The pitter-patter of children’s feet hit the sun-bathed dust of the basketball court. The systematic rhythm of the ball hits the ground in a slow then fast pace, slow than fast again while classmates shout for the ball to be passed to them. Off to the side of the makeshift court stands a teacher who acts as though to be following the game. Occasionally she will shout words that just get lost in the air between her mouth and the ears of the children that did not hear her. As the intense game progresses, a girl falls down into the dust, ripping her purple stockings and scrapes her knee. Quickly, the teacher rushes to swoop the crying child in her arms and kisses the wound.

Although Gesher al Hawadi appears to be like any other elementary school, it is one of the most unique schools in the world in that it is the only school where both Jewish children and Arabic children can learn side-by-side in an Arabic neighborhood. Children gather five days a week to learn mathematics, Hebrew, and Arabic amongst a variety of other topics. They gather to sing together, play together, gossip about One Direction, and vote for student president. The director of the school, Mr. Ali, says he strongly believes that you can keep your identity and culture while learning and respecting your peers. So why does the State of Israel continue to debate on closing down the school? This complicated question requires a complicated answer.

The school music chimes a salsa-like dance song and students rush into the air-conditioned classroom. Arguments over the future team roster fill the air. The teacher writes on the board in both Hebrew and Arabic. She looks to be in her late thirties, wearing a long formal green dress with a matching floral patterned headscarf (called a hijab) around her head. The classroom is made up of 2-person tables arranged in a half circle facing the white board in which the teacher continues her mathematics lesson on proportions. Half of Mrs. Khalida’s class is female. They doodle on their notebooks while humming Selena Gomez’s new song ‘”Com e and Get it” and thoughts of becoming a singer themselves dance around in their head. When asked what they wish to be when they grow up, there were a variety of answers that follow such as lawyer, teacher, or writer. Their ambitions are high and with the

changes that have been occurring in Israel, their goals can very much be a reality.

In 1917, the United States released an Army propaganda poster called “Destroy this Mad Brute” that showed a 12-foot tall black ape with large saliva-dripping fangs. In his right hand the ape holds a bloody broken club with the German word ‘kultur’ written on it. In his left hand he holds a bare chested woman covering her face with her hair indicating a remorseless struggle for freedom. From the industrial take over of Panama to the decolonization of the Philippines, posters such as these have been used for centuries to ignite the sense of women as being damsels in distress in need of a liberator. But is this the experience you see in a classroom of the Gesher al Hawadi school? According to the director of the school, most all of these girls will finish their education and go on to fill non-traditional roles.

The locals in Jerusalem describe Israeli woman as tough and strong. Fifty percent of the student population at Hebrew University is female. Not to mention, Israeli females are required to serve in the military for at least two years. Stories of female success and fame are surfacing. Tzipi Livni is the female Minister of Justice, Weizmann Institute Professor Ada Yonath is female Nobel Laureate in Chemistry and the famous Israeli Natalie

OBJECTIVES. This study seeks to determine if there is indeed a struggle for rights for minority groups, particularly the women in these groups.

QUESTIONS. (1) How do others outside of these minority group perceive their existence, (2) what are some similarities and differences between the women in these minority groups including education, welfare, family roles and governmental aid and (3) what has the government done that has helped or weakened the status of woman in the society?

METHODS. Thirty-eight interviews were conducted with Israeli people such as students, shopkeepers, professors, etc.

RESULTS. The most prevalent struggles for women in Israeli minority groups were the following: the rearrangement of family structure for Ethiopian Jews, educational gaps for Arab Israelis, and religious constraints for Ultra Orthodox Jews.

CONCLUSION. Although progress from previous studies is evident, eyes are on the future generations to make significant changes in regards to women and minority rights in Israel.

WOMEN OF MINORITY GROUPS IN ISRAEL:THE CONTEXT IN WHICH THEY LIVE AND

THE ATTITUDES TOWARDS THEM By Britta Johnson, University of Illinois, LAS Global Studies

WOMEN OF MINORITY GROUPS IN ISRAEL

Portman’s premiere of Thor: The Dark World in October 2013 had grossed over 629 million USD worldwide.

