Many a divorced parents, usually the dad, have been offended by the common term “single parent”, leading one to believe a child does not chas v’sholom have two parents. The Knesset has addressed this and lawmakers voted to amend the nation’s One Parent Family Law from 1992.
The amended law has done away with “single parent” or “sole parent”, replacing it with “a family headed by one independent parent”. Perhaps not as catchy a phrase, but far more accurate. The bill that was passed into law was presented by MK (The Movement) Meir Sheetrit, a candidate in the upcoming presidential race. The new terminology will apply to divorced parents as well as widows and unmarried parents.
MK (Yesh Atid) Dr. Aliza Lavie, who heads the Knesset Committee for the Advancement of Women reports she and her colleagues have reviewed the law, which she feels is just a change in semantics and in no way compromises the rights of women.
Sheetrit felt that the term “single parent” alluded to the fact that a child has only one living parent. In addition, he feels the term may have encouraged a custodial parent to defy court rulings regarding visitations and the rights of the non-custodial parent.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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One Response
definitely a step in the right direction. BUt the world has a lot a lot to still change when it comes to fathers rights and discrimination against them. Women cry easily and everyone hears them. Men take it in and swallow years of pain. Iveles nashim….. Most of the time the woman has the power.