Many incidents of gender segregation in the Israeli public sphere were documented in the past 20 years, such as gender segregation in buses, funerals, and health-centers. The issue is often framed as a conflict between gender equality and religious extremism. By analyzing legal documents and public statements, I show how disconnecting gender segregation from broader questions of gender equality in Israel allows feminist initiatives to overlook their role in reproducing women`s discrimination. I focus on Women of the Wall`s battle to pray at the Western Wall and The Israel Women`s Network work against segregation in the army.
In the last few years, Women of the Wall gained political power as their demand for equal pray at the Western Wall sparked great interest among American Jews. Women of the Wall struggle is disconnected from nationality and citizenship questions, isolating the Western Wall from its political location and spatial surroundings. The framework of gender versus religion allows Women of the Wall to overlook the ways their struggle reproduces religious-national-gender-ethnic hierarchies.
Since 2010 reports of gender exclusion in the Israeli army have increased with religious soldiers refusing to listen to females singing and the exclusion of female soldiers from certain army jobs. The Israel Women`s Network has engaged in legal and public activities to secure women`s role in the army. By focusing on the exclusion and not on the institution – the army - women organizations strengthen the army`s social function in Israel and contribute to Israel`s militarization, which prevents the implementation of Israel`s gender equality laws.