The difference between the school and these successful women is that Tzipi Livni, Ada Yonath and Natalie Portman are all Jewish. It is not just the Arabic girls at Gesher al Hawadi that share a different fate than the Jewish girls but also the Ethiopians and Ultra Orthodox Jewish girls who are falling between the cracks of the feminist movement in Israel. Bias is not limited towards woman but is a direct reflection of minority issues that arise in a Jewish State.

Discrimination against minority groups is also persistent and evident in almost every society across the globe. For example, the 2014 Winter Olympics are coming to mountainous town of Krasnaya Polyana where the ethnic group of Circassian was nearly eliminated in the 1800s by the Russian Empire. Tibetan ethnic groups are struggling for basic rights since it’s subjection to China in 1949. Indigenous Mayans continue to face racism and segregation 400 years after the conquest of Guatemala by the Spanish.

On the contrary, when we look at minority groups labeled successful in their fight for human rights such as African Americans in the United States or Kayapo in Brazil you will notice a significant pattern. That pattern is their involvement of woman in the fight for freedom, justice, and equal rights. In America, Rosa Parks and Harriet Tubman are proficiently known African American women who helped in the fight for racial equality. In Myanmar (also known as Burma), Aung San Suu Kyi is getting ready to run for the presidency in 2015. She is best known for her

fight for democracy since Burma negotiated independence from the British Empire.

Therefore, rather than serving as the poster child of the minority’s struggle for rights in Israel, this study looks into depth of woman serving as the solution and the result of ignoring a large chunk of the population capable of brilliant thoughts and ideas. On the surface, Israel looks to be doing well in its advancement of women’s rights but exploring the cracks in this false foundation allows for a better understanding of the repression within the minority groups in Israel.

This StudyThe minority groups in focus are

the Ultra Orthodox Jews, Ethiopian Jews and the native Arabs. The main objective of this study is to determine if there is indeed a struggle for rights for minority groups, particularly the women in these groups. This can be analyzed by answering the following questions: (1) how do others outside of these minority group perceive their existence, (2) what are some similarities and differences between the women in these minority groups including education, welfare, family roles and governmental aid and (3) what has the government done that has helped or weakened the status of woman in the society.

History of Minorities in IsraelIn 1896, Theodor Herzl published a

pamphlet entitled “The Jewish State”. He pointed out the fact that anti-Semitism can be felt everywhere. Anti-Semitism is prejudice against Jews for reasons connected to their heritage. It is felt in the upper class as discomfort, gives the middle class grave anxieties and the lower classes are in complete despair (Herzl 1896). Herzl created a plan in which to address these issues. His ideas would start a movement to develop a Jewish nation. This movement would be known as Zionism.

This movement ran into three major barriers. The first was Orthodox Jews. The principal argument being a theological one, a political effort to lead Jews out of exile would be forcing the end and violated the vow to wait for the Messiah (Segev 2001). A Jew not living in Israel is commonly referred to as Diaspora meaning “in exile”. When the Jewish people were separated at the distraction of the Second Temple, an issue arose since most of the culture was originally spoken. Almost nothing was written and distributed to the separated groups until the Talmud. In addition to the Torah, the Talmud was created to protect the Jewish identity until they could reunite once again. Ultra Orthodox Jews, also

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known as Haredi Jews, view themselves as the most religiously authentic group of Jews accurately following the Talmud. To the State of Israel, their purpose is currently to safeguard and preserve the Jewish faith. The next barrier was the argument of what made one a Zionist. Could someone be a Zionist and not live in Israel? Could someone not be a Zionist whilst living in Israel? These simple questions become more and more complex as you try to answer them. Edwin Montagu, an English Senator expresses his concern of being a Jew in England, claiming that the movement threatened to hinder the struggle to become equal citizens in the countries in which they already occupy (Segev 2001). In other words, countries could use Israel as a way to get rid of their Jewish population. The final barrier was that Arabs, who already occupied the land.

This study chooses to use the term “Arab” to prevent association and/or bias towards any political parties and also encompass those who identify strongly as Israeli (which is one focus of this study). However, it is important to note that most Arab populations that reside in Israel like to be referred to as Palestinians. This is because it distinguishes themselves from Israel as well as other Arab nations who speak a different dialect of Arabic and follow a different government structure due to the land previously being ruled by the Turkish Empire (Ryan 2013; Khalid 2013). The spread of Zionism caused many Jewish people to migrate to this land (called “making alliyah”) producing the minority of Arabic people.

