Welcome to the Forward’s Jewish News coverage about feminism and womens issues.
Welcome to the Forward’s Jewish News coverage about feminism and womens issues.
Welcome to the Forward’s Jewish News coverage about feminism and womens issues.
Welcome to the Forward’s Jewish News coverage about feminism and womens issues.
Ultra-Orthodox girls lean out of a classroom window / Getty Images “What do you mean he abused her?” The question was shrill and innocuous. The teacher, Mrs. Stern, looked incredibly uncomfortable. But hey, she had brought it up. “He got into the bed with her, and he abused her.” Mrs. Stern shrugged her shoulders at…
Last year’s Maharat graduation ceremony / Robert Kalfus Two dramatic moments punctuated yesterday’s graduation ceremony of the New York-based Yeshivat Maharat, the rabbinical academy for Orthodox women, which ordained its second class of women who will serve Orthodox communities as poskot — halakhic decisors and advisors. They were granted the title “Maharat,” and acronym for…
Getty Images // Ultra-Orthodox women in Israel Who are the gatekeepers of the conservative religious ideal of tznius, or modesty? This question has been argued and parsed on social media and on blogs in recent years as radicalism in the ultra-Orthodox communities has taken on new and more visible forms. A common misperception is that…
Getty Images // A smiling Gloria Steinem. In a recent column, the Guardian’s Jessica Valenti takes aim at our culture’s fixation on the happiness of women. She argues that we shouldn’t concern ourselves with whether or not feminism makes women happier because happiness is not the point. After all, a social justice movement seeks justice,…
Getty Images In her already widely dissected 4,300 word Vanity Fair essay, Monica Lewinsky takes aim at the feminists of the late 90s. She says she found no support from the women’s rights crowd back then, and when they did respond to the situation she appeared either as a punch line or a scapegoat. No…
When I was a girl, on Friday nights, I would compete with my sisters for the privilege of fetching my father’s slippers when he returned home from prayers. My siblings and I would beg for the seat to my father’s left or right at the Sabbath meal. I was often chosen for this honor. My…
Tanya Hoffman is the daughter of Women of the Wall leader Anat Hoffman. / Haaretz “How I Stopped Hating Women of the Wall and Started Talking to My Mother.” That’s the title of an upcoming film by Tanya Hoffman, the 26-year-old daughter of firebrand feminist and Women of the Wall leader Anat Hoffman. The summer…
Courtesy of Reuven Spolter // A scene from a ‘man seder’ in Oak Park, Michigan First there was the feminist seder. Now there is the “man seder,” many of which are centered around beer and steak. Versions were held in five Orthodox synagogues this year, with one attracting as many as 500 men. But conflict…
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