Orthodox feminist headed to Oz
THROUGHOUT May and June, internationally renowned Orthodox Jewish feminist Dr Elana Maryles Sztokman will be touring Australia as part of the National Council of Jewish Women of Australia’s (NCJWA) 2016 National Scholar-in-Residence Program.
THROUGHOUT May and June, internationally renowned Orthodox Jewish feminist Dr Elana Maryles Sztokman will be touring Australia as part of the National Council of Jewish Women of Australia’s (NCJWA) 2016 National Scholar-in-Residence Program.
New York born and bred, Sztokman is the founding director of the Centre for Jewish Feminism, an online learning forum for Jewish feminists around the world.
Sztokman has also worked as executive director of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance, a global organisation which aims to bring a range of opportunities to women within the bounds of Orthodox halachah in their communities and beyond.
Now living in Israel, Sztokman is the award-winning author of The Men’s Section: Orthodox Jewish Men in an Egalitarian World, Educating in the Divine Image: Gender Issues in Orthodox Jewish Day Schools, and The War on Women in Israel: A Story of Religious Radicalism and the Women fighting for Freedom.
As part of the NCJWA program, which aims to bring high-profile women to Australia from Israel to share their experience and be a role model for Australian Jewish women, Sztokman will be speaking at various events.
“Elana is an international leader on issues on gender equity in the Jewish world,” NCJWA national president Rysia Rozen told The AJN. “We are very excited to give her the opportunity to speak to Jewish communities around Australia.”
Sztokman will first speak in Perth at the Jewish Community Centre on Wednesday, May 18 about the status of women in Israel today, before heading to a series of events in Melbourne.
Shira Hadasha will host Sztokman for a Shabbat kiddush on Saturday, May 21, while NCJWA and the Jewish Community Council of Victoria will host a joint event at the Blake Street Hebrew Congregation on Sunday, May 22, where Sztokman will address the topic “Bodies, Bodies, Bodies: Gender in Pop Culture”.
Sztokman is making two appearances at the Melbourne Jewish Writers Festival in May, as well as at an event co-hosted by the NCJWA and Unchain My Heart.
Following that, the NCJWA will bring Sztokman to Sydney on Sunday, May 29, where she will speak about Jewish women’s leadership.
Sztokman will also be making appearances in Canberra and Brisbane at events that will focus on women’s rights in Israel and the effect of religion and politics on women in Israel.
ELENORE LEVI
For full details of Sztokman’s appearances, visit www.ncjwa.org.au.
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