In order to create a reality of significant equality for women in all areas of life, including in religious life, the Rackman Center works to promote appropriate representation of women both in and outside the religious establishment. Women have the right to be part of religious life and to take part in how it is shaped. The inclusion of women in key positions in religious life will help eliminate discriminatory perceptions of women.
The “Electoral Assembly” of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel is the body authorized to elect the Chief Rabbis of Israel and the members of the Chief Rabbinate Council. The Electoral Assembly is composed of 80 rabbis, all men, and 70 public representatives serving in various positions in local government, religious councils, the government, and the Knesset, the majority of whom are also men. While most members in each group hold permanent seats, there are 10 rabbi representatives and 10 public representatives who are personal appointments, open to any person suitable for the group.
Until the Rackman Center petitioned the Supreme Court (High Court of Justice) on this issue in 2022, no woman had ever served as a representative in the ‘rabbinical’ section reserved for those with halachic knowledge and background. Women could only be representatives in the Electoral Assembly through the civil section.
In the petition filed, we sought a conditional order regarding Section 7(8) of the Chief Rabbinate Law, concerning the appointment of 10 rabbis to the Electoral Assembly, so that it would be clarified to include women of halacha as well — that is, that the term ‘rabbi’ in this section should be interpreted in an egalitarian manner that allows women to be included.
Our argument was that the structure of the Electoral Assembly results in underrepresentation of women, particularly in the ‘rabbinical’ section, in which, as noted, women have no representation whatsoever. We further argued that membership in the Electoral Assembly does not constitute a “religious role,” and that appointments under the rabbinical category do require halachic knowledge and background, but that this should not close the door to women with appropriate background and education. Finally, we argued that the Electoral Assembly is ultimately a public body, and that obligations of adequate representation apply to appointments within it.
The respondents argued that the term ‘rabbi’ should be interpreted as applying only to those ordained by the Chief Rabbinate Council. However, in the course of the hearing it emerged that approximately 30% of past appointments had been of men without any formal ordination, some even lacking in-depth halachic education.
In January 2024, the Supreme Court accepted the Rackman Center’s position and ruled that the term “rabbis” must be given a broad interpretation consistent with the principle of equality, so as to include women of halacha as well.
Justice Barak-Erez wrote in the ruling: “The determination that the term ‘rabbis’ includes ‘rabbiniot’ — women of halacha with high religious and Torah education — was not intended to ‘secularize’ the appointments […] The opposite is true: it expresses the full belonging of women to the world of Torah, and their ability to contribute to and enrich it.”
This petition was in fact a continuation of a petition filed by the Rackman Center, together with the organization ‘Ne’emanei Torah Va’Avodah,’ ahead of the 2018 Chief Rabbinate Council elections. In that petition, we sought to instruct the Chief Rabbis to appoint women “engaged in religion and halacha” as members of the Electoral Assembly, within the personal appointment quota granted to them by law. That petition was dismissed due to delay, after the respondents’ reply arrived at a late stage and in light of the proximity to the election date, but the Supreme Court noted that the petitioners’ rights were reserved.
In response to the Supreme Court ruling of January 2024, MK Simcha Rothman and the Ministry of Religious Services initiated a legislative amendment stipulating that only rabbis ordained by the Chief Rabbinate may participate in the Electoral Assembly. The effect of this change is in practice a sweeping prohibition on women’s participation, since the Chief Rabbinate refuses to examine women of halacha on their knowledge and is not authorized to ordain them — despite the fact that many women have received Orthodox rabbinic ordination from private institutions.
The Rackman Center has filed a petition to the Supreme Court against this legislation, which is scheduled to be heard in July 2026.
Following a petition to the Supreme Court filed by the organizations Ittim, Kolech, and the Rackman Center, in July 2025 the Supreme Court ruled that the Chief Rabbinate must allow women to sit for rabbinic ordination examinations.
As part of the hearing on the petition, the State proposed a compromise in the form of separate examination tracks — with the women’s track falling under the Ministry of Labor. The compromise proposal was rejected by the petitioners on the grounds that “separate but equal” is not truly equal.
