Women in Israel Race, Gender and Citizenship

At the theoretical level, this book provides a fresh gender analysis of citizenship in Israel by shedding a new light onto the settler colonial regime of the state of Israel. The book challenges most existing theorization of Israeli citizenship which is ethnic-based. It also challenges the Israeli "critical" social scientists that accept the characterization of Zionism as a settler colonial polity but only for two periods: pre-1948 Zionism and after 1967 occupation of the Palestinian Territories, but reject the same framework in describing "Israel proper". Using "settler colonialism" as a continuous frame and process, the book hopes to open up a wider space capable of providing a more comprehensive and inclusive analysis. Finally, through a comparative study of women's varying lived conditions, historically and contemporarily, the book also contributes to a more holistic gender analysis in the Middle East with a strong articulation of gender, class, race, and ethnicity. Methodologically, the book employs qualitative analyses, including historical and contemporary comparative approach to illuminate the nature of the similarities and differences, or rather differentiation between the three major groups of women (Ashkenazi Jews, Mizrahi Jews and Palestinian Arabs) with a focus on the two most marginalized group: Palestinian and Mizrahi women. It also explains the rationale behind their existing status. This methodology will be grounded in feminist, anti-racist and anti-colonialist methodology. The book also adopts quantitative analysis, utilizing official statistics, and "counter-official" critical (NGO) and other data to support its main arguments. Methodological challenges of using Israeli official data will also be discussed in the book.

NAHLA ABDO (Ph.D.) is an Arab feminist activist, Professor of Sociology at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. She has extensive publications on women, racism, nationalism, and the State in the Middle East, with special focus on Palestinian women.

Introduction * Women, State and Citizenship: The Israeli Context * Women in Israel/Palestine: The Relevance of History * Women and the Economy * Women, Education and Human Capital * Conclusion