all requests
for free airline tickets in Is-
rael were subject to scrutiny
by the State Comptroller.
Judge Permits
Nazi on Ballot
MILWAUKEE — Mil-
waukee County Circuit
Judge Leander Foley Jr. has
ruled that Nazi Party
candi-
_
date Arthur Jones should
not be removed from the
ballot as a candidate for
Milwaukee mayor.
Jones is one of four oppo-
nents of Mayor Henry
Maier. A local attorney had
challenged Jones' nomina-
tion papers, saying Jones
had misled signers of his pe-
tition by substituting the
word "Independent" for the
word "Nazi."