Rabbis For Human Rights

It was not so long ago that the fruit industry's service advertisements on TV offended me, as I watched disbelievingly "macho" man become sexually rejuvenated after stuffing his mouth with dried fruits and nuts and then floating through the air to attack his delighted lover. (Given his midriff bulge, it was surprising that he did not crush her. )

And who can ever forget that other creative TV commercial that encouraged us to eat Israel's produce by parading across our screens braless women in tight yellow T-shirts, dispensing grapefruits? This ad was not only sexist, but downright obscene.

Yet all this pales in comparison to what happens to the Women in Black. The verbal assaults and cruel sexual innuendo that include catcalls such as "Arafat's sluts," is not much different from the late Mordechai Gur who called a female deputy speaker of the Knesset "whore." It seems that women who express their political views unite Israeli men to exert their virility by heaping sexual abuse upon their female counterparts.

With such a prevailing attitude toward women in this country, is it any wonder that men like Yitzhak Mordechai should feel no compunction about forcing themselves upon women against their will? In such a male-dominated society as Israel, where Orthodoxy is the representative religion of the country, where men pray every morning how thankful they are to God that "He did not make me a woman," why should anyone be surprised at the ruling of the magistrate's court that barely gave Mordechai a slap on the wrist for his sexual abuse of women.

Mordechai used the power of his position to bend women to do his sexual bidding. And herein lies the irony, and internal illogic, of the court's verdict. Having been found guilty of exploiting his position to lure women into his sexual grip, he is now let off the hook because of those very positions he occupied. Why? Because in those positions he contributed so much to the country. Talk about apples and oranges! His defense of country justifies his offense of his countrywomen?

This is the very reason that Mordechai should have had the book thrown at him. Mordechai exploited his position, believing that women owed him the right to gain access to their bodies. Given the three women who came forward, others who did not, and yet others who were indeed enticed by his "exalted hero" status, it is clear that for Mordechai a woman is a dispensable commodity. Women are there to service his uncontrollable urges.

He is a numerous repeater of the same offense.

One would think, or hope, that any male in a position of power - be he a director of a company, a doctor, a teacher, or cabinet minister - would long ago have been forced to resign his position under similar circumstances. Not so with Mordechai, who retained his Knesset seat until he was actually found guilty.

Our court's lenient attitude to meting out punishment for those convicted of sexual harassment, abuse and even rape is not only an invitation to further assaults upon women, but also a direct instruction that females need not be accorded a semblance of dignity in Israeli society.

The sad reality is that Mordechai has set a horrendous standard of behavior.

This might be somewhat tolerable if there were no people who were on the receiving end of his demeaning actions. This was the point of Judge Rivka Friedman-Feldman's minority opinion. But her view was overwhelmed by her male counterparts on the bench. Why did she believe that Mordechai should do real jail time? Because Mordechai refuses to accept that what he did constituted anything really wrong. Given Mordechai's record as a lurid figure, my sense is that he is a real and present danger to virtually any woman who might come in contact with him. Therefore, in defense of women, and in defense of the country' values, which Mordechai so ably served, according to our judges, while at the same time undermining those values, he should sit behind bars.

Unfortunately, Mordechai and the court have set an example that reinforces the low regard Israeli culture has for the female of the species. Getting away with a dismissive attitude toward women, Israel, which sadly has recently witnessed an overwhelming increase in violence against females, draws strength from a "macho" mentality that can only further endanger the opposite sex.

The writer is director of the Israel office of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.

Originally published by The Jerusalem Post, Wednesday, May 2 2001, 9 Iyar 5761.
Original Online version can be found at: http://www.jpost.com/Editions/2001/05/02/Opinion/Opinion.25446.html
© 1995-2001, The Jerusalem Post - All rights reserved
Republished with Permission.