Here in Israel, and by no means only here in Israel, the debate is raging. Gender-integrated kindergartens, schools and universities versus segregated ones. Integrated beaches versus segregated ones. Integrated versus segregated hotel floors (here and there, entire hotels). And airline seats. And railway compartments. And buses. And taxis. And, among the orthodox, pavements. Briefly, integrated versus segregated everything.
In Israel as in most other Western countries, for decades from about 1930 on the trend ran in favor of integration. One after another, bastions of male exclusivity came crashing down. At work. In transportation, in leisure facilities, in sports. Everywhere. As they did so, the few remaining ones became almost synonymous with backwardness. How dare any organization refuse to admit women? Now, as if to show that history does indeed follow Hegel’s scheme of thesis/anti-thesis, increasingly things seem to be going the opposite direction. So-called equality, or equity, or integrationist, feminists, beware. The wind is shifting.
Why? Here is. Some years ago I had a female student named Osnat Ibrahim. About twenty-six years old at the time, she was an Arab-Israeli (or Israeli-Arab: in the present context it does not matter). She lived with her parents in Abu Gosh, an Arab village about a mile down the road. Since Mevasseret, where I live, lies between Abu Gosh and the University, and since at the time it was still relatively safe to do so, I suggested giving her a lift back home. For me it meant a slight detour. For her, cutting the journey from an hour or more to, say, twenty minutes.
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So I asked Osnat why she, an Arab-Israeli from Abu Gosh, had ever got such a Jewish name. Simple, she answered. My father is a heavy-equipment operator. At one time he worked for a Kibbutz where he made friends with a local woman. She treated him very nicely, as by serving him drinks and the like. So when his daughter was born he named her, Osnat.
By the time I offered her a lift for the first time Osnat and I had already known each other for a few months. As I prepared to enter the car, I asked her to take the seat next to mine. What could be more natural? She, however, refused, saying that she would only sit in the back. Slightly offended, I asked her whether she really though I might try anything. Of course not, she answered: that is not the point. The point is that this is how we Arabs are brought up. It is better this way. Separation will make both of us feel more comfortable. You, because you won’t have to worry about being accused of “sexual harassment;” I, because I can feel safe and free. Try it, and you’ll see.
I tried it, and I saw.
