Snippets from recent life in Israel: 

In Kiryat Ono, a billboard featuring women was vandalized shortly after it was installed. Black markings were drawn over the women’s faces, obscuring their features while leaving the rest of the image intact. The posters remained in public view. FUN: Women’s faces were painted over on a poster in Kiryat Ono

A group of soldiers who just completed combat training found themselves locked out of their facility on their base, and had to break in through a window to reach their destination. Why? Because they were women, and the ultra-Orthodox soldiers on the base didn’t want them to enter.

A group of young women who had just been released from compulsory army duty shared a rite of passage social media clip in which they tore up their army identifications – and were court-martialed and fined 1200 NIS each for dressing “immodestly”. During the proceedings, they were told, “Look how you’re dressed,” and asked, “What if a religious soldier saw you like this?”, demonstrating that the issue was not discipline, but control over women’s bodies.

A group of women combat intelligence soldiers are regularly denied sleeping quarters at certain bases with large numbers of religious soldiers after late-night operations.

At the Jerusalem marathon, a sweltering day of Middle East heat, male soldiers were allowed to race in shorts. Women soldiers were forced to wear long pants, an explicit and unjustified gender distinction.

In Gaza, female soldiers were barred from entering a structure where male soldiers were present and were forced to operate outside in a high-risk area, despite the safer option being available. The religious soldiers who kept the women out said that women’s presence was “not respectful.” These decisions placed women at greater physical risk. The men were clearly heeding the instructions of their rabbis – not just haredi but also religious Zionist rabbis – who have been increasingly ordering religious men to refuse to serve alongside........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)