Israeli Ambivalence and Gender Relations

Abstract

Three recent Israeli books on local feminism describe how many among the natural constituency of Israeli feminism refuse to identify themselves with feminism or with the women’s movement. Erella Shadmi (2007) argues that the feminist idea, in general, and radical feminism, in particular, have not struck proper roots in Israeli society or among Israeli women (p. 145). Tali Rosin (2000) explains upfront that the problem is feminism’s bad public relations: “nobody wants to be thought of as bitter, evil, wicked, leftist, elitist, ambitions, lesbian, frigid, or otherwise lacking feelings” (Rosin, 2000: 17). Her book, entitled What is This Feminism and How Did We Come to Know Nothing About It?, begins with a question presented to the reader right on the first page, directly asking her about her tendency to distance herself from feminism: “When you say that you are not a feminist, do you mean that unlike feminists you don’t hate men? That you like to be courted? That you want to have kids, and that your looks are very important to you?” (p. 17). Apart from exposing local prejudice against feminists and feminism, Rosin’s question also reflects the dichotomy that many Israeli women believe to exist between feminism and femininity. Apparently, this is not merely a local belief. In The Female Thing, Laura Kipnis explains that feminism and femininity are incompatible within each individual psyche.