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the petitioners, determining that blocking women from rabbinic ordination examinations constitutes “prohibited discrimination.” Following the ruling, registration for the examinations for both sexes was recently opened — after years of blocking and exclusion, and only after significant delay on the part of the Chief Rabbinate.
Success in the rabbinic ordination examinations will enable women to compete for various positions in the private and public sectors, and will confer eligibility for a range of financial and employment benefits.
The rulings described above mark a significant milestone in the struggle against the exclusion of women from leadership roles in religious life, and strengthen the principle of equality within Israel’s religious institutions.
The decision followed a motion for an injunction that the Rackman Center and ITIM filed in 2015 with the Labor Court by Adv. Moriah Dayan for discrimination and exclusion of women from the position of legal assistant in the rabbinical courts. In the motion, we demanded that special tenders be held for women, after women who submitted responses to tenders were rejected repeatedly.
We hope that this appointment is harbinger for true and full inclusion of women in the rabbinical court system.
In 2018, a landmark development took place in Israel when the Administration of Rabbinical Courts and the Civil Service Commission announced for the first time the appointment of a woman to the position of legal assistant in the rabbinical courts.
The decision came following an application for an injunction filed by the Rackman Center in 2015 together with the organization Ittim, against a backdrop of discrimination and exclusion of women from the position of legal assistant in the rabbinical courts. In the application, we demanded that dedicated tenders be held for women, after women who applied for tenders were repeatedly rejected. Following the announcement, two legal assistants took up their positions — one at the Regional Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem and one at the Regional Rabbinical Court in Tel Aviv. After several years in their roles, both left their positions, and the posts have remained vacant ever since. We are in ongoing discussions with the Administration of Rabbinical Courts to fill these positions, with one of the claims being that they remain vacant due to lack of budget. We will continue to work toward the genuine and full inclusion of women in positions within the rabbinical courts.
As part of the hearing on the petition, the State proposed a compromise in the form of separate examination tracks — with the women’s track falling under the Ministry of Labor. The compromise proposal was rejected by the petitioners on the grounds that “separate but equal” is not truly equal.
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the petitioners, determining that blocking women from rabbinic ordination examinations constitutes “prohibited discrimination.” Following the ruling, registration for the examinations for both sexes was recently opened — after years of blocking and exclusion, and only after significant delay on the part of the Chief Rabbinate.
Success in the rabbinic ordination examinations will enable women to compete for various positions in the private and public sectors, and will confer eligibility for a range of financial and employment benefits.
The rulings described above mark a significant milestone in the struggle against the exclusion of women from leadership roles in religious life, and strengthen the principle of equality within Israel’s religious institutions.
The decision followed a motion for an injunction that the Rackman Center and ITIM filed in 2015 with the Labor Court by Adv. Moriah Dayan for discrimination and exclusion of women from the position of legal assistant in the rabbinical courts. In the motion, we demanded that special tenders be held for women, after women who submitted responses to tenders were rejected repeatedly.
We hope that this appointment is harbinger for true and full inclusion of women in the rabbinical court system.
In 2015, attorney Tamar Ben Porat, together with women’s organizations including The Rackman Center, petitioned the Supreme Court seeking to compel the ultra-Orthodox party Agudat Yisrael to amend its constitution so as to no longer bar women from party membership. At the conclusion of a lengthy proceeding that spanned several years, Agudat Yisrael announced that it would remove the formal barrier in its constitution preventing women from joining the party as members.
Concurrently with the above petition, ultra-Orthodox activist Ms. Ruth Colian also petitioned against the Shas party with a similar demand, with the Rackman Center representing her in the petition. At a hearing held ahead of the elections to the 21st Knesset, Shas declared that it does not discriminate against women in admitting members to the party, thereby bringing the petition to a close.
The petitions led to the removal of formal barriers, but continued action is still needed to promote women’s membership in ultra-Orthodox parties and even the appointment of female Members of Knesset on behalf of ultra-Orthodox parties.