Halacha:

Israel 

History:

21st Century CE 

Machshava:

Ethics,  Tefillah,  Women 

Description

The purpose of the essay is to present the varying liberal approaches which deal with gender separation in public busing in Israel. One approach advanced by a liberal thinker is to invoke how halakha addresses this matter. Rather than assess these religious practices through the lens of a liberal outsider, according to this view one determine the liberal propriety of a particular minority culture's practice by assessing its Jewish legal rationale and deciphering the social meaning and moral significance perceived by those who are sustaining this practice. Whether in fact, gender separation in public busing in Israeli society is halakhically proper, we leave as an open question.