Top: Rabbi Levanon Below: Elon Moreh
A scion of the ancient patriarchs is alive and well and living in Elon Moreh, a settlement in the occupied territories. Chief rabbi Elyakim Levanon isn't happy about women running for the position of community secretary in the local elections. In fact he is so unhappy he has slapped a ban on women candidates.
In the opinion of Levanon, women should only be heard from through their husbands.
The rabbi made his reactionary comments in a community newspaper after a young woman approached him to ask if she could run for the position of community secretary.
In his column in the paper Levanon cited 'influential rabbis' in support of the view that women are not allowed to run for positions of authority. He said: "The first problem is giving women authority, and being a secretary means having authority."
He also takes the view that it is inappropriate for women to be in the company of men during evening meetings.
The position taken by Levanon is archaic and an insult to women. Women's rights advocate Nurit Tzur condemned the rabbi's "instruction", referring to it as "scandalous."
"When things like this are taken out of the sphere of mere talk and made into a clear order for the Jewish female public in Israel, I expect leaders of the religious public to decry them and clarify that women's place in local and national political discussion is necessary and vital," Tsur said.
More on story - BBC - Ynet
In the opinion of Levanon, women should only be heard from through their husbands.
The rabbi made his reactionary comments in a community newspaper after a young woman approached him to ask if she could run for the position of community secretary.
In his column in the paper Levanon cited 'influential rabbis' in support of the view that women are not allowed to run for positions of authority. He said: "The first problem is giving women authority, and being a secretary means having authority."
He also takes the view that it is inappropriate for women to be in the company of men during evening meetings.
The position taken by Levanon is archaic and an insult to women. Women's rights advocate Nurit Tzur condemned the rabbi's "instruction", referring to it as "scandalous."
"When things like this are taken out of the sphere of mere talk and made into a clear order for the Jewish female public in Israel, I expect leaders of the religious public to decry them and clarify that women's place in local and national political discussion is necessary and vital," Tsur said.
More on story - BBC - Ynet
