Example For High School about Israel and Human Rights

Women make up close to fifty percent of the workforce in Israel, yet are paid an average of only sixty-two percent of men's salaries and women also constitute seventy percent of those earning minimum wage or less. 1 The Orthodox religious monopoly over marriage, divorce, and other issues of personal status impinges on the rights of Jewish women to marry whomever they choose or obtain a divorce without their husband's consent. 2 The hallmark of any enlightened, free and democratic state is evidenced by its treatment of minorities.Women are perhaps the ultimate minority in the world because, ironically, account for fifty percent of the population. A 2012 estimate shows world population of women versus men to be 1. 0 female to 1.

01 males,3 while in Israel at the end of 2009, there were 3,816,900 women (50. 5%) and 3,735,200 men. 4 The United Nations Human Rights Council in its seminal document The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “…the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world….In attempting to set forth a document outlining basic human rights such as, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights…. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex…,”6 it does not present a clear definition of discrimination. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Article Seven states: “All are equal before the law and are entitled without New Israel Fund, Working for Women's Rights, Retrieved 8 May 2012 from http://www.

nif. org/issueareas/womens-rights. 2New Israel Fund, www. nif.

org. 3 Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook: Israel, Retrieved 8 May 2102 from . 4 Central Bureau of Statistics: State of Israel, Populations and Demography, Retrieved 8 May 2102 from . 5 United Nations, Human Rights, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Retrieved 8 May 2102 . 6 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

any discrimination to equal protection of the law.All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination. ”7 What is discrimination? Various United Nations human rights instruments define the meaning and content of the principles of discrimination and equality. The Charter of the United Nations prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, language or religion. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, enlarged the list to include color, sex, political or other opinion, national or social origins and other status.

Non-discrimination is also established in regional human rights instruments, including the European Convention, the European Social Charter and the Declaration Regarding Intolerance: A Threat to Democracy, all adopted by the Council of Europe; the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, adopted by the Organization of African Unity; and the American Convention of Human Rights, adopted by the Organization of American States. 9 Some United Nations conventions define discrimination.Article 1, paragraph 1, of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (General Assembly resolution 2106 A (XX) annex) defines the term “discrimination” as “any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, color, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life. 10 7 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). 8 United Nations, Report on the World Social Situation 1997, Chapter VIII, United Nations Expert Group Meeting on Managing Diversity in the Civil Service, United Nations Headquarters, New York, 3 - 4 May 2001. 9 Report on the World Social Situation 1997, Chapter VIII 10 Report on the World Social Situation 1997, Chapter VIII A concise definition of discrimination against women is found in the United Nations’ Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

In Article One: “For the purposes of the present Convention, the term ‘discrimination against women’ shall mean any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field. 11 Among the international human rights treaties, the Convention takes an important place in bringing the female half of humanity into the focus of human rights concerns. 12 “The Convention was the culmination of more than thirty years of work by the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, a body established in 1946 to monitor the situation of women and to promote women's rights. The Commission's work has been instrumental in bringing to light all the areas in which women are denied equality with men.These efforts for the advancement of women have resulted in several declarations and conventions, of which the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women is the central and most comprehensive document.

”13 In the United Nations’ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article Twenty-Six, State Parties agree upon “the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground such as race, 1 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Retrieved 8 May 2012 from . 12 CEDAW. 13 CEDAW. color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

”14Legal Status of Women in Israel Israel's Declaration of Independence was one of the first of its kind to include sex as a group classification for the purpose of equal rights. It stated, “The State of Israel will maintain equal social and political rights for all citizens, irrespective of religion, race or sex. 15 Since then, there have been a number of pieces of legislation aimed at implementing the principle of gender equality. In 1951, shortly after the State of Israel was established, Parliament passed the Women's Equal Rights Law equating the legal status of women to that of men and prohibited discrimination on grounds of sex. 16 This legislation provides: “With regard to any legal act, the same law shall apply to a woman and a man, and any provision of law that discriminates against women as women shall be of no effect.

