Publications
There is a crack in everything
Annual Report 2023
Journeying Towards Justice
IRAC’s Travel Guide to Israel
The Many Faces of IRAC
Annual Report 2021
Do the Math: an in-depth study of the impact of the lack of core curriculum studies in Ultra-Orthodox schools in Israel
December 2017
This report discusses the origins of and continuing beliefs that create a major gap in the education of students in Haredi schools across Israel: a lack of secular core curriculum studies, and a lack of government inspection to rectify this issue. The report also examines the ramifications of this problem, partly through interviews and discussions with members of Haredi communities, the largest of which is the production of adults who are no more prepared to enter the workforce than they were as young students, leaving many Haredi families trapped in cycles of poverty. The report concludes with an examination of potential solutions to this problem and explains how IRAC itself is responding to the issue in court.
Heroes of Health: Israel’s Healthcare System as a Model of Jewish-Arab Coexistence
December 2016
This report first discusses the statistics of the Israeli healthcare system, which demonstrate that it is a field in which Arabs seem to be more prevalent and integrated than in any other prestigious field in Israel. The report then uses interviews with healthcare workers to demonstrate this phenomenon: Arab and Jewish Israelis work together in not simply tolerance but harmonious cooperation in the healthcare system. While not ignoring the differences between this workplace and others—it is easier to cooperate when the primary focus is on saving lives—the report expresses a hopeful belief that the cooperation in the healthcare system can guide similar coexistence throughout the Israeli workforce. The report concludes by explaining other societal changes that must occur alongside modeling the workforce on healthcare workers: educational changes, heightened respect for various religious holidays and rituals, and adherence to IRAC’s new Voluntary Ethical Code for Equality and Diversity.
The Writing on the Wall: Online Racist Incitement against Arabs in Israel
2015
Following the tragic kidnapping and murder of three Jewish boys in 2014, racist incitement against Arabs was on the rise, and due to this unique era of technology, this incitement was even easier to spread, through the internet. It is also harder to hold people accountable for spreading online incitement, inspiring IRAC to monitor this growing incitement very closely and work to hold people accountable for racism. This report discusses eight primary types of incitement against Arabs—and various examples for each—that IRAC uncovered across the internet during its four months of intensely monitoring this phenomenon. After discussing these examples and the unique character of the internet that allows them to flourish, the report explains how this incitement conflicts with both Israeli and international law. The report concludes with recommendations for dealing with this problem from multiple angles: state authorities, educators, internet suppliers and companies, and internet users themselves.
Racism and Gender in Israel
September 2014
This report discusses the intersection between racism and sexism in Israel, as extremists increasingly claim that Arab men are tricking and essentially kidnapping young and “pure” Jewish girls. The report includes examples from flyers and publications from racist groups like Lehava and Yad L’Achim—both of which IRAC has taken legal action against—and from statements by rabbis who abuse their positions of authority to encourage these racist and sexist theories—some of whom IRAC has also taken legal action against. These theories disguise themselves as simple concern for assimilation, but they are, in truth, highly racist and sexist, and completely disproven. The report explains actions, largely focused on education and public discourse, that must be taken to combat this growing incitement and hatred.
Excluded for God’s Sake: Gender Segregation and the Exclusion of Women in the Public Sphere in Israel
Fourth Annual Report
2013-2014
In the process of providing further examples of gender segregation in the public sphere, this report also includes more information on IRAC’s involvement in dismantling various types of gender segregation. This report demonstrates that IRAC does not stop at research but rather transforms that knowledge into the power of action, mainly in the form of court cases, some of which have set major precedents. The report then provides an expanded list of recommendations, categorized by various issues, and ends with advice and support for women who encounter gender segregation and discrimination.
Excluded, For God’s Sake: Gender Segregation and the Exclusion of Women in Public Space in Israel
Third Annual Report
December 2013
This report begins by examining cases of gender segregation, with over 70 examples in this report alone. This report also discusses gender segregation in the context of Jewish sources and demonstrates its illegality in the contexts of both Israeli and international law. The report ends with an expanded list of recommendations and with a new addition: recommendations directed at the women experiencing this discrimination themselves and a reminder of their rights.
Women Talk About Segregation in Israel: Thirteen Women on Discrimination in the Public Sphere
January 2012
This report details the stories of thirteen women who experienced gender segregation, many of whom experienced this segregation, discrimination, and humiliation on buses. IRAC supported some of these women both legally and emotionally, and won compensation and court victories for them and many other women like them. The report also includes an explanation of IRAC’s Freedom Riders group and information on how to get involved.
Excluded, For God’s Sake: Gender Segregation in Public Space in Israel
Second Annual Report
January 2012
Expanding on the previous report, this report examines over 50 cases of gender segregation and discrimination. This report reviews both the Jewish texts and laws and Israeli laws that demonstrate that gender segregation in the public sphere is both unnecessary for religious adherence and illegal. The report then expands on these laws by also discussing various international laws that further make clear that gender segregation is unacceptable and illegal. The report ends with further recommendations on forms of gender segregation that must be rejected by the government and by society, and provides specific recommendations for government action in the form of complaint mechanisms, training, and enforcement.
Excluded, For God’s Sake: Gender Segregation in Public Space in Israel
First Annual Report
November 2010
This report is a culmination of years of research. It begins by examining over 25 distinct cases of gender segregation that IRAC has discovered and monitored. It then analyzes Jewish texts and history to demonstrate that gender segregation beyond places of prayer should not be necessary for Haredi Jews to maintain their religious ideals. Lastly, the report surveys Israeli law and demonstrates that gender segregation and discrimination conflict with Israel’s most fundamental laws. The report ends with recommendations for advancing gender equality and outlines how various forms of gender segregation can be rectified.