Link Roundups

August 7, 2011 by Jill Finkelstein

Link Roundup: Summer Reading Digest, Part II

Welcome to this week’s installment of Lilith’s Link Roundup. Each week we post Jewish and feminist highlights from around the web. If there’s anything you want to be sure we know about, email us or leave a message in the comments section below.

Following the New York Time’s recent article on Israel’s free in vitro fertilization services, journalist KJ Dell Antonia questions the true motives behind the “family-friendly” policy. Dell Antonia writes that because women in Israel are expected to have children, the policy appears to be “an advanced, government-subsidized form of peer pressure.” [XX Factor]

Journalist Simone Gorrindo writes about Israel’s unique abortion policies and the rising tensions between secular groups and religious groups, who want to increase the birthrate among Jews. [Tablet Magazine]

Despite the growing popularity of SlutWalks, author Rebecca Traister shared her conflicted feelings about the “viral protest movement,” which combats the notion that women who dress like “sluts” are asking to be raped. Traister argued that while the mission of SlutWalks is important, “to do so while dressed in what look like sexy stewardess Halloween costumes seems less like victory than capitulation (linguistic and sartorial) to what society already expects of its young women.” [NY Times Magazine]

Florida Rep. Allen West faced a backlash after sending fellow Florida Representative and Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz an email calling her “vile,” “unprofessional” and “not a lady.” West’s attack came after Wasserman Schultz publicly criticized his opposition to raising the debt ceiling. [Feministing]

In an effort to combat violence against women, the Office of the Vice President, along with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, launched the “Apps Against Abuse” technology challenge. The competition challenges developers to create a smartphone application “that provides young adults with tools to help prevent sexual assault and dating violence.” [White House Blog]

On July 19^th, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released its recommendations, regarding preventative services for women, to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In honor of the announcement, Planned Parenthood and the National Women’s Law Center teamed up to host a Birth Control Blog Carnival to discuss the importance of the IOM’s suggestions. [NWLC]

On August 1^st, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced its decision to adopt the recommendations made by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). Prior to the announcement, GOOD mapped out how much an average woman spends on basic healthcare over her lifetime. [GOOD] (more…)

Link Roundups

August 3, 2011 by Jill Finkelstein

Link Roundup: Summer Reading Digest, Part I

Welcome to this week’s installment of Lilith’s Link Roundup. Each week we post Jewish and feminist highlights from around the web. If there’s anything you want to be sure we know about, email us or leave a message in the comments section below.

The American Medical Association has officially taken a stand against the use of Photoshop and image alteration in advertising, citing its contribution to unrealistic body image expectations and eating disorders. [Ms. Magazine]

When former U.S. First Lady Betty Ford passed away at the age of 93, she spurred some thinking about First Ladies and political wives. Known for being an activist, Ford faced a backlash for her outspokenness. Unfortunately, to this day First Ladies and wives of presidential candidates have been forced to keep mum on controversial issues, in fear of being a liability to their husbands. [XX Factor] & [The Loop 21]

Women in Israel have begun to fight back against gender segregation on buses. Six months ago, the High Court ruled against gender segregation on public transportation; however, male passengers and drivers have continued to force female passengers to move to the back of the bus. [Huffington Post] & [Jerusalem Post]

A new study from Northwestern University revealed that women are still not viewed as natural leaders. The results concluded that “women are viewed as less qualified or natural in most leadership roles, the research shows, and secondly, when women adopt culturally masculine behaviors often required by these roles, they may be viewed as inappropriate or presumptuous.” [EurekAlert!]

Actress Geena Davis, along with US Senator Kay Hagan and US Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, has introduced a bill to improve the image of women and girls in the media, known as The Healthy Media for Youth Act. [The Wrap]

Haaretz featured a profile on Prof. Alice Shalvi, the mother of Israeli feminism. In an interview, Shalvi stated, “as long as the army has such a central influence on our life and the dominant religion is Orthodoxy, there won’t be equality between the sexes.” [Haaretz]

Richard Dawkins, the well-known evolutionary biologist, came under scrutiny after inferring that western feminist issues are trivial compared to those of Muslim women. Dawkins comments came in response to a feminist blogger Rebecca Watson’s recent account of being propositioned in a hotel elevator. [The Atlantic Wire]

Professor Michael Chernick explained how rabbinic Judaism’s “othering” of women has impacted contemporary Judaism. [The Jewish Week] (more…)

Link Roundups

July 1, 2011 by Jill Finkelstein

Link Roundup: Gay Marriage and Gender Bias

Welcome to this week’s installment of Lilith’s Link Roundup. Each week we post Jewish and feminist highlights from around the web. If there’s anything you want to be sure we know about, email us or leave a message in the comments section below.

Shoshannah Stern, a deaf Jewish actress, took a stand against sexual assault in a video for Deaf Hope, an organization dedicated to ending “domestic and sexual violence against Deaf women and children.” [The Sisterhood]

Last week, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of Wal-Mart in an enormous discrimination lawsuit involving 1.5 million female employees. [Jezebel]

Bridges, a Jewish feminist journal, announced that it is closing its doors after 21 years. [Jewschool]

Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, a lesbian and gay rights activist, made headlines last week during a gay marriage protest (prior to New York’s passage of the same-sex marriage bill). In a video posted by The Times Union, Kleinbaum was seen putting her arm around a Hasidic protester while holding a pro-equality sign, prompting him to spit on her and to repeatedly shout “You’re not a Jew!” [The Shmooze]

CNN correspondent Dana Bash was pressured to step down as a trustee of Jewish Women International because of the organization’s stance on abortion rights. [JTA]

A growing gender bias has begun to plague women rabbis. Not only have recent JTS rabbinical school graduates been struggling to find jobs, an article in the Star Tribune revealed that many female rabbis have been losing their jobs as a result of synagogues downsizing. [The Jewish Week] & [Jewesses With Attitude]

Last week, Hillel Israel held a Bat Mitzvah ceremony for twelve Holocaust survivors at Tel Aviv University. Each of the women studied and gave a sermon on the Torah portion that they would have been given had the Holocaust not happened. [Haaretz]

Various women’s groups, including the Center of Jewish Pluralism and the Rackman Center for the Advancement of the Status of Women, filed a petition in Israel demanding that women be allowed to contend for the position of Rabbinical Court Director. While no decision has been made, Supreme Court Justice Edmund Levy expressed his support for the measure. [Ynet]

Knesset members expressed a widespread opposition to a proposal which would increase Israel’s retirement age for women from 62 to 67 (not 64, which was originally proposed). Despite this, many women still feel that Israel is not doing enough to promote women’s equality. [The Marker] & [Haaretz] (more…)

Link Roundups

June 10, 2011 by Jill Finkelstein

Link Roundup: An Early Summer Reading Digest

Welcome to the latest installment of Lilith’s Link Roundup. You’ll find that this post is longer and more Israel-centric than usual. I just returned from a two-week long trip to Israel, where I learned a great deal about feminist issues facing Israel and I am excited to share them with you, our loyal readers. Each week we post Jewish and feminist highlights from around the web. If there’s anything you want to be sure we know about, email us or leave a message in the comments section below.

http://www.flickr.com/nedward

Last Thursday, the New York Times announced that Jill Abramson would succeed Bill Keller as its Executive Editor. She will be the first woman to ever hold the position in the newspaper’s 160-year history. [Jewish Journal]

In honor of Shavuot, Tablet Magazine profiled Manhattan florist Bella Meyer, who attributes her love of flowers to her famous grandfather, Marc Chagall. On Shavuot, it is customary for synagogues to “adorn their halls with green branches, plants, and blossoms” to commemorate when the Israelites received the Torah. [Tablet Magazine]

History was made in Israel when Brigadier-General Orna Barbivai was named as the IDF’s first female major officer. Following her appointment, the Israel Prison Service (IPS) made headlines by naming Brigadier Ofra Klinger the first female warden. [Ynet] & [Ynet]

For the first time, women have begun to break the silence on rape and sexual assault that occurred during the Holocaust. [Jewish Journal]

Following New York Congressman Anthony Weiner’s admission to partaking in lewd behavior, Radar Online revealed that Weiner referenced a derogatory stereotype about Jewish women’s aversion to sex. During one of his “sexting sessions” with a middle-aged Jewish woman, he expressed shock when she offered to perform oral sex, replying, “wow a jewish girl who sucks (bleep)! this thing is ready to do damage.” [The Sisterhood]

Not all hold the same belief as Weiner… In recent years, the stereotype of Jewish women has changed from asexual to promiscuous. Now, with the rise of slut walks, many Jewish women are beginning to embrace their sexual identity and reclaim the negative stereotype. [The Sisterhood]

Journalist Avirama Golan revealed that while Israel’s economy has fared much better than Europe’s economy, gender inequality still persists in the workforce. Currently, there is a large wage gap between men and women (men earn a monthly average of NIS 10,106 while women only earn NIS 6,869). In addition, the government is in talks to delay women’s retirement age to 64, despite the fact that many women are fired at the age of 50. [Ha’aretz] (more…)

Link Roundups

May 13, 2011 by Jill Finkelstein

Link Roundup: Modesty and the Ever-Present Gender Gap

Welcome to this week’s installment of Lilith’s Link Roundup. Each week we post Jewish and feminist highlights from around the web. If there’s anything you want to be sure we know about, email us or leave a message in the comments section below.

Di Tzaytung, a Brooklyn-based Orthodox weekly came under fire after removing U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Director for Counterterrorism Audrey Tomason from the now-famous Situation Room photo. The newspaper released a statement saying, “Our editorial policies are guided by a Rabbinical Board and because of laws of modesty, does not allow for the publishing of photos of women.” [Lilith blog]

Sarah Seltzer reported on why “Slutwalks” are sweeping the globe. First started in Toronto, Slutwalks combat the notion that women who dress like “sluts” are asking to be raped. [AlterNet]

Parenting columnist Marjorie Ingall shared why standardized testing is “antithetical to Jewish values.” [Tablet Magazine]

Friend of Lilith Chanel Dubofsky explained how volunteering at Planned Parenthood on Shabbat provided her with a meaningful Jewish experience. [The Sisterhood]

Elmira Bayrasli explained the Twitter gender gap and why women are under-represented in the OpEd sections of major newspapers. [Forbes]

A Texas high school cheerleader was kicked off her cheerleading squad after refusing to cheer for her rapist, who played on the school’s basketball team. After losing a court case against the school, she has been ordered to reimburse the school $45,000 in legal fees and was denied an appeal case by the U.S. Supreme Court. [Huffington Post]

AlterNet named the 10 worst states to be a woman. [AlterNet]

Link Roundups

May 8, 2011 by Jill Finkelstein

Link Roundup: Mother's Day Edition

Welcome to this week’s installment of Lilith’s Link Roundup. Each week we post Jewish and feminist highlights from around the web. If there’s anything you want to be sure we know about, email us or leave a message in the comments section below.

Rabbi Jason Miller of Detroit, Michigan shares how elevating female rabbis into leadership roles benefits Jewish community. [The Daily Rabbi]

On Tuesday, U.S. Representative Pete Stark introduced a new bill, called the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, which would “prohibit discrimination in adoption or foster care placements based on the sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status of any prospective adoptive or foster parent, or the sexual orientation or gender identity of the child involved.” [Huffington Post]

In honor of Yom HaShoa, Michele Chabin and Galit Breen write about how to teach children about the Holocaust. [The Sisterhood] & [TC Jewfolk]

With all the false information floating around recently, the Guttmacher Institute released a short video with facts about abortion in the United States. [Jezebel]

On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of H.R.3, the No Tax Payer Funding for Abortion Act, which has raised concerns about how it would affect private insurance policies. If passed, H.R.3 would deny small businesses from receiving tax credits if their employee health benefits cover abortions and prevent women from using their tax benefits to pay for abortions. [Ms. Magazine]

And now a special Mother’s Day roundup:

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the launch of the Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA), a program designed to send information about maternal health to women in developing countries via cell phone messages. [Women Deliver]

Tamar Fox explains the significance of Mother’s Day falling on the same day as Israel’s Memorial Day just two and a half years after losing her mother to cancer. [Tablet Magazine]

From the Lilith archives: Learn about how these women chose an unconventional approach to parenting. [D-I-Y Parenthood]

Link Roundups

April 29, 2011 by Jill Finkelstein

Link Roundup: Working Women

Welcome to this week’s installment of Lilith’s Link Roundup. Each week we post Jewish and feminist highlights from around the web. If there’s anything you want to be sure we know about, email us or leave a message in the comments section below.

The 2010 U.S. census revealed that, for the first time, women have surpassed men in obtaining advanced degrees. [Yahoo News]

Oklahoma State Representative Sally Kern came under fire after making derogatory statements about minorities and women not wanting to work hard. She claimed that a wage gap exists because women are not as committed to working as men and would rather spend more time at home. She has since apologized. [NewsOK]

A new study reported that the median annual salary of women doctors is $65,000 less than that of men doctors, resulting in a $2.3 million wage gap over the course of 35 years. The study claims women tend to choose lower paying specialties, work in smaller firms, and work fewer hours. [Forbes]

A recent college graduate shares that even young women worry about work-family balance when beginning their careers. [Susie B]

Sarah Seltzer writes about the sacrifices that come along with wearing professional-looking high heels. [The Sisterhood]

In the latest Women’s Roundtable Podcast, a collaboration between Lilith and The Forward’s Sisterhood blog, we take a look at the importance of fashion to Jewish women today, and how Passover rituals are connected to feminist consciousness. [Lilith Blog]

Haviva Ner-David reviews In Her Voice: An Illuminated Book of Prayers for Jewish Women. [Jerusalem Post]

A proposed bill in Louisiana would ban all abortions- even in cases of rape, incest, and endangerment of the mother. The bill would also charge women who receive abortions and doctors who perform them with “feticide,” which currently carries a jail sentence of 15 years at hard labor. [Mother Jones]

Link Roundups

April 22, 2011 by Jill Finkelstein

Link Roundup: Earth Day and Orthodox Women

Welcome to this week’s installment of Lilith’s Link Roundup. Each week we post Jewish and feminist highlights from around the web. If there’s anything you want to be sure we know about, email us or leave a message in the comments section below.

Newsweek released its 2011 list of America’s 50 Most Influential Rabbis. The list included 13 women, which is more than the past two years’ lists combined.  The increase of women is like due to the addition of Abigail Pogrebin to the selection committee, which was previously made up of men. [The Sisterhood]

Ms. Magazine and the Feminist Majority Foundation launched No More Excuses!, a new campaign that urges the FBI to remove the term “forcible” from its definition of rape. [Ms. Magazine]

In response to last week’s New York Times article about the prevalence of eating disorders in the Orthodox community, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach writes about the growing pressure that young women in the community face to be thin in order to get married. Many matchmakers prefer girls who wear size 0-4. [Huffington Post]

In honor of Earth Day, Justin Branch gives an introduction to Ecofeminism. [Canonball]

Ecofeminism is especially prominent in developing countries, like Jordan, where women have become more self-sufficient by using solar energy to make their villages more sustainable. [Green Prophet]

Doree Lewak describes the problem Orthodox women face during Passover when it comes to their beauty routine. Women have to refrain from beauty products that contain non-Kosher for Passover ingredients, however the governing board of rabbis releases an annual list of “chametz-free” personal care items. [Huffington Post]

Lilith blogger Maya Bernstein writes about experiencing moments versus preserving memories. [Lilith Blog]

Link Roundups

April 15, 2011 by Jill Finkelstein

Link Roundup: Passover and Freedom

Welcome to this week’s installment of Lilith’s Link Roundup. Each week we post Jewish and feminist highlights from around the web. If there’s anything you want to be sure we know about, email us or leave a message in the comments section below.

On Tuesday, women around the United States observed National Equal Pay Day. The day marked how far into the year women must work for their earnings to match what men earned in 2010. [National Committee on Pay Equity]

Many women’s rights activists, like Marlo Thomas, shared a feeling of frustration for having to observe yet another Equal Pay Day as the wage gap has only reduced by 18 cents over the past 40 years. [Huffington Post]

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate rejected a measure to defund Planned Parenthood just moments after the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of it. However, not all went as planned. As Katha Pollitt points out, “the final budget cuts Title X, the federal family-planning program, by $17 million.” [The Nation]

A new study revealed that contraceptive use is the norm among religious women. [Guttmacher Institute]

Is voting immodest? Jewish women in Crown Heights are banned from voting for the Jewish Community Council, which received $1.9 million in government grants in 2008. [City Room]

Today is National Day of Silence, a day in which many U.S. students take a vow of silence to bring attention to anti-LGBT bullying. [GLSEN]

This week, France enacted a new law prohibits women from wearing any kind of face covering, including a niqab, or full-faced veil, in public. The new policy has become a hot topic among feminist on whether or not it is a violation or protection of women’s rights. [Sisterhood Blog]

(more…)

Link Roundups

April 8, 2011 by Jill Finkelstein

Link Roundup: Sexual Assault Awareness Month & Government Shutdown

Welcome to this week’s installment of Lilith’s Link Roundup. Each week we post Jewish and feminist highlights from around the web. If there’s anything you want to be sure we know about, email us or leave a message in the comments section below.

On Tuesday, Florida Representative Debbie Wasserman Shultz was named as the new Chair of the Democratic National Committee, making her the third woman (and second Jewish woman) to ever hold the position. [Politico]

‎Jewish Women International released a new resource for Jewish clergy called Embracing Justice: A Guide for Jewish Clergy on Domestic Abuse. The guide provides rabbis and cantors with information and skills to support families experiencing domestic violence. [JWI]

In honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and the Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the launch of a National Sexual Assault Awareness Campaign for colleges and K-12 schools. The campaign will provide schools with guidelines about their responsibilities to prevent sexual assault, support victims, and pursue adequate disciplinary measures against perpetrators. [Ms. Magazine] [NPR]

The U.S. Government has until midnight tonight to reach a decision on budget cuts or face a major shutdown of all “non-essential” government operations. Democrats and Republicans have remained deadlocked over Planned Parenthood funding. [Huffington Post]

In honor of Hadassah’s 100^th anniversary, Marjorie Ingall visited the organization’s archive of cookbooks to see what they revealed about the “interplay between Jewishness and Americanness,” as well as regional differences, among Jewish women over the past 90 years. [Tablet Magazine]