The following conversation took place one evening last Sukkot in Jerusalem: “You can’t cross. Here there is separation of women from men.” “Why?” “You are in Mea Shearim.” “And it is a part of the State of Israel.” “This is a Taliban state. Welcome to Afghanistan. OK? Is that what you want to hear?” “I […]
The Campaign Against the Exclusion of Women from Public Spaces Read More »
In 1997, Israel’s public transportation companies (particularly Egged) began running bus lines designated for the Hareidi community. At first, only two such bus lines were operative, in Jerusalem and B’nei Brak. In addition, a public committee was formed to explore possible expansion of this service. On these bus lines, women would board the bus at
Giving Voice to Silenced Women: Kolech’s Actions on Mehadrin Bus Lines Read More »
On June 28, 2010, the Knesset passed amendments to the Law for Prevention of Sexual Harassment by Figures of Authority. The amendment, to include spiritual and religious leaders as legally constituted figures of authority, was initiated by Kolech. This legal victory by Kolech had great significance to me personally, as a clinical psychologist and a
Kolech’s Campaign against Sexual Abuse by Religious Authority Figures Read More »
In the search for universal solutions to the agunah problem, one must keep in mind that although there may be various halakhic solutions, because the problem arises under varying conditions, the approaches and application of solutions differ vastly from locale to locale. Therefore, it is instructive to understand the similarities and differences between the conditions,
The Agunah Problem and Its Solutions in Israel: A Descriptive Analysis Read More »
On December 1, 1988, a group of about seventyfive Israeli, American, and Canadian women had a life-altering experience at the Kotel, the reverberations of which are with us still. We were attending the American Jewish Congress’s International Conference for the Empowerment of Jewish Women. I was invited to speak about Orthodox women’s prayer groups, which
Women of the Wall: Fighting for the Right to Pray Read More »
Any serious discussion of the present situation of women in Israel is bound to start with, and pay tribute to, the 2012 emergence of the “new” phenomenon of “women’s exclusion.” Israeli media were shocked to report on women’s exclusion from public buses, sidewalks, checkout lines in supermarkets, and faces on billboards; on the banning of
Women in Israel: From Illusion of Equality to Exclusion Read More »
Jewish marriage resides at the confluence of two ideologically oppositional commitments that modern Jewish women and men struggle to navigate in their everyday lives, and will not readily abandon: exclusionary religious practices and modern ethical systems, such as feminism. Gender inequalities embedded in religious authority, practice, and marriage per se further present a moral problem,
Tradition and Equality in Jewish Marriage: Beyond the Sanctification of Subordination Read More »
What’s 93Queen? It’s the internal ambulance code that the Fire Department of the City of New York assigned to Ezras Nashim, the Big Apple’s first all-volunteer female ambulance service. It’s also the name of a documentary describing how that service came to be. 93Queen is the first feature film by director/cinematographer Paula Eiselt, who obtained
93Queen: Documenting Change within a Hasidic Community Read More »
Harassment: An Assault of Human Dignity Following the headlines of the #MeToo movement, one might think that the horrors of sexual harassment had just been discovered. Remarkably, though, already in the second century ce, Rabbi Akiva taught some of the basic lessons of the movement. A close reading of a single mishnah can help us
#MeToo and Sexual Harrassment: A Familiar Mishnah through a New Lens Read More »
For more than a year, we have seen frequent exposés of senior professionals who have harassed or assaulted subordinates. The current wave of actions addressing this workplace misbehavior is overdue and critical for supporting healthy work environments. But I believe that, for most people, the types of misbehaviors experienced at work are less severe than
Gender and Communication in the Workplace Read More »
