I am going to ignore Mottka Bloi's comments about the request of the Haredi women to be included in the list for elections on Haredi parties. What he said is so disturbing that I don't think I even need to comment on it.
This is more interesting. Bloi is a violent (verbally) self-appointed askan who speaks in the name of the gedolim without asking them first. Benny Rabinovitz, on the other hand, is a fairly intelligent and reasonable person.
We all know the answer to the request will be "no", because the gedolim said so. At the end of the day that's what it comes down to, and that will be the answer. when Gafni said years ago that he'd be happy to include women, but no haredi woman wants to, he was not being serious - he was just avoiding dealing with the question. Look now when Haredi women are finally willing to publicly make the request, and see the automatic angry negative response without even considering the issue anew.
Benny Rabinovitz, as seen below, gives the basic arguments. The gedolim say no, it is against halacha. I'd like to know what halacha it is against. He compares it to women reading the torah and leading tefilla as chazzan in order to show that these women have an agenda, but he does not make the halachic connection - i.e. they dont ask to be chazzan because halacha is against it, but what halacha is against them serving in Knesset? what halacha allows women to become lawyers, secretaries, teachers, computer programmers, directors, bankers, accountants, CEOs, advisers to politicians and pretty much anything else they want, but not Members of Knesset specifically?
And, of course, any Haredi woman who would make such a request is not really Haredi, so Gafni's rule above is not overturned
Post by שטיבל.
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