LA EVENT: Loosening the Grip: How are Israelis combating the ultra-Orthodox hold on Israel?

10/29/2009 - 8:00amJoin the New Israel Fund and Susan Lebow on Thursday, October 29, 2009 to meet Shira Ben-Sasson Furstenberg, Religious Pluralism Coordinator at Shatil (NIF's action arm), and learn about what is happening today to create a more pluralistic and tolerant Israel

 

Loosening the Grip: How are Israelis combating the ultra-Orthodox hold on Israel?

Despite their minority status, Israel's ultra-Orthodox wield immense control over what it means to be Jewish in Israel:

• Gender-segregated public bus lines, in which women are forced to sit at the back of the bus
• De-facto segregation of Ethiopian and Mizrachi students in some government-funded Orthodox schools
• Denial of marriage, burial and other personal rights to those who can't prove their Jewish status

WHAT: Breakfast and Discussion with Shira
Ben-Sasson Furstenberg

WHEN: Thursday, October 29, 2009 at
8:00 am

WHERE: The home of Susan Lebow
12837 Highwood St
Los Angeles, CA 90049

RSVP: meretzusa.la@gmail.com

Shira Ben-Sasson Furstenberg's work as NIF's Religious Pluralism Coordinator focuses on promoting Jewish Pluralism in Israel, struggling for 'freedom of' and 'freedom from' Religion. Born and raised in a liberal Orthodox family in Jerusalem, Shira was an officer in the IDF and received her BA and MA in cultural anthropology from the Hebrew University. Prior to joining Shatil, she worked for five years in the Knesset Research and Information Center, focusing on education and culture. She is married to Yair, currently a Tikva fellow at Princeton University, working on his PHD in Talmud and classics; they have two sons and a daughter.

Co-Sponsored by Meretz USA and Americans for Peace Now