What decent human could be against this? I’ll tell you.

The first case in 2023 of suspected femicide, the murder of a woman because she is a woman in a sexist society, in Israel just happened. This happened amid an uptick in all kinds of violence against women.

Israel should ratify the Istanbul Convention that obligates the signatory countries to have better Prevention, better Protection and support of victims, better Prosecution of offenders, and better-integrated Policies.

Who could be against this? Well, ‘religious,’ homophobe bigots seem afraid that signing on to this treaty could be used against the different gender roles in Judaism and their homophobia. This anxiety is based on right-wing international libel. The treaty apparently includes among the victims targeted transgender women and homosexual men because they are not ‘as men should be.’ (And that is right because violence against women isn’t against biological females but against people ‘too feminine.’) So, conservative bigots are afraid signing on will be the beginning of a widescale attack on traditional, obsolete definitions of gender and family.

To counter this defamation and dread, four years ago, the Council of Europe, among other points, declared (with slight editing by me):

● Despite its clearly stated aims, several religious and ultra-conservative groups have been spreading false narratives about the Istanbul Convention.

● The Convention neither replaces the biological definition of gender nor redefines who are women and men. Much to the contrary, it emphasizes how much inequalities, stereotypes, and – consequently – violence do not originate from biological differences, but rather from a social construct, which is to say, by attitudes and perceptions of how women and men are and should be in society.

● The Convention does not promote a certain lifestyle or interfere with the personal organization of private life; instead, it seeks only to prevent violence against women and domestic violence.

● The Convention is certainly not about ending sexual differences between women and men. Nowhere does the Convention ever imply that women and men are or should be ‘the same.’ Advertisement

● The Convention does not seek to regulate family life and/or family structures: it neither contains a definition of ‘family’ nor does it promote a particular type of family setting.

In conclusion, reluctance to properly protect women can only come from a deep-seated hatred of women, which is never far from general bigotry.

Of course, people who our democracy allowed to stand in national elections and who openly disrespect women and LGBTQIA+ will not be won over by any argument. From Muslims to Jews, from left-wingers to right-wingers, from religious to secular, and centrist, there are enough Members of Knesset to ensure ratification. It is up to the decent majority to demonstrate and pressure all politicians for more protection of women.