With the strong aid of the British, Israel declared independence in 1948. The United Nations General Assembly: Resolution 194 states “We hereby proclaim the establishment of the Jewish State in Palestine, to be called Medinath Yisrael (The State of Israel).” To the Arab minority, this day would be known as Nakba. Not only did the postal stamps change their name from “Palestine” to “Israel”, it also marked the beginning of the destruction of Arab homes, cemeteries, schools and ultimately livelihoods. Young able Jewish men were first preferred and the arrivals of elderly and ill people were turned away (Segev 2001). In a few cases, Israel sent Jewish people back to Nazi Germany (Segev 2001). The Zionist movement also brought with it the European culture. Former Prime Minister of Israel, Ben-Gurison, said, “Our roots are in the East and we are returning to the East, but we bare with us the culture of Europe”. These restrictions did not last long. The Holocaust and the attractiveness of other countries forced Israel to free immigration to all Jews due to the lack of interest from the shrinking preferable Jewish population (Segev 2001). As a result, minorities became a prominent issue in the newly formed nation.

The first wave of Ethiopian Jews to come to Israel was called Operation Moses in 1986 and the second was Operation Solomon in 1991 (Ben-Eliezar 2007). Until the end of the 19th century, there was no contact with other Jews outside of Ethiopia creating differences in their Jewish aspect (Ben-Eliezar 2007).

Ethiopian Jews were, therefore, not considered ‘fully Jewish’ in the eyes of Orthodox Judaism (Ben-Eliezar 2007).

Most of the migrants were given a more Israeli name and sent to a religious boarding school. This was the state’s response to try and integrate the Ethiopian society to becoming ‘true Israeli’. In some institutions, 70% of the students were Ethiopian (Ben-Eliezar 2007). This causes segregation instead of the desired assimilation.

As a result, Ethiopians were at the bottom of the class ladder even into the second generation. In addition to doubts in relation to their Jewishness and their cultural distance, there was an instant visible difference. Their skin color created issues for the population as well. For example, in 1996 blood donated by Ethiopians Jews were thrown out due to a fear that they were carriers of the HIV virus (Ben-Eliezar 2007).

So why would a predominately European country open its doors to extremely different culture groups of people? One theory is that the conflicts with the native Arab population that refused to leave would need a creative solution. Ethiopian Jews were ‘Jewish enough’ to threaten the existence of the Arab population for living space, jobs, and status. This would not be the first time that this tactic has been used against Muslims. A study done in 2012 by Tessa Winkelmann about the sexual geography of the American Empire in the Philippines claims this has happened before. She writes and I quote,

“In the early years of the American occupation of the Philippines, interracial Filipino- American couples were offered opportunities to ‘homestead’ in newly formed agricultural colonies in Mindanao. These couples and other Christian populations were encouraged to settle in the southern region of the Philippines, furthering the colonial plan of outnumbering the local Muslim residents with non-Muslim residents.”

Interracial Christian couples where frowned upon in the northern part of the Philippines but they were ‘Christian enough’ to outnumber the Muslim population that resided in the south.

In addition to following the historical politics of minorities in Israel, studies have been conducted to track the progress of the women within these minority groups. A study done by Nancy Dowty in 1972 yielded astonishing results. An Israeli women would fill her potentialities by bearing and rearing as many children as possible, African women married young (approximately around 16 years old) and Arab women were almost always illiterate. Dowty ends her study by stating, “Since modernization there is progression to equal rights to higher levels of education, decline in religiosity and smaller planned families.” This current study done 41 years later holds great potential to examining if Dowty’s predictions are correct and more importantly, what changes still need to be addressed within the society of Israel.

