An ultra-orthodox woman performing difference in Israeli academia

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of the performance of religious and gender difference in Israeli academia. As an ultra-Orthodox Jewish woman in Israel, my identity uneasily hovers at the juncture of multiple and intersecting sites of discrimination: of all religious groups, the ultra-Orthodox attract the most opprobrium from Israeli society, being viewed as anachronistic, insular, and anti-Zionist—and females in academia have well-documented challenges to face. Through the medium of autoethnography, I explore what it means to be female and ultra-Orthodox in Israeli academe: the daily journeys between diverse discourse communities, the necessary shifts in rhetorical footing, and how performing gender and religious difference in this society promotes encounters with stereotyping and bias.