Israeli Feminist Scholarship

Gender, Zionism, and Difference

Edited by Esther Fuchs

384 Pages, 6.00 x 9.00 in

Sales Date: July 1, 2014

384 Pages, 6.00 x 9.00 in

9781477307564 : July 2014

$34.95

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Description
Author
Praise
Contents

The last two decades have given rise to a proliferation of scholarship by Israeli feminists working in diverse fields, ranging from sociology to literature, anthropology, and history. As the Israeli feminist movement continually decentralizes and diversifies, it has become less Eurocentric and heterocentric, making way for pluralistic concerns. Collecting fifteen previously published essays that give voice to this diversity, Israeli Feminist Scholarship showcases articles on Ashkenazi, Mizrahi, Palestinian, and lesbian identities as well as on Israeli women’s roles as mothers, citizens and activists, and soldiers.

Citing evidence that these scholars have redefined their object of inquiry as an open site of contested and constructed identity, luminary Esther Fuchs traces the history of Israeli feminism. Among the essays are Jewish historian Margalit Shilo’s study of the New Hebrew Woman, sociologist Ronit Lentin’s analysis of gendered representations of the Holocaust in Israeli culture, peace activist Erella Shadmi on lesbianism as a nonissue in Israel, and cultural critic Nitza Berkovitch’s examination of womanhood as constructed in Israeli legal discourse.

Creating a space for a critical examination of the relationship between disparate yet analogous discourses within feminism and Zionism, this anthology reclaims the mobilizing, inclusive role of these multifaceted discourses beyond the postmodern paradigm.

Born in Tel Aviv, ESTHER FUCHS is Professor of Hebrew Literature at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Her many previous books include Israeli Women’s Studies and Sexual Politics in the Biblical Narrative.

"An excellent volume. Many of us who teach Women and Judaism courses have longed for a good book that would serve to introduce students to the many concerns in Israeli feminist scholarship and life. This book fits the bill." ~Lynn Davidman, Robert M. Beren Distinguished Professor of Modern Jewish Studies and Professor of Sociology, University of Kansas

Preface

Introduction. Israeli Feminist Scholarship: Gender, Zionism, and Difference

Esther Fuchs

Chapter One. The Evolution of Critical Paradigms in Israeli Feminist Scholarship: A Theoretical Model

Esther Fuchs

Chapter Two. Politicizing Masculinities: Shahada and Haganah

Sheila H. Katz

Chapter Three. The Double or Multiple Image of the New Hebrew Woman

Margalit Shilo

Chapter Four. The Heroism of Hannah Senesz: An Exercise in Creating Collective National Memory in the State of Israel

Judith T. Baumel

Chapter Five. The Feminisation of Stigma in the Relationship Between Israelis and Shoah Survivors