The Knesset is expected to open tomorrow (Wednesday) an exhibition dealing with economic oppression against women, which has sparked sharp public controversy amid claims it offends Israel's sacred values and family principles.
The exhibition will be displayed at the entrance to a meeting of the Knesset Committee for the Advancement of the Status of Women, in cooperation with the Women's Spirit Association and Ben-Gurion University. At the committee, women who experienced economic oppression will share the rehabilitation process they underwent.
Religious organizations addressed a letter to Knesset Speaker, MK Amir Ohana (Likud), and to the committee chair, MK Meirav Cohen (Yesh Atid), demanding the cancellation of the exhibition.
According to the organizations, the exhibition's name, which they say is an intentional distortion of the Torah's first verse, "constitutes a blatant and deliberate affront to the feelings of millions of believing Jews." The title is the first verse of the Bible with the word for God rewritten with feminine conjugation.
The letter adds that the Knesset, as the elected representatives of the entire nation, is not the place for expressions that "demean the foundations of the faith and tradition of the people of Israel."
Additionally, the organizations claim that the initiative reflects a trend to inject a discourse of confrontation and suspicion between spouses: "The exhibition, and the spirit behind it, seek to introduce a discourse of confrontation and suspicion into the family fabric. Broad and extreme definitions of 'economic oppression,' as sometimes presented by radical academic bodies, could turn any legitimate financial dispute between spouses into a legal arena, thereby undermining the foundations of the home and inner peace."
They further assert that this is an attempt to introduce radical feminist messages under the guise of culture: "The important struggle against violence should not serve as a cover for introducing radical feminist agendas that seek 'to recreate' the Torah and the Hebrew language."
At the end of their appeal, the organizations called for the exhibition's presentation to be canceled: "It is possible and appropriate to hold a substantive discussion on ways to assist women without harming Jewish and family values. We must find ways to strengthen women and protect them out of respect for Israel's heritage and without creating unnecessary friction and harm to the nation's sacred elements."
The director of one of the organizations commented, "Prudent and responsible financial conduct within the family is a goal and a vision that everyone should unite around. A divisive installation will contribute nothing to the discussion and will only spoil it."
Arutz Sheva - Israel National News has inquired and found that the exhibition is not an official Knesset initiative, but that the committee chair, MK Meirav Cohen, has the authority to allow it.