Women will once again star in bus advertisements in Jerusalem: According to a new agreement signed between the state and the 'Egged' company and the bus sign franchisee 'Canaan', the depiction of women in advertisements will be allowed.
According to the agreement, the state will cover the repair of damage caused by vandalism of buses by ultra-Orthodox extremists.
In the first stage, the agreement was valid until the end of 2014, and within the framework of it, Egged undertook to publish pictures of women in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh, in an advertisement that would be displayed on bus lines it owns.
In 2012, a petition was filed with the High Court of Justice against the companies Egged and Canaan, due to their refusal to allow an advertising campaign that would feature women under the title "Jerusalemites. Nice to meet you," out of fear that the publications would be defaced by extremists.
Initially, the state claimed that the license to operate public transportation would be conditional on providing complete equality between men and women, but as a result, Canaan and Agad decided not to publish any pictures on billboards, not even of men.
The petitioners objected, claiming that this was still discrimination.
As mentioned, after lengthy negotiations, the agreement was signed, and the state is expected to notify the High Court of Justice of this soon, in order to remove the petitions from the agenda.
Professor Aviad HaCohen, dean of Shaarei Mishpat College, who represented the petitioners, said: "At the end of the day, common sense prevailed and the obvious was accepted without the need for the court's intervention. The public space in the entire country and in Jerusalem in particular belongs to everyone, and women must not be excluded from it.".
On the other hand, elements from the extreme faction of Neturei Karta made it clear that they will do everything they can to prevent buses carrying women's signs from passing through ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods.
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