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The Israel Religious Action Center (Hebrew: המרכז הרפורמי לדת ומדינה) also known as IRAC, was established in 1987 as the public and legal advocacy arm of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism. It is located in
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
,
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. IRAC aims to defend equality,
social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals f ...
, and
religious pluralism Religious pluralism is an attitude or policy regarding the diversity of religious belief systems co-existing in society. It can indicate one or more of the following: * Recognizing and tolerating the religious diversity of a society or count ...
within Israel, through the Israeli legal system, lobbying and publications. Author Elana Maryles Sztokman calls IRAC "the preeminent civil and human rights organization in Israel," advocating for a broadly inclusive democracy and promoting social justice. Recent campaigns include an effort to ban gender segregation on Israeli public buses, a successful public campaign for the abolition of income guarantees to
kollel A kollel ( he, כולל, , , a "gathering" or "collection" f scholars is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim (lectures) and learning ''sedarim'' (sessions) ...
students, and a lobbying campaign in defense of human rights organizations operating in Israel.
Anat Hoffman }; born 1954) is an Israeli activist and serves as Executive Director of the Israel Religious Action Center, also known as IRAC. She is the director and founding member of Nashot HaKotel, also known as Women of the Wall. Hoffman is a former membe ...
, currently the executive director of IRAC, is also the director and a founding member of Neshot HaKotel, also known as "
Women of the Wall Women of the Wall (Hebrew: נשות הכותל, ''Neshot HaKotel'') is a multi-denominational Jewish feminist organization based in Israel whose goal is to secure the rights of women to pray at the Western Wall, also called the Kotel, in a fashi ...
" or WoW, an organization of women who pray at the
Western Wall The Western Wall ( he, הַכּוֹתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי, HaKotel HaMa'aravi, the western wall, often shortened to the Kotel or Kosel), known in the West as the Wailing Wall, and in Islam as the Buraq Wall (Arabic: حَائِط � ...
in an egalitarian manner. Rabbi Noa Sattath is director of IRAC. She has completed five years in that role.


Areas of focus

*Promote acceptance of religious pluralism in Israel, working to secure equal funding and status for Reform and Conservative movements. *Promote freedom of marriage and equal rights in divorce. *Oppose discrimination against women and gender segregation (see
sex segregation Sex segregation, sex separation, gender segregation or gender separation is the physical, legal, or cultural separation of people according to their biological sex. Sex segregation can refer simply to the physical and spatial separation by sex w ...
). *Oppose
racism in Israel Racism in Israel encompasses all forms and manifestations of racism experienced in Israel, irrespective of the colour or creed of the perpetrator and victim, or their citizenship, residency, or visitor status. More specifically in the Israeli co ...
, particularly when incited by religious or government representatives. *Secure the rights of converts to Judaism.


