Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Sexism in Israel

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Sexism in Israel to a significant extent is associated with the traditional role of women in Judaism, especially in Orthodox Judaism.

Orthodox Jewish feminist sociologist Elana Maryles Sztokman in her 2014 book The War on Women in Israel analyses the misogyny in the public space of Israel. According to Publishers Weekly, Sztokman chronicles how the demands of an ultra-Orthodox minority was leading to the removal women’s imagery and presence from public venues, under the pretext of modesty. Sztokman analyzes sexism in the Israeli army, legislature, and Orthodox rabbinical courts.

Journalist Shoshana Kordova describes her observations as a mother of a preschool daughter how girls are treated differently from boys since early preschool. For example, as a party the boys were given the Torahs, to celebrate the core tradition of Judaism, while girls were given rimonim ornaments <of Torah>: "...The girls stood up and followed the instructions: to form an outer circle of decorative objects, in the most literal way imaginable." In fact women can be arrested for holding a Torah scroll.

References

Sexism in Israel Wikipedia