Gender, Religion, and Feminism: The Case of Jewish Israeli Traditionalists

This article explores the issue of gender, feminism, and religion through a study of Jewish Israeli traditionalist ( masorti ) women. Based on the premise that feminist discourse and rhetoric have become widely accepted and disseminated (while sociocultural and political practices are far from fully implementing this discourse), the article asks how women who choose an identity that refuses to fall into the one-dimensional dichotomy that distinguishes between the category of the "secular-modern-feminist" and that of the "religious-traditional-subordinate" construct and negotiate their feminine identity, while exploring the varying ways in which this identity-construct interplays with these women's identity as members of an ethno-national collective. This exploration deals with issues of: feminist and Jewish traditionalist discourses; body, dress, and ritual; family, spousal relations, and personal security; and women in synagogue.