By Ilan Chaim, October 2013

The goal of furthering women’s rights in the secular realm is not the same goal as women becoming full partners in modern Judaism. Eliminating various glass ceilings and ensuring equal pay for equal work is attainable through legislation. But for a woman to become a full partner in the modern Judaism of Israel means only one thing: she must belong to an egalitarian form of Judaism. Only by strengthening Israel’s Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist communities will truly modern Judaism ever evolve in Israel.

Ilan Chaim is a former chief copy editor of The Jerusalem Post and information consultant to Israel’s Foreign Ministry. He belongs to egalitarian congregation Mevakshei Derech in Jerusalem.

« Back to Taking Our Place homepage