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WOMEN OF MINORITY GROUPS IN ISRAEL

METHODSStudy Site

This study was conducted mainly in the city of Jerusalem, Israel and its surrounding areas. Jerusalem is located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea. Interviews were conducted with Hebrew University students, shopkeepers, people on the bus, etc. There was an excursion to Tel Aviv and Ashdod to interview immigrants as well as a visit to the Gesher al Hawadi School for Arab and Jewish students.Experimental Design

This study was conducted using mainly interviews. There were a total of thirty-eight interviews collected. All of the names in the study have been changed to protect the identity of interviewees. Interviews with people of the general population (shopkeepers, students, etc.) were conducted using the following general guidelines:(1) Record approximate age, gender, ethnicity and religion(2) What are their views towards each of the selected minority

groups? This includes Ultra Orthodox Jews, Ethiopian Jews, and Arabs.

(3) If a minority group, how do they feel about their current situation?a. Do they feel suppressed compared the majority

population?b. What are their views on the Israeli government?c. What are their views on the majority population?d. How does their life differ from their parents?e. Do they feel connected to any of the other minority

groups in the struggle for rights?(4) If not in a minority group, what do they feel the government

should do about the minority situation? What has been done already?

If the person was an authority figure (executive or director of a company or school) then they were asked overarching questions such as:

(1) What is the future like for woman in education?(2) What proportions of classrooms are minority students

and/or woman?(3) What has the government done to address issues of the

minority population?(4) What experiences do they have working with minority

woman?

RESULTSThis study found that each minority group has more

differences than similarities. In fact, at times it seemed that the only thing these groups had in common is that they were minorities. The most prevalent struggles for women in Israeli

minority groups were the following: the rearrangement of family structure for Ethiopian Jews, educational gaps for Arab Israelis, and religious constraints for Ultra Orthodox Jews.

The views of the Israeli majority on these minority populations varied greatly. Generally there is a positive attitude towards Ethiopian Jews, a neutral opinion of Ultra Orthodox Jews and a negative attitude towards Arab citizens.

The government has been struggling to tackle the issues in regards to women within minority groups and this study find it to be an unsuccessful battle. Boarding schools set up for the assimilation of Ethiopians Jews caused further segregation from the majority group and within the family generations. Exemption for mandatory military service for the Ultra Orthodox Jews has lead to several arguments in regard to the taxes paid to fund their way of life. Not to mention, the political conflict between the Arabic population and Israeli government has no end in sight. The education gaps between Arab and Jewish students are astounding.

Getting to these major conclusions was not an easy task. Most of the interviews I conducted at the beginning of the study were thrown out because they lacked the information that I needed. It was not until half way through the study that patterns started to emerge and I was able to ask questions that would yield the answers I required for my study objectives. I learned that asking my questions straightforward like a survey resulted in one-sentence answers with no essence or character. I would first start a conversation in relation to the person and use something that they said to inadvertently ask questions in regards to my study. For example, I would tell a shopkeeper they had a lovely shop and would ask how long they have worked here and about their family. I will ask if he or she likes living in Israel and why. This is usually my gateway to asking about minorities that reside in Israel and leads to a conversation instead of a short lifeless answer. When someone mentioned something I have not heard before, I will bring it up in my next interview to see if there is a common pattern or if it is just a dead end. Eventually, after fifteen days of interviews, patterns emerged and I was able to draw conclusion based on the opinions, perspectives and knowledge of the people I had contact with.

DISCUSSIONThroughout the study there was an emphasis to interview

people pertaining to the objective questions even during time constraints and other questions could not be asked. The questions were the following: (1) how do others outside of these minority group perceive their existence, (2) what are some similarities and differences between the women in these minority groups including education, welfare, family roles and governmental aid and (3) what has the government done that has helped or weakened the status of woman in the society? These complex questions yield complex answers and are different for each minority group in which the study focused on.

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WOMEN OF MINORITY GROUPS IN ISRAEL

Ethiopian JewsSweat soaked backs and fleshy bones dominated the

diseased infested refugee camps in Sudan during the first major wave of Ethiopian migration to Israel in 1986. Amongst the 5,000 Jews who were able to get accepted into Israel was Tony. He says and I quote,

“I was six years old when I immigrated to Israel. My family and I walked across the desert into Sudan. We had to hide our Jewishness from the locals until we could make it to a refugee camp. From there I was chosen to be flown to Israel and I have not seen my family since.”

