Israeli Women´s Struggles in Peace and War

Israeli women’s struggles in peace and war

Israel represents a unique case, since Military service became mandatory for Israeli women soon after the creation of the State in 1948. Although conscription of women is compulsory only in recent decades has the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) allowed women to join combat units – and that, on a voluntary basis. Removal of the combat exclusion for women provokes many questions and women have to cope with various challenges in the patriarchal masculine organization.

Simultaneously, Israel has a vibrant and creative women’s movements and since the late 1970s Israeli, Arab and Palestinian women have worked together to foster dialogue and raise awareness to the cost of militarization and protest against the occupation.

In this lecture Dr. Ayelet Harel-Shalev and Dr. Sarai Aharoni from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, will discuss feminism and gender equality in the context of war and peace in contemporary Israel. 

Moderator: Silja Bára Ómarsdóttir, lecturer in Political Science

The seminar will take place in English and is open to all