Sztokman s extremely compelling study of the growing worldwide phenomenon of the marginalization of women uses Israel as its test case to prove how religious fundamentalism is insidious than we can imagine Read my review of this excellent book here 351 Kinda boring 351 I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book of essays Sztokman explores the impact of the near constant and often cruel critical gaze on girls and women s appearance in the observant Jewish community are they thin enough Are they modest enough Are they appealing enough Who feels entitled to judge girls and women this way and for what purpose The thoughtful.

Or the extent of Haredi political influence Any woman who is considering settling in Israel should read this book I would also recommend it to anyone who thinks that Israel is similar to the United States. I decided that the bulk of this review should be on my blog For my complete review see 351 Sad at what humans do in the guise of religion This is a must read book with a requirement that you act after reading the last page 351 Honestly one of the most unintentionally hilarious books I ve ever read I m curious what Sztokman thought was going to happen when liberal feminist Israeli women stopped having children When you abort and contracept your children out of existence.

Well researched essays encourage discourse and helped fuel important conversations on issues including dress codes and distorted body image with my own family and for that I am grateful 351 Although I already knew about discrimination against women in Israel I hadn t been aware of the spread of Haredi violence against women while conservative Haredi women are having a dozen babies each what exactly did you expect the result to be Is a series of policies really a war on women if a majority of the women in Israel support it Is the voice of a nation not allowed to change according to the literal voices of its population Sztokman s denial of agency to conservative women is incredibly condescending what she seems to be saying is my political preferences are not being met therefore Israel has declared war on women Apparently whenever a girl is born anywhere on the planet she is naturally a doctrinaire 21st century WEIRD feminist and if she has any other worldview she s been brainwashed by the patriarchy The idea that a woman might be authentically ultra orthodox is just too much to process probably we just need some misinformation experts to swoop in and help these poor women become like Sztokman. William Gibson famously said that the future is already here it s just unevenly distributed Israel is ahead of the curve but birthrates in all Western nations are trending in Israel s direction A simple piece of advice to Sztokman and friends if you d rather that your grandchildren not live in a conservative theocracy you may want to consider having children 351 I gave this book 5 stars not because I loved it but because Goodreads defines 5 stars as really amazing which this one certainly is However as important as I think it is for people especially women and Jews to read this book I must admit that reading it was hard So many times I just wanted to scream with anger and frustration Mostly I just wanted to cry at what appears to be a lost cause in Israel a country I so wanted hoped to be a light unto the nations Kol kavod to Sztokman and her fellow feminist warriors at how they fight the good fight with hope in their hearts But I don t see anything changing in Israel As Lord Acton said Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely and sadly this applies even especially to the most religious 351 4. 5 5 Stars I don t often read non fiction but I read and enjoyed Elana Sztokman s War on Women in Israel so I happily agreed to read and review this new book of essays from her released January 30 2021 Here s my bookreview on my blog now 351 This was the most shocking and fascinating book I ve read in a long time I d always assumed that a culture that values education and a country in which girls serve in the military would be progressive where women s issues are concerned so I was surprised by the many ways in which Sztokman demonstrates that women are second class citizens in Israel today. What I did not realize is that unlike the US where church and state are separate Israel s politics are tightly knit if not dominated by religion According to Sztokman women s rights and choices are often curtailed because they conflict with the religious guidelines followed by ultra Orthodox Jewish men who avoid being touched or even being in proximity to women which includes looking at photographic images and hearing them sing The tone of the book is not angry feminist It is detailed and thoughtful and with the exception of one chapter late in the book is very easy to read and comprehend Some of the stories of individual women such as that of a young women who was beaten for refusing to move to the back of the bus are heart rending while others of women caught in the labyrinth of a religious bureaucracy are Kafka esque Political writers always write from their point of view but if even 10% of what Elana Sztokman says here is an accurate reflection of what is going on in Israel today it s still shocking 351 A very important and up to date book on the Israeli Rabbanut and their policies on women specifically on how they ve regressed in the last twenty years It covers a wide range of topics from Women of the Wall to contraception and abortion to the fight over housing and schooling in Beit Shemesh to segregated buses The author is herself religious and sympathetic to religious women who want to continue to follow halacha but without increasing and unnecessary restrictions on their lives that is often a manifestation of Haredi men s social anxieties about women and their increasing economic power in the workplace The author is not down on secular Israelis religious Israelis or pluralistic Israelis which his a nice change of pace Her central theme seems to be that people can be as religious as they want to be but they don t have the right to impede on other people s abilities to also be as religious as they want to be and how they want to do it 351

The War on Women in Israel: How Religious Radicalism Is Smothering the Voice of a Nation By Elana Maryles Sztokman

1402288859

9781402288852

351

Hardcover

ACROSS ISRAEL one of the world s most democratic countries women are being threatened and abused as ultra Orthodox Jewish factions seek to suppress them In this stunning expos award winning author and leading Jewish women s activist Elana Sztokman reveals the struggles of Israeli women against this increasing oppression from segregation on public buses in a move Hillary Clinton called reminiscent of Rosa Parks to being silenced in schools and erased from newspapers and ads This alarming patriarchal backlash isn t limited to Israel either its repercussions endanger the rights and freedoms of women from Afghanistan to America But there s hope as well courageous feminist activists within the Orthodox world are starting to demand systemic change on these fronts and with some support from non Orthodox advocates they re creating positive reforms that could help women everywhere Blending interviews with original investigative research and historical context Sztokman traces the evolution of this struggle against oppression and proposes solutions for creating a different egalitarian vision of religious culture and opportunity in Israeli society and around the world The War on Women in Israel How Religious Radicalism Is Smothering the Voice of a NationDr Elana Maryles Sztokman is a feminist thought leader anthropologist and writer whose research and ideas help shape a vision for a compassionate society Author of six books so far on gender in society and a two time winner of the National Jewish Book Council award Elana is the creator of the Jewish Feminist Academy site_link www. org where she offers courses and content to help shape conversations about gender in Jewish life She writes speaks and consults with groups and organizations around the world on gender issues and womens experiences in the world. She also works to help women amplify their own voices and find their power through Lioness Books and Media She coaches women through the writing process edits and ghos Dr Elana Maryles Sztokman is a feminist thought leader anthropologist and writer whose research and ideas help shape a vision for a compassionate society Author of six books so far on gender in society and a two time winner of the National Jewish Book Council award Elana is the creator of the Jewish Feminist Academy site_link www. org where she offers courses and content to help shape conversations about gender in Jewish life She writes speaks and consults with groups and organizations around the world on gender issues and women s experiences in the world. She also works to help women amplify their own voices and find their power through Lioness Books and Media She coaches women through the writing process edits and ghost writes women s books and publishes women s writing through Lioness Would you like to chat with Elana Contact her at elana jewfem.jewishfeminism.jewishfeminism.com site_link.