Life

Unmarried Pregnant Teacher Wins Court Case

The Tel Aviv Labor Court recently ruled that an Israeli religious school cannot fire an unmarried teacher for becoming pregnant by in-vitro fertilization. The decision has sparked a lot of discussion. For me, it highlights the contradictory expectations put on Jewish women, especially those who choose to live and work in Orthodox communities. The court…

Celebrating International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day began as a socialist holiday in the United States, a day in solidarity with working women who’d gone on strike from their garment factories after the deadly Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. As anyone who knows her Jewish history can tell you, a good deal of these pioneering workers — both the victims and…

Hit-and-Run Tragedy Bridges Jewish Divide

I generally find it hard to feel as if I am part of the same Jewish people as Satmar Hasidim. Living not far from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, I see them regularly yet it’s hard to imagine feeling more worlds apart. At the mall I encounter young women — so young that in another life I would…

Go Away, Lena Dunham

Increasingly, over the past several weeks, I have found the follow question intruding into my thoughts: When, please, will someone make Lena Dunham go away? It’s not that I have anything personal or professional against Dunham herself. I have never seen her breakout film “Tiny Furniture” or her angst-inducing HBO show “Girls.” (Okay, I have…

Inside Sex Education for Orthodox Couples

Is Miss Israel Beautiful?

Former IDF officer Yityish (Titi) Aynaw, 21, was crowned Miss Israel 2013 last Wednesday night. Besides from earning the title of a beauty queen, Aynaw also made history by becoming the first Ethiopian-born woman to ever win the beauty pageant. Yet the confetti had barely finished landing on the floor of the fancy stage when…

Jerusalem’s Sexist Street Signs

I never really paid close attention to the street signs in Jerusalem until a couple of years ago, when I missed an important turn onto Golda Meir Blvd. I missed the turn because the local Haredim had erased the print on the sign. They were obviously far more concerned about removing a woman’s name —…