tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20257999.post2540903637085534283..comments2024-03-28T21:53:53.990+02:00Comments on Life in Israel: Is Lack Of Gender-Segregation Discriminatory?Rafi G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00699851287106903971noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20257999.post-46843650943354260792011-12-21T12:28:07.829+02:002011-12-21T12:28:07.829+02:00I agree with Mike S. The courts can and do respect...I agree with Mike S. The courts can and do respect religious beliefs, but they do have to draw a line somewhere, because respecting one person's values often means impinging on another person's values, or the public's interest in not paying unemployment to people that could be working. By bringing halachas of yichud into the decision, I think the judge was indicating that a normative religious requirement might have more weight than a non-normative requirement. If judges were not allowed to make qualitative judgements in such matters, I think they would have to reject any type of religious justification for refusing a job offer, because otherwise, there would be no limit to the nature of the justifications that could be used.Baruch Gitlinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20257999.post-51805624860446839002011-12-21T03:25:14.005+02:002011-12-21T03:25:14.005+02:00I am certainly no expert on Israeli law, but it se...I am certainly no expert on Israeli law, but it seems to me both the judge's last remark and some common sense are necessary. <br /><br />In the first place it would become impossible to run a system at all. What would you say to a fellow who said that he can't be outside the beis medrish for more than 3 hours a day? Someone whose "sincere belief" won't allow them to work without first sacrificing a co-worker to whatever deity he worships? A nudist who won't wear clothes to work? Can they all get unemployment benefits?<br /><br />In the second, what the woman demands is a gross distortion of halacha. Recall that Chazal forbid workers (in a society where the workday was from dawn to dusk) from saying shmoneh esrei or the last bracha of bentching. And recall the story of R. Yisroel Salanter and the netilas yadayim. No one has any right to practice a chumra at someone else's expense. Which is why the judge's last comment is relevant as a matter of halacha if not Israeli law. Chumra can be a wonderul thing in increasing one's connection to God, but the halacha sets limits.Mike S.noreply@blogger.com