A married woman shall be fully competent to own and deal with property as if she were unmarried; her rights in property acquired before her marriage shall not be affected by her marriage. This law shall not derogate from any provision of law protecting women as women. ”17 The 1988 Equal Employment Opportunities Law similarly prohibited all forms of discrimination in the workplace on the basis of gender, marital status and parenthood. This law recognizes sexual harassment as a form of discrimination in the workplace, which is subject to 4 United Nations, Human Rights, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Retrieved 8 may 2012 ;lt; http://www2. ohchr.

org/english/law/ccpr. htm;gt;. 15 Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs -The State of Israel, The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel May 14, 1948, Retrieved 8 may 2012 from . Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/ Declaration+of+Establishment+of+State+of+Israel.

htm 16 Plea Albeck, The Status of Women in Israel, The American Journal of Comparative Law, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Autumn, 1972), p. 693. 7 Albeck, p. 693.

civil and criminal sanctions. 18 In 1998, the Israeli Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law was enacted, prohibiting sexual harassment and prejudicial treatment in a broad range of situations involving relationships of power and dependence. 19 That same year the Knesset established the Authority for the Advancement of the Status of Women which is authorized to encourage, coordinate, promote and monitor the government and the local authorities' activities regarding women's status, to promote legislation and to advise the government on the enforcement of laws promoting the status of women.Israel did not adopt a written constitution upon its establishment, instead enacting in 1992 two new “Basic Laws” to address two human rights guarantees: Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty and Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation and act as “semi-constitutional” legislation and are identified as the beginning of the judicial review process in Israeli law. 1 The right to equality is not mentioned specifically as a basic right in the Basic Laws but the 1992 Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty explicitly provides for the human rights set forth in it be interpreted in the spirit of the principles of the Declaration of Independence, which was one of the first of its kind to include sex as a group classification for the purpose of equal social and political rights. 22The exact number of women's NGOs (Non-Government Organization) operating in Israel is estimated at 100, they vary tremendously in size, ideology, socio-economic characteristics of their members, activities and goals; some of the major organizations are the Israel Women’s Network (IWN), Na’amat, Women’s International Zionist Organization (WIZO), and Emunah.

23 Despite the large number of women’s organizations in Israel, Israeli women do not appear to 18 Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, Women in Israel: A State of Their Own. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004, p. 116. 19 Kaddari, p. 117.

20 Kaddari, p. 48. 21 Kaddari, p. 4. 22 Kaddari, p. 25.

23 Jewish Virtual Library, Israel Briefing Book: Israel Overview – Women, Retrieved 9 May 2012 from . represent a decisive political force as a whole which may be attributed to the priority traditionally given by all, including women, to building and strengthening the national political entity at the expense of a particular feminist voice in Israeli society. 24 Israel Women’s Network (IWN) is widely acknowledged as the country’s major advocacy group on women’s status at the end of the twentieth century,The Israel Women’s Network was founded in the summer of 1984 as a direct outcome of a U.S. and Israel dialogue held in Jerusalem under the sponsorship of the American Jewish Congress.

25 “The Israel Women's Network (IWN) is a not-for-profit organization comprised of women who are united in their determination to improve the status of women in Israel, regardless of political affiliation, religious outlook or ethnic origin. IWN's missions are to lead social change and to achieve equality of opportunity and reward for all Israeli women, is an integral element in transforming into a just and productive society for all. ”26In 1921, the women who came to Israel in the Second Aliya from 1904 to 1914 expecting equality organized NA’AMAT, then called Moetzet Hapoalot (the Working women's Council), the first feminist movement in Palestine. Protesting a society in which women were relegated to the kitchens while men worked the land and built the country, the women’s goal was to become full partners in the life of the Labor movement, the founding of the state and the future of the Jewish people.Their work began with agricultural training schools and expanded into providing day care for children of working women and vocational training for women who 4 Kaddari, p.

