Jewish Women in Pre-State Israel

This fascinating interdisciplinary collection of essays brings gender issues to the foreground in order to redress a profound imbalance in the historiography of the Yishuv, the Jewish community in Palestine, and in the early years of the State of Israel. Although male discourse still dominates this field, some initial studies have begun to create an authentic and multifaceted Hebrew-Israeli voice by examining the activities and contributions of women. This research has led to a number of basic questions: What was the reality of life for women in Jewish society in Ottoman and Mandatory Palestine (Eretz Israel), and in the early years of the State? What was the contribution of women to the renewal of Israeli society and culture? What is the place of gender perceptions in the study of the new local identity? The original articles in this anthology forge an innovative response to one or more of these questions, and reflecting the state of research in the field.

RUTH KARK, Professor of Geography at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has published extensively on the historical geography of the Middle East and Palestine/Israel. MARGALIT SHILO is Associate Professor in the Martin (Szusz) Department of The Land of Israel Studies and Archeology at Bar Ilan University. GALIT HASAN-ROKEM is Max and Margarethe Grunwald Professor of Folklore at the Departments of Hebrew Literature & Jewish and Comparative Folklore at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem