Fighting Discrimination Against Women

As reports from Israel increase about women being forced off public buses, sent to the back of buses and/or required to cover up modest secular clothing despite the heat, you should know that this issue is very real and impacting our own Project Kesher Israel community.  This week, three women refugees were denied entry to a bus in Ashdod by the driver.  In response, PKI Director, Rabbi Olya Weinstein, reached out to our partner, the Israel Religious Action Center to obtain materials about the rights of women on public transportation that PKI has translated into Russian. The information is now up on PKI's website and social media channels.  In addition, the PKI team has begun documenting these incidents and training women in our network on how to respond if they happen - by asserting their rights and, if denied, getting information about the bus and driver. The situation is complicated by the fact that many of the women in our network do not speak much Hebrew, particularly if they are recent arrivals.  We will keep you posted on this emerging advocacy. In the meantime, read more about this below.