Reply to ?Comments on Brandow's ?ideology? myth, and reality: Sex equality in Israel?

Abstract

It is regrettable t h a t p r o b a b l y because of lack of knowledge of Eng l i sh Bar-Yosef and Lieblich, the authors of the critique in this issue of S e x Ro le s , did not read my article carefully. Their criticism appears to be an effort to bypass my research in order to provide their own additional information on the legal and political reforms of the state in regard to the status of women. Although I briefly reviewed the formal status of women, the major argument, as stated in my article, was to show that the failure to establish sex equality is located in the very ideology that articulates the necessity for the emancipation of women, not at the level of their legal and political status. In fact, the point was made that, although many formal discriminatory practices have been abolished, attitudes toward women remain basically the same. With regard to criticism of the substantive aspects of the paper, it must be stated at the outset that the comments of Bar-Yosef and Lieblich are negated by the research findings of several Israeli writers and sociologists.