This position paper was submitted in advance of an emergency session held on December 10, 2025, in the Status of Women and Gender Equality Committee, which addressed the implications of advancing legislation to expand the powers of the religious courts. Immediately following the formation of the government, two bills were introduced – later consolidated into a single proposal – seeking to grant religious courts authority to adjudicate arbitration proceedings in civil matters, including property law, contracts, corporate law, and labor relations. The bill passed its first reading in November 2025 and is currently under discussion in the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.

This legislation erodes the fundamental distinction between civil law and religious law, effectively creating an additional judicial system that is neither uniform nor equal, operating under state auspices and funding. The expansion of these powers carries profound implications for women’s rights in Israel. Religious courts, particularly the rabbinical courts, operate on the basis of legal frameworks that are inherently unequal and within institutional structures that exclude women from judicial roles; there are no female judges in the rabbinical courts, and only one female qadi has been appointed to the Sharia courts since the establishment of the state. Transferring additional authority to these tribunals deepens existing gender discrimination and entrenches it within key decision-making arenas.

The requirement of consent does not provide genuine protection for women, as such consent may result from social, familial, or workplace pressures rather than from free choice. Characteristics of arbitration – including lack of transparency, absence of published decisions, and limited avenues for appeal – create a legal environment in which women are more vulnerable to rights violations and to significant concessions in areas such as property, alimony, working conditions, and other fundamental rights. Shifting additional caseloads to the rabbinical courts will further burden a system already operating under heavy strain, affecting all individuals seeking divorce in Israel, and particularly women who are agunot or who face refusal of a get.

To conclude, this measure deepens an ongoing trend of transferring power from the civil legal system – grounded in principles of equality, transparency, and oversight – to a religious system operating under legal frameworks that are unequal and structurally exclude women.