56. 25 Jewish Women’s Archive, Israel Women’s Network, Retrieved 9 May 2012 from ;lt; http://jwa. org/encyclopedia/ article/israel-womens-network;gt;. 26 ETZA, Israel Self Help Center, Organizations Directory / Women - General / Israel Women’s Network, Retrieved 9 May 2012 from ;lt; http://self-help.

sheatufim. org. il/detail-orgeng. php? id=140;idtop=25;gt;. 27 Jewish Virtual Library, NA’AMAT, Retrieved 9 May 2012 from .

wanted to work. 28 Its activities included working with thousands of Soviet nd Ethiopian immigrants pouring into the country; creating Mehad, the support program for single-parent families; establishing five Centers for the Treatment and Prevention of Violence in the Family, and building the Glickman Center, a shelter for battered women, in conjunction with the Tel Aviv municipality. 29 Women’s International Zionist Organization (WIZO) is a non-party international movement dedicated to the advancement of the status of women, welfare of all sectors of Israeli society and encouragement of Jewish education in Israel and the Diaspora. 30 WIZO is an international movement of Zionist women, founded in England in 1920.Today, there are over a quarter of a million volunteers in fifty Federations throughout the world, working actively for the welfare of the citizens of Israel and providing help and support in the operation of hundreds of education and welfare projects and services.

Emunah, established in 1935, is Israel’s largest women's religious Zionist organization with over 100,000 members worldwide and mission is to help alleviate the burdens of Israel’s social problems, to strengthen Israeli society through excellent education for children and adults, and to provide emergency services to its citizens during times of crisis. 1It maintains 135 daycare and after school centers throughout Israel, operates vocational schools, high schools, five children’s residential homes caring for over 1,000 children coming from backgrounds of abuse, neglect and abandonment, and crisis counseling centers for families in crisis and victims of terror, parenting classes, senior citizen centers and meals-on-wheels programs. 32 8 Jewish Virtual Library, NA’AMAT, www. jewishvirtuallibrary. org. 29 Jewish Virtual Library, NA’AMAT, www.

jewishvirtuallibrary. org. 30 WIZO, History, Retrieved 9 May 2012 from < http://www. wizo.

org/htmls/wizohistory. aspx? c0=13222&bsp=13096>. 31 Emunah of America, About Emunah, Retrieved 9 May 2012 from < http://www. emunah.

org/about. php>. 32 Emunah of America, www. emunah. org.

Marriage and DivorceArticle 16 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) enumerates the treaty’s stance on marriage and divorce as follows: “States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations and in particular shall ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women: The same right to enter into marriage; The same right freely to choose a spouse and to enter into marriage only with their free and full consent; The same rights and responsibilities during marriage and at its dissolution; The same rights and responsibilities as parents, irrespective of their marital status, in matters relating to their children; in all cases the interests of the children shall be paramount;The same rights to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children and to have access to the information, education and means to enable them to exercise these rights; The same rights and responsibilities with regard to guardianship, ward-ship, trusteeship and adoption of children, or similar institutions where these concepts exist in national legislation; in all cases the interests of the children shall be paramount; The same personal rights as husband and wife, including the right to choose a family name, a profession and an occupation; The same rights for both spouses in respect of the ownership, acquisition, management, administration, enjoyment and disposition of property, whether free of charge or for a valuable consideration. ”33The UN's Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women for Israel, dated 5 April 2011, shows the authority of rabbinical courts over marriage and dissolution thereof to be discriminatory: “Discrimination in marriage and family relations: Noting that all Jews in Israel can be married and divorced only in the 33 CEDAW. rabbinical courts, which are male dominated and completely governed by religious law, the Committee is concerned about discrimination against women in the context of divorce in such courts, in that only the husband has the right to grant his wife divorce (the “get”) of his own free will. The Committee also expresses its concern at recent cases of retroactive invalidation of divorce, to the detriment of Jewish women. ”34The Committee calls upon the State party to: “Introduce an optional system of civil marriage and divorce available to all; Harmonize religious laws currently governing marriage and divorce with the Convention and eliminate provisions that are discriminatory against women, including by prohibiting the man’s unilateral power to grant the “get”, prohibiting the possibility of extorting concessions from women in return for the “get” as well as the practice of retroactive invalidation of divorces, and by further limiting the scope of rabbinical courts' jurisdiction to matters of marriage and divorce alone; Ensure that rabbinical court judges are provided with training.