Petition filed against haredi radio station over gender discrimination

For the first time in Israeli history, a class action petition was filed against an ultra-Orthodox radio station for excluding women.

On Tuesday, a petition was submitted to the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court requesting the approval of a class action suit against the haredi radio station Kol Berama, which refuses to broadcast women's voices on air.

The suit comes on the coattails of recent protests against the exclusion of women, ranging from military ceremonies to rogue modesty-police activities in Beit Shemesh. The Israel Religious Action Center reported a 66 percent increase in the exclusion of women in January.

This unprecedented suit against Kol Berama has earned the support of The Second Authority for Television and Radio, a council that represents the public interest in the commercial broadcasting channels in Israel. The Second Authority support was recruited by Kolech, an activist forum for religious women working toward equal rights and the empowerment of Orthodox and haredi women.

The petition demands that the radio station end its discrimination against women and also pay compensation of 104 million shekels ($25.9 million).

Attorney Orly Erez-Lachovsky, from the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism, emphasized that, "Since its inception, Kol Berama has exercised discriminatory practices against women's voices on the radio, offending the honor of women and their right to freedom of expression."

The haredi web portal Kikar Hashabbat published Kol Berama's response: "We were thrilled to discover that Reform organizations and non-profits submitted a petition to the High Court against the establishment of the station (before it even began to broadcast) because they wanted to block the rights of an entire sector of society from having its own media outlet that fits their way of life and system of beliefs. They turned themselves into the spokespersons for the women of this [the haredi] sector. We have offered these organizations in the past, and do so again now, to browse the thousands of faxes and messages sent to us daily by satisfied [female] listeners.

"These faxes, unlike anonymous surveys, include the full personal details of the women that send them, clearly requesting that we not permit female listeners on the air. Despite these requests, over the past year the station has begun to allow any female public figure who wishes to be interviewed on Kol Berama, alongside female listeners who can now call into some of the programs."

In a statement to Israel Hayom, Kol Berama said, "Over the past year, we have broadcast on the radio hundreds of female interviewees, among them singers, MKs, public figures, high-ranking job holders and listeners. The station has particular time slots specifically designated for women to broadcast, among them the haredi writer, Menucha Fox, singer Miri Or and other women. Despite the decisive opposition of the great majority of our female listers to hearing female voices on the radio, we are the only haredi station in Israel. Kol Berama was founded to serve the haredi sector in Israel, its leaders and its way of life. We call on these organizations to respect our beliefs and the outlook of most of the sector, men and women alike, based on the principle of allowing 'each man to live by his own faith.'"

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