(Jerusalem Post) Gilad Erdan - Hillary, our dear friend. A few days ago, you expressed your deep concern about harm to the status of women in Israel, which you said reminds you of the events in Iran. By the way, in our country, a woman serves as the president of the Supreme Court, a woman is the head of the opposition, a woman serves as a major-general in the army, and I could give you many more examples. Each of the sectors in Israel - men and women, religious and secular, Jews and Arabs, and others - has representatives in the Knesset, courts, academia, media and all the mechanisms of society. If you are concerned about the status of women in Israel, I'm certain you are much more concerned about the status of women in other countries friendly to the U.S., such as Saudi Arabia, where women cannot drive; or in Arab countries such as Egypt or Qatar, where men can marry several women and divorce them without any reason, leaving them without any rights, without custody for their children and certainly without alimony; or in Muslim countries such as Indonesia or Pakistan, where women are executed on charges of adultery. But, somehow, I do not recall that you have expressed your concern about it or have taken any steps to stop it. Just like in the U.S., we are taking care of equality between men and women, and we don't need help. We even get a little offended when we are the targets of moralistic preachings on this subject. Israel is not Iran or Saudi Arabia. Perhaps it would be better to begin where the real problems are. The writer is Israel's Minister of Environmental Protection.
2011-12-09 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive