by Jill Finkelstein

Link Roundup: 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence

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.

To mark 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, Lilith shared some of our articles on domestic violence in the Jewish community, including “He Beat Me Black and Blue: Yiddish Songs of Family Violence” from the Spring 2011 issue and “Wife Abuse, Drugs, and Silence” from the Summer 1998 issue.

Yesterday, U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy and Mike Crapo introduced a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Though the new bill cuts the current law’s funding by 19%, it features new measures to reduce violence against women, including “improved training for law enforcement, victim service providers and court personnel; strengthening of tribal jurisdiction over crimes committed on Native land; expansion of federal housing protections and improved means of tracking funds.” [Ms. Magazine]

A new study, conducted by the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality’s committee for advancing the status of women, revealed that 83% of Tel Aviv women report being sexually harassed at least once in their lifetimes. In addition, the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel reported a dramatic increase in sexual assault complaints following former President Moshe Katsav’s rape trial. [Haaretz] & [Ynet]

Newsweek writer Michelle Goldberg explained why Gloria Allred, the famous feminist lawyer and champion of women’s rights, is seen as national joke. [Tablet Magazine]

In honor of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the Women’s International Zionist Organization (WIZO) held a coffin march in memory of Israel’s domestic abuse victims. The event’s participants marched with 24 coffins to represent the reported 24 women who lost their lives over the past year as a result of domestic abuse. [Jerusalem Post]

The Knesset has already taken steps to improve issues related to domestic violence. Last Monday, the Labor, Welfare and Health Committee preliminary approved a bill that would “increase financial benefits for women taking refuge in state-run shelters.” In addition, during Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting, Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat attributed domestic violence to the exclusion of women. [Jerusalem Post] & [Haaretz]

Forward writer Renee Ghert-Zand interviewed Lilith Fiction Editor Yona Zeldis McDonough about her latest children’s book, The Cats In The Doll Shop. [The Sisterhood]

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