Tony currently lives in Ashdod, Israel where one-third of the entire city consists of immigrants. The city is divided into 16 quarters, 3 of which are Ethiopian quarters (Sing 2013). The most difficult challenge within this minority group was not migration or racism but the challenges faced within the inner family structure.

In Ethiopia, the family structure is very patriarchal meaning it is controlled by men. It was a privilege to be a boy and naturally you would assume the roles of leaders of the community. This left the females to doing the grunt work and receiving the education. When migrating to Israel this became an immediate problem in a self-proclaimed democratic country. In addition to culture shock of a westernized country, the woman took the jobs to support the family. The children became more adept to the new societal ways, technology and language. The parents would end up relying on the children to help them get around. This gave the children and females more power over the family.

To the community there is sympathy and slight annoyance. Several teachers interviewed mentioned how there are disciplinary issues with the younger generation of Ethiopians and there was a larger need for tutoring. Dr. Maza from the Weizmann institute commented, “There is a large issue with the Ethiopian population. Girls tend to do better because they must prove themselves whereas the boys are important just by being boys.” The Weizmann Institute has only one PhD student in its program and it can be expected to take at least two generations to see a noticeable change in this pattern (Maza 2013). Most commoners will respond to the question about Ethiopian Jews along the lines of “I am not racist, I love black Jews, and they make great workers”.

The government provided services to help assimilate Ethiopians into the culture but most will argue that it has segregated them even more from the majority. The government does, however, recognize women as the able body caretakers and will provide the welfare checks in the woman’s name (Tim 2013). The government has also taken strong initiative to terminate the colossal human trafficking problem in Tel Aviv. Most of the

women that end up in prostitution are originally from Ethiopia or the surrounding areas and travel through Sudan before arriving in Israel.

Compared to other immigrants to Israel, Ethiopians face unique challenges that cause woman to be the forefront of assimilation into Israeli culture. This is most evident in family structure and in education. Nevertheless, despite these challenges, Ethiopians hold onto the argument that they compile the best tasting humus in Israel and unite at the dinner table.

Israeli Arabs Two girls covered in long-patterned headdresses wave as

a new Volkswagen passes by them along side the trash lined streets that badly needs repaved. The Volkswagen pulls up to a gated house with a flat roof and constructed of sandy colored Jerusalem stone. The Arab village of Moutaz Dabash is located within East Jerusalem and sits only minutes away from the famous Old City. Just a few steps inside the house are a display of flavored bread slices, pretzels and a flat screen television attached to an Xbox. The living room is adorned with luxurious coaches with decorative items on the coffee tables. To the left are fluffy red couches accompanied with an architectural archway. To the right, there are soft green couches, both set with matching pillows and looked as though they have never been sat on before. The wife of the host, who was once a lawyer, came to g reet her guests then returned to cooking the meal with her daughters. For traditional guests, the separate colored living rooms would be used for separating the woman from the men. This study found that the women of the Arab minority are as complex as a mathematical fractal. Understanding the over lying pattern requires a microscopic look at the smaller patterns.

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WOMEN OF MINORITY GROUPS IN ISRAEL

There are two central types of Arabic populations in Israel, Muslims and Christians. Both are unique because while most Jews will migrate to the State of Israel but Arab citizens were are born and raised in the nation. The Christians are unique in the fact that they are a minority within a minority. Arab Christians are discriminated by the majority population due to the percussion of Jews by the Christians and by the Muslim population due to the fact Christianity is a western religion (Badri 2013). The only way to advance as a minority is to be better than everyone else somehow. With fewer children and a stronger emphasis on education, Arab Christians tend to be doing better economically than Arab Muslims in Israel. An Arab Christian woman marrying an Arab Muslim boy is practically unheard of in the State of Israel.

Arab Muslims seem to be falling through the cracks when it comes to education. Most students in Arab schools are women and some sources claim that 90 percent of students are women in Arab schools. One conceivable explanation of this is the introduction of the Internet to remote villages (Ben 2013). At Universities however, there is traditionally a 50-percent male and 50-percent female Arab student population ratio. Many Arab Muslims will leave the country and spend their educational finances in Jordan to finish their higher education since instruction in Israel is traditionally English or Hebrew (Ben 2013). If an Arab student would want to attend Hebrew University, one of the most preeminent universities in the State of Israel, they would have to spend two years in preparatory school learning Hebrew before entering.

