פוליטיקה של דיני אישות בקרב פעילות פמיניסטיות פלסטיניות

The main purpose of this article is to investigate gender politics amongst Palestinian feminist activists in the context of their struggles to change personal status law in Israel. The article explores the complex relationship between family law, state, religion and colonialism by focusing on two initiatives for change aimed at personal status law of Palestinian women in Israel. The article discusses the activities of the feminist organizations that promoted the change and analyzes the different relevant discourses amongst the feminist activists; the religious courts; the political parties and the Islamic movement. The exclusive Jewish character of the state has significantly influenced Palestinian society in Israel also in matters of religion and gender relations. Even if it was established as a secular state, Israel’s Jewish character is expressed in both the national and religious dimensions, and in fact in the fusion of these two dimensions.This is reflected in state institutions and in many laws that also affect women. Personal status laws and religious courts are the most prominent example even if not the only one. These laws stipulate that a person’s personal status will be determined according to his\her religion, and not according to her\his status as a citizen of the state and reflecting the state’s perception of citizenship. The article argues that the study of the struggles of Palestinian feminists – both religious and secular – to change family law in Israel help us understand the nuanced and complex relationships between gender, state, religion and politics which are in turn constituted by the patriarchal and religious power structures, the politics of the colonial state, and women’s agency and resistance. The article is based on a variety of sources including media reports, the organizations archives, parliament committee protocols and personal interviews with the main feminist activists.