Gender, Ethnicity, and Intersectionality: Mizrahi Identity and the Ultra-Orthodox Feminist Movement in Israel

Prior to the Israeli parliamentary elections in 2013, the No Voice, No Vote Facebook group was created, for the first time calling for women not to vote for ultra-Orthodox parties in Israel as long as they did not include women on their electoral list. This study, based on semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 15 ultra-Orthodox feminist women in Israel, examines the extent to which the Mizrahi identity of ultra-Orthodox feminist women has motivated the formation of the ultra-Orthodox feminist movement. The results show that the Mizrahi identity has a dominant presence in the ultra-Orthodox feminist movement and reveals parallels and similarities between Mizrahi feminism, Black feminism, and ultra-Orthodox feminism in Israel. As several key members of the movement are excluded from society due to multiple identity categories, the theory of intersectionality can explain the emergence of ultra-Orthodox feminism in Israel. Nevertheless, this article argues that intersectionality offers only a limited explanation in the case of the ultra-Orthodox feminist movement in Israel.