The struggle for education does not end there. Abstract and critical thinking tends to be difficult for the Arabic students since they are formally taught to memorize and regurgitate materials (Maza 2013). The Teacher Training Institute for Eastern Jerusalem (PISGA) has a very low achievement level and believes cultural differences in learning may be to blame.

Cultural differences in family roles are dissimilar in the north and south of Israel. The north tends to be more liberal in its ideas of woman roles in the household, while the south tends to be more conservative and traditional (Gyro 2013). In the north, it is more common to see both the mother and father working to

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WOMEN OF MINORITY GROUPS IN ISRAEL

support the family. In the south, it is more traditional for a woman to get an education to better herself and then return to a stay-at-home lifestyle. In Jerusalem, there is much more tension and hostility compared to neighboring villages (Yalah 2013). One explanation for this could be the installment of the ‘Green Line’ that separated the Arabs of east Jerusalem from the rest of the population (Yalah 2013).

The outsider view the Arab population is very mixed but mostly negative believing that the Arabic population chooses to live in misery. Fear and political violence tends to follow negative comments about the Arab population and are usually directed at the Arab men more so than the woman. Due to the close-knit community structure it becomes a barrier when trying to bridge the gap of understanding between the Arab minority lifestyles and the majority population. Ironically however, lots of secular Jews believe they have more in common with a secular Arab than an Ultra Orthodox Jew.

The men almost always do the talks between the Jewish and Arabic populations while the women serve the tea. This protocol is not just practiced in Israel but in many surrounding countries. For example, in Egypt women who protested with the men were abused, beaten, and told “protesting is a man’s job” (Hip 2013). The government has been trying to negotiate with the Palestinian authority ever since the State of Israel became independent. These negotiations are done behind doors and thus difficult for the general public to follow. The general Arab public protests the government by not voting in elections because voting would require acknowledgement of the Israeli government. The consequences of this action however had a major backlash on the community as a whole. Not voting in the elections caused unknowledgeable people to represent their community in government which lead to poor living conditions, less community programs, and continued misery.

The struggles of the Arab community hold distinctiveness compared to other groups because they are native to the land and have gotten attention from the United Nations Human Rights Watch. Despite these struggles however, they still gather around the table and claim to make the best humus in the State of Israel. Ultra Orthodox Jews

The sun is shining bright, traffic is honking its vigorous tune, and the clamor of feet across pavement passes with purpose. Only a few feet away, a 19-meter high limestone giant subsists. A modestly dressed mother with two of her seven children walks up the massive barricade and together they fall silent. Tears rolling down her red cheeks, as her hands extend to touch the towering wall. She prays for several minutes as the sun beats down on her. Individuals filled with the same compassion surround her. Eventually, filled with emotion she touches her head to the wall and continues to pray. As she wipes the salty tears from her face, she crams a tiny hand written note into an available crack in the

wall and starts to slowly walk backwards with her two squirming children until she reaches the plaza. She then turns around and goes about her day passing a discrete ‘Western Wall’ sign posted in Hebrew, English and then Arabic.

The Western Wall, or more appropriately called the Wailing Wall, is one of the last ruminants of the Second Temple

whose destruction in 70CE is the pivotal motive behind the separation of the Jewish people.

Slapped on postcards, magnets and t-shirts, the Western Wall has become a symbol of Jerusalem. Looking closer at this memorabilia you might notice an important detail. Women pray on a separate and smaller subset of the wall than the men. This separation runs deep within the Jewish culture and more specifically, the Ultra Orthodox Jewish tradition. This study found that Ultra Orthodox Jewish women endure in the most unique way of all the minorities previously discussed.

Like the other minorities, Ultra Orthodox Jewish women take the lead once again in the field of education, but this time it is not because of culture shock or the need to prove their worth. Ultra Orthodox Jewish men hold a very important role for the family. Their duty is to bring about spiritual protection to the family. This involves a strict following of the Torah, studying religious texts, praying, and memorizing verses. Due to the strictness of this lifestyle, complications have come into play when these men want to get a job. For example, Ultra Orthodox Jewish men are not suppose to talk to or hear from a woman that is not his relative or wife. The need for money is so great in the Ultra Orthodox Jewish community that it is becoming more common for a woman to get an education and then take on the role of an educator.