Developments

* In 2006 IRAC filed a complaint about racist incitement by Jerusalem rabbis. As a result of the complaint, Shai Nitzan, head of the Special Tasks Division in the State Attorney's Office, ordered a police investigation into possible criminal activity by Rabbi David Batzri and his son, Rabbi Yitzhak Batzri, who in protesting the opening of a mixed Hebrew-Arab school announced that the school was inappropriate because Arabs are "impure" and "donkeys." Attorney Reut Michaeli said IRAC welcomed the investigation in hopes of ending "the improper use that rabbis and others make of the Jewish religion to advance unacceptable, discriminatory and racist views." * In 2012 IRAC celebrated what Haaretz called "one of its most significant triumphs," when it prevailed in an eight year court battle to have the Israeli government pay the salaries of four non-Orthodox rabbis, "creating a hairline crack in the Orthodox monopoly." * In 2014, IRAC won its first class-action suit. The Jerusalem District Court agreed that IRAC's client, Kolech could receive damages from Kol baRama, an ultra-Orthodox radio station that prohibits women from participating in its broadcasts or working as employees. Kolech is an Orthodox women's organization. * In December 2014 the Jerusalem District Court ruled that
Chevra Kadisha The term ''Chevra kadisha'' (Modern Hebrew: חֶבְרָה קַדִּישָׁא) gained its modern sense of "burial society" in the nineteenth century. It is an organization of Jewish men and women who see to it that the bodies of deceased Je ...
burial society will no longer be allowed to place signs enforcing gender segregation of men and women at funerals, unless the family of the deceased requests it. The Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC) and the Human Rights Clinic at Tel Aviv University's Faculty of Law filed a claim against Chevra Kadisha in Rehovot and Jerusalem, claiming it violated the Religious Services Ministry's prohibition on gender segregation in cemeteries. Attorney Orly Erez-Likhovski, head of IRAC's legal department, announced, "This is excellent news. The two Chevra Kadisha companies involved in this affair firmly refused to obey the
Ministry of Religious Services The Ministry of Religious Services ( he, המשרד לשירותי דת (''HaMisrad leSherutay Dat'') (formerly Ministry of Religious Affairs and Ministry of Religion) is a government ministry of Israel that handles Jewish religious affairs. Resp ...
director-general's memo which ordered them to remove the signs. This marks the end of discriminating segregation signs in cemeteries." Chevra Kadisha representatives said they were only acting in accordance with rabbinic orders. * In December 2014 ''
The Times of Israel ''The Times of Israel'' is an Israeli multi-language online newspaper that was launched in 2012. It was co-founded by Israeli journalist David Horovitz, who is also the founding editor, and American billionaire investor Seth Klarman.
'' interviewed
Anat Hoffman }; born 1954) is an Israeli activist and serves as Executive Director of the Israel Religious Action Center, also known as IRAC. She is the director and founding member of Nashot HaKotel, also known as Women of the Wall. Hoffman is a former membe ...
regarding arson at school that was apparently incited by Lehava and committed by members of the anti-assimilation group. Hoffman said IRAC had filed over 40 complaints "with the attorney general against Lehava and its leaders since 2010, and we only got one serious answer to any of them.” Because of lack of attention to the complaints, IRAC joined other organizations in October 2014 in petitioning the High Court of Justice against the attorney general. The petition asks the attorney general to investigate Lehava, and accuses the group of numerous examples of illegal activity such as promoting housing discrimination against non-Jews and harassing organizations that employ Arabs. The court has allowed the state an extension until January 2015 to file its response. * In January 2014 the head of IRAC's legal team was quoted in
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner ...
about the unsuccessful attempt by the city of
Bnei Brak Bnei Brak or Bene Beraq ( he, בְּנֵי בְּרַק ) is a city located on the central Mediterranean coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an area of 709 hectares (1752 acres, or 2.74 s ...
to take down campaign posters that included photos of female candidates. In the city's ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods, women are usually absent from advertisements and billboards because pictures of women are viewed as "sexually provocative". The city's representatives claimed they had been ordered to remove signs picturing Likud contenders such as Miri Regev and
Gila Gamliel Gila Gamliel (; born 24 February 1974) is an Israeli politician who currently serves as the Minister of Intelligence and as a member of the Knesset for Likud. She also previously served as Minister for Social Equality and as Minister of Envi ...
. The police were summoned and initially supported the city, but then informed city officials the signs could not be removed. City officials protested that they were only trying to protect the sensitivities of religious residents. But Orly Erez-Likhovski, head of the legal department at the Israel Religious Action Center, said this was a victory for gender equality: "“I am very happy that the officials from the Likud didn’t give up, fought the municipality and the police who first arrived on the scene. It shows that the message is starting to penetrate on every level that exclusion of women is illegal and unacceptable. It doesn't always translate to the people on the ground but we see that great progress is being made - even in Bnei Brak, even in the ultra-Orthodox sector. This is an important message.” * "Rights on Flights": IRAC is acting in response to complaints by airline passengers who have been subjected to Orthodox male passengers attempting to impose gender segregation on flights. IRAC will be drawing on its experience fighting for the rights of women to sit anywhere they choose on public buses as it collaborates with airlines to develop policies to protect the rights of female passengers in the skies. In January 2015, IRAC contacted almost twenty airlines with flights to and from Israel and asked them to meet with IRAC staff so solutions can be developed that protect the rights of female passengers and comply with legal prohibition of gender segregation and gender discrimination. The New York Times interviewed Anat Hoffman on the phenomenon on Orthodox males asking female passengers on airlines to move, noting that IRAC had started a campaign urging women not to give up their seats. “I have a hundred stories,” said Hoffman. In February 2016, 81 year old Israeli-American attorney Renee Rabinowitz agreed to sue El Al as a plaintiff protesting gender discrimination in response to the airline pressuring her to move from her assigned seat to appease a religious male refusing to sit next to a woman. The Israel Religious Action Center was seeking $13,000 in compensation from the airline. On June 22, 2017, Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court Judge Dana Cohen-Lekah awarded Rabinowitz 6500 shekels in compensation, and ruled that the airline must declare that it is forbidden for a crew member to ask a passenger to change seats at the request of another passenger based on gender. Nevertheless, IRAC believes that passengers may still be subject to such requests and planned an advertising program for airports, reminding women of their rights. Israeli authorities refused to let the ads be posted. * In 2018 the Jerusalem District Court ruled that haredi radio station Kol Barama must pay 1 million NIS in damages, not including legal fees, as a result of a class action suit filed by IRAC and Asaf Pink for not allowing women's voices on the radio station. This is the first class action lawsuit on civil rights and gender segregation in Israel.


See also

*
Religious Action Center The Religious Action Center (RAC) is the political and legislative outreach arm of Reform Judaism in the United States. The Religious Action Center is operated under the auspices of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism, a joint body of ...
*
Women of the Wall Women of the Wall (Hebrew: נשות הכותל, ''Neshot HaKotel'') is a multi-denominational Jewish feminist organization based in Israel whose goal is to secure the rights of women to pray at the Western Wall, also called the Kotel, in a fashi ...
*
Anat Hoffman }; born 1954) is an Israeli activist and serves as Executive Director of the Israel Religious Action Center, also known as IRAC. She is the director and founding member of Nashot HaKotel, also known as Women of the Wall. Hoffman is a former membe ...
* Hotline for Refugees and Migrants


References

{{Reflist


External links


Official website of the Israel Religious Action Center

Official website of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism
* Berman, Daphna
Anat Hoffman Dares to Take On Israel’s Orthodox Establishment. Can She Win?
'' Moment'', March–April 2013. Conservative Judaism in Israel Religious organizations based in Israel Jews and Judaism and pluralism Jews and Judaism in Jerusalem Reform Judaism in Israel