We are living in a moment where the promise of Israeli democracy is being suffocated, not just by external threats, but by a slow-motion rot from within. Last week, in the Haifa suburb of Nesher, Tal Kostika—a pregnant woman—was labeled a “whore” by an elderly religious man because she dared to exist in public while wearing a tank top and leggings. He didn’t just shout slurs; he physically elbowed her in the stomach and spat on her.

This wasn’t merely an act of a disgruntled individual; it was a symptom of an emboldened, radical ideology that has found its home in the halls of power. Under the current Netanyahu-led coalition, we are witnessing a normalization of extremism that treats the public sphere as a private domain for the ultra-conservative gaze. When a woman cannot board a public bus without fearing for her safety, the state has failed its primary obligation to its citizens.

The Erasure of Public Space

What happened to Tal is the sharp, violent edge of a policy of “gender exclusion” that has been simmering for years. Legal experts like those at the........

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