The Ultra Orthodox Jewish community is centered on the concept of ‘group thinking’ and collective responsibility. Therefore, on paper a woman may seem to be wealthy but that

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money is put into a collective family allowance including extended family expenditures of grandparents, aunts, cousins, etc. This makes it challenging for a woman who no longer wishes to be a part of the Ultra Orthodox Jewish lifestyle.

The perception of the general Israeli society on women in Ultra Orthodox Judaism ranges from one extreme to another. Some people strongly believe their practices are morally wrong while others view them as protectors of the faith. The government, which majorly consists of Ultra Orthodox Jews, has several programs put into place to help the Ultra Orthodox Jews maintain their lifestyle. For example, they are exempt from mandatory military service. Computer coding jobs have been created and adapted to the Ultra Orthodox Jewish lifestyle with no women and special prayer times.

Women of the Ultra Orthodox Jewish communities are essential to the foundation of their society but are still expected to sit at the back of the bus, are not allowed divorce without the husband’s permission, and are obligatory to dress with long skirts, sleeves and hair wrapped. In addition to being a financially struggling minority, it can be strongly argued that Ultra Orthodox women suffer extreme circumstances in the Jewish State of Israel. But at the end of the day, they still claim to make the best humus.Limitations

It is important to note that there are several factors that contribute to a person’s opinion. Some of these factors include: age, ethnicity, culture, and gender. Comparing data of people with similar a similar age, ethnicity, culture and gender cross nationally would require a mass survey, which was not within this study’s time constrain. This study assumed that the sample of people surveyed represented the group’s general opinion.

This study was qualitative and not quantitative. Therefore, naturally there are personal opinions sprinkled within the paper, and this should be known the to reader to take with a grain of salt. A longer study would be required to filter out personal opinions and initial perspectives. Future Directions

There is little known about what causes the gaps in learning between Muslim Arabs and Jewish Israelis. Technology is currently being introduced to perhaps help the situation and give teachers (who are mostly female) tools to teach their kids tradable skills and keep them attentive to continuing education since discipline is also a rising issue.

As technology creates a more globalized world, understanding the affects of globalization in Ultra Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods could help predict the flexibility of the culture, especially as Israel struggles to become a nation recognized by all

countries. Based on the information from this study, it could be plausible that the women could play an important role in representing them on a global scale.

Technology has been one prediction for the large generation gaps within the Ethiopian communities in Israel but no studies have come up with a solid conclusion. Not only have woman’s roles changed within the family structure of the first generation but also the woman of each generation has their own culture within a culture. This would be an interesting topic to investigate to understand the long-term effects of immigration as the world becomes more and more integrated.

CONCLUSIONA billboard ad was posted just outside of Jerusalem

containing a picture of a woman in a bikini holding the desired product for the customer. This did not sit well with the local religious groups, prompting them to tear the exposed woman down. Underneath that ad was another advertisement for the prevention of battered women.

The issue of women’s rights has been getting a lot of attention and as the world becomes more globalized and immigration more evident, should women serve as the poster child for struggling societies or the solution? This study found that women are the driving force behind their society’s fight for rights and/or equality even if they are given little to no credit. Ignoring this large chunk of the population capable of brilliant thoughts and ideas has only scratched the surface of the false foundation that Israel holds in its ‘advancement’ in women’s rights. A nation cannot expect to reach its full potential while ignoring nearly half of its population’s potential.

A Jewish child falls down and scrapes her knee during an innocent basketball game at Gesher al Hausadi. Quickly swooping to her aid is a Muslim woman. Progression to equal rights has advanced since Dowty’s study in 1972 but at a very sluggish pace. Perhaps places such as Gesher al Hawadi elementary school hold the key to positive movements of the future generation, minority rights and the equality for the women within those minority groups.

References and acknowledgments can be found on the original manuscript. Ethiopian and Ultra Orthodox Jewish photos are by Hui Wang. Other photos are by Britta Johnson. Institutional support provided by Dr. Yore Kedem. Questions can be directed toward Britta Johnson at bjjhnsn3@illinois.edu

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