Fighting dark forces

A black night has begun to descend – the darkness of women's exclusion. Just as darkness does not arrive at once but is preceded by a twilight in which the light weakens as darkness grows, so the exclusion of women has slowly crept up on our society. At first there were mere hints that a mixed crowd of men and women makes ultra-Orthodox men uncomfortable. This was followed by discomfiting phenomena that carried a whiff of women's exclusion like separate dancing at weddings, which has become increasingly widespread. We chose to avert our gaze and ignore the trend out of a desire to avoid confrontation and perhaps in the unfounded hope that it was simply a fleeting fad.

Next, the monster reared its ugly head within the IDF. At first there were vague murmurings, then it became official. No wonder the defense minister and chief of staff felt so awkward when they got caught cracking jokes that cast them in an unfavorable light. Their joking masked their distress. If a strong hand does not put an end to this threat, the phenomenon could, heaven forbid, undermine the IDF from within.

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We have also recently witnessed a verbal whitewash of this matter. "Mehadrin [extra holy] lines" is the term for bus lines that break the law and violate the principle of equality written into our Declaration of Independence. Then we found out that women have been barred from certain public walking paths. It would be hard to underestimate the level of distress experienced by the majority, which is being pushed by a zealous minority that is insignificant even among the religiously observant. Our elected representatives must forcefully intervene in a way that will deter those who think it is possible to terrorize the majority and trample the law.

We cannot allow individuals to contend with the problem because this could bring about anarchy and civil war. Therefore, it is up to our elected officials to enact practical measures to end the exclusion of women. During this time of crisis they must not avert their glance or try to achieve a "balance" or "understand" the lawbreakers. There must be zero tolerance for any kind of women's exclusion. In fact, we should take affirmative action and give women a larger public role and enhanced public presence.

On March 15, 1929, my grandfather wrote the following letter to Jerusalem's city council. "Honorable gentlemen, with all my heart I would like to take part in the city council. But until women are given a place in directing the community's affairs, my name will not be on the list of those who pay taxes to your institution. With the utmost respect, Ze'ev Jabotinsky.

My grandfather declared a tax war to combat the exclusion of women from public life in Israel. Therefore, it is fitting that his disciples, the leadership of the national-liberal Likud party, be the ones to initiate, lead and conduct the battle, even in the face of threats to dismantle the coalition by some coalition members. On the contrary, such a threat would be an empty one because if the Likud initiated and led this just struggle and truly removed the blight of women's exclusion from Israeli life – it would grow that much stronger at the polls.