Women’s Rights, Feminism, and the All-Israeli Gender Equality

This course offers a feminist critique of gender-related issues within Israeli law, focusing on the intersection of legal frameworks, societal norms, and gender perceptions. Key areas of exploration include Family Law, Religious Laws, and gender-based violence, with particular attention to Muslim-Jewish feminist collaborations. 

These joint efforts challenge claims of Israel being an apartheid state, while exposing the danger embedded in feminist analysis that factors in the (Jewish) origin of the victims of gender-based violence. 

Session 1: Introduction- An Overview of Feminism and Law in Israel

This session will examine the various forms, manifestations, and typologies of discrimination against women in Israel, incorporating a historical perspective into the analytical framework.

Session 2: Joint Feminist Jewish-Muslim Struggles in Israel – Part I

This session will delve into specific joint Jewish-Muslim feminist struggle initiatives in Israel, particularly relating to Family/Religious Laws. Case studies will illustrate women’s struggles for equality within religious legal frameworks, including family law and related areas such as personal injury law.

Session 3: Joint Feminist Jewish-Muslim Struggles in Israel – Part II

This session will examine joint Jewish-Muslim feminist efforts to combat femicide in Israel. Femicide—the gender-based killing of women—takes varied forms depending on the victims’ backgrounds. The discussion will critically engage with the legal and social discourse surrounding concepts such as “honor killings” and “jealousy killings,” highlighting the intersection of cultural narratives and legal interpretations.  

Session 4: The De-Feminization of Conflict Related Sexual Violence

This session will address Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) as a distinct category of gender-based violence, requiring a differentiated legal and analytical framework from that applied to sexual violence in non-conflict settings. Drawing on the legal responses to the CRSV atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7th against Israeli civilians, the session will examine the challenges in identifying, documenting, and prosecuting such crimes. It will also critically assess the implications of framing CRSV within potentially antisemitic contextual narratives, arguing that such framing undermines justice not only for Jewish victims but for CRSV survivors globally.

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