Abstract
This paper offers an initial portrayal of haredi feminism and examines how it locates itself in relation to other feminist movements in Israel. Based on an arrative qualitative study with leading haredi feminists, it argues that haredi feminism is critical of, aspires to belong to, and to influence, both haredi society and the broader Israeli society and state. It is a form of "survivalist feminism": working tirelessly, urgently, and with scant resources, on behalf of a population which suffers from multiple marginality on one hand, and relative political power on the other. Although haredi feminism is in its early days, this movement is uniquely characterized by an intersection of religion, gender,nationality, ethnicity, and class in Israel. It defies well-known classifications and distinct categories, yet is formed through its interfaces and interactions with existing political movements and feminist ideas and identities. This new movement emerges and takes root by locating itself politically in the field of Israeli feminism, and this study analyzes the activists' discourse and complex relationship with various local feminisms: secular-liberal, Religious-Zionist, mizrachi, and Arab-Palestinian. Haredi feminists have an ambivalent relationship with the existing field - they rely on it and seek to integrate within it, but do not assimilate and are often critical of it. The unique intersectional characteristics of the movement create complex "boundary work" that challenges well-known differentiations within Israeli politics in general,and feminist politics in particular. Therefore, haredi feminism provides an opportunity for activists and scholars alike, to adopt a more critical and reflective approach to current assumptions shaping feminist discourse and its political strategies, including how they are studied and understood.
Translated title of the contribution | Haredi feminism as survivalist feminism: the positionality of a new Haredi feminist movements in Israel, between intersectionality and interfaces |
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Original language | Hebrew |
Pages (from-to) | 19-51 |
Number of pages | 33 |
Journal | פוליטיקה: כתב-עת למדע המדינה וליחסים בינלאומיים |
Volume | 32 |
State | Published - 2022 |
IHP publications
- IHP publications
- Civilization, Modern
- Feminism
- Jewish women
- Judaism
- Sex
- Ultra-Orthodox Jews
- Women -- Political activity
- Women in Judaism
- Women, Arab