Welcome to the Forward’s Jewish News coverage about feminism and womens issues.
Feminism
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Life Why I’m OK Staying Out of The ‘Orthodox Boys’ Club’
This week I read Rachel Rosenthal’s open letter to Rabbi Willig expressing her frustration and anger about his views on women learning Talmud. I have sympathy for Ms. Rosenthal’s frustration and agree with her that it is in everyone’s best interest to have smart, educated observant Jewish women. But Rabbi Willig’s main point was that…
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Life How Israel’s ‘Sleeve-Gate’ Completely Missed the Point
Have you been witness to men in the workplace behaving unprofessionally and immaturely? Well, Israeli women members of Knessets (MKs) are not having any of it. Just last month, I relished this video of Yesh Atid MK Yael Gerban scolding Likud’s Oren Hazan for interrupting her (Oren, shev be’sheket – sit quietly, she yells like…
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Life What’s Wrong With Women Studying Talmud, Rabbi Willig?
Dear Rabbi Willig, We don’t know each other, and in many ways, I am outside of your target constituency. You, after all, are a , an institution I have never attended. In fact, I would assume that there is little we agree on, other than the binding nature of halakha or Jewish law. However, last…
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Life How Orthodox Day School Made Me a Feminist
An Orthodox day school is not a place many would expect to give young women the skills to become outspoken feminists, but this has been the case in my life. In many ways, my feminism was a reaction to the Orthodox environment around me: my second-grade self, when handed a coloring book on;y featuring pictures…
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Opinion No, It’s Not a ‘Feminist Catfight’ Over Hillary Clinton
“I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or a prostitute.” Rebecca West in 1912. It’s 2015, and we still can’t agree on what the F-word really means. In a recent…
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Culture Why Is a Formerly Secular Woman Like Her Running a Chabad Center?
At the age of 13, Keren Blum told her parents that she was an agnostic. Because she also became a vegetarian at that time, her parents, Conservative Jews, were troubled by what they perceived as rebelliousness. They tried to make Judaism joyous and meaningful for her — in vain, at least initially. Blum completed her…
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Life Belda Lindenbaum’s Revolutionary Vision
The first time I ever opened a Gemara, I was at Drisha, in the Beit Midrash generously endowed by Belda and Marcel Lindenbaum. At that time, a year after graduating college, I had not yet met Belda and Marcel, nor did yet I have any awareness of the fact that some would consider what I…
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Life Remembering Belda Lindenbaum
In the 48 hours since I heard of the passing of Belda Lindenbaum — pioneer of Orthodox feminism and of advanced Torah study for women — my Facebook feed has filled with tributes to her, and I can’t stop reading and re-reading them. Each poster — many of them alumnae of schools guided by Belda’s…
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Culture ‘My mayor Muslim, my bagel Jewish’ — the Knicks chant capturing New York’s soul
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Books In ‘Something We Said,’ Richard Pryor’s daughter finds words to discuss the unspeakable
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Opinion It’s time for Jews who love Israel to give up on Zionism
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Opinion Trump’s humiliation of Netanyahu marks a sea change in the US-Israel relationship
In Case You Missed It
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Fast Forward This Israeli filmmaker harshly criticizes his country. Pro-Palestinian activists boycotted him anyway
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Fast Forward Trump is imagining an Israel after Netanyahu. So are many Israelis. Netanyahu isn’t biting.
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Fast Forward Spain reports 86% rise in antisemitic incidents, as interior minister takes aim at ‘xenophobia’
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Fast Forward Cara Trager, beloved Queens Jewish communal leader and lifetime journalist, dies at 71