1. Emily Judson 538445
AS1
‘Examine the relationship between gender and
security in Israel.’
Israeli Politics
Deadline: 12/12/2014
Word Count: 2907

2. ‘It is our legitimate right to try and maintain the Jewish majority and hegemony of the state.’
(Knesset statement 2005 in Kravel-Tovi 2012:751)
Securityisa complicatedconceptthat can be understoodinmultiplewaysdependingonthe
group(s) of people andissue(s) atstake. Forexample national security;familyeconomicsecurity;or
global energy security all use the conceptof securitywithdifferentimplications.Itisimportantto
note that no definitionof securityis'neutral'.All definitionshave political implicationsandare
locatedin historical contextandwiderworkings of power.The achievementof securityby acertain
collective isoftenpremiseduponthe insecurityof others.Thisisnota staticbinaryand
security/insecuritychangesdependingoncontext andlensof analysis.A subjectmay also
simultaneouslyexperiencebothsecurity and insecurityoveraspectrumof factors.Finally,itis
importantto note thatactors strivingforsecurityandactors perceivedassecuritythreatsare rarely
uncomplicated,unifiedsubjects.
Thisessaywill explore the conceptof 'existential'securityinIsraelthroughabiopolitical framework.
By existential securityIreferto the securingof the continued existence of Israel asa Jewish-majority
state.Biopoliticscanbe definedas “anentire seriesof interventionsandregulatorycontrols”that
shape the social body(Foucault1991 in Kravel-Tovi2012:740). In otherwords,the biopoliticsof
existential securityreferstoa fluidmatrix of ideasandpracticesthatproduce and reproduce Jews
(physical populationnumbers); Jewishness;andthe conceptof Israel (asa legitimate,Jewish-
majoritystate). Existentialsecurityhas bothinternal andexternal elements intermsof the state.
Thisessaywill refermostlyto internal elements,howeveritisimportanttonote that Israel’s
existence isalsopartlyrelianton recognitionbynon-Israeli actors suchas the Jewish‘diaspora’ or
the US government.

3. It isimportanthere to mentionthe context inwhichIsraeliexistential security isconceptualised.The
stakesof maintainingthe existence andidentityof Israel are relativelyhigh. Changes could
potentially discreditthe political ideaof Zionism;challenge the meaningof the Jewishidentity; and
alterregional andglobal politicaldynamics.Currently Israelisuniqueinitsidentityasa Jewish-
majoritystate itand it liesamidstaregionof non-Jewishstates.Identitiesbetweenandwithin
neighbouringnon-Jewishstatestendtobe amalgamatedinto one ‘Arab’identitythatposesa
‘threat’to Israel.Asa result,“Israel perceivesitself tobe undera constantand general threattoits
existence”(Toft2012:21). Furthermore,the presence of anArabpopulationwithhighfertilityrates
inside Israeli territorymeansthatthis demographicandidentity ‘threat’isalsoan integral partof
Israel itself. Currentlythe populationof Israel (excludingthe contestedterritories) is75% Jewish,
20.7% Araband 4.2% ‘other’,whilstbirthratesare 1.7 childrenper womanforJewsand2.2 children
perwomanfor Arabs(JewishVirtual Libraryanon.2014). If the contestedterritoriesare included
thenthe non-Jewishpercentageof the populationissubstantiallyhigher.Takingthe above into
account,maintenance of a Jewish-majority state posessignificantchallenges.
GenderAnalysis
I will use genderasananalytical tool to demonstrate how genderedbodiesandnorms are important
inthe constructionof securitydiscourse andpractice. Furthermore,thisanalysisreveals anumberof
gendered insecurities within the JewishIsraeli collective thatare nominally being‘secured’.This
essaywill use Khalili’s(2010:3) definitionof gender/genderingas “a setof practicesanddiscourses
that constitute ‘men’and‘women’ and masculinitiesandfemininitiesinparticularways.Gendering
isneitherabout womenalone,norisita pure and autonomousdichotomy”. Myanalysis willbe
orderedintothree inter-relatingsections:demographics,territory/militaryandresistance.

4. Thisessaywill focuson ‘women’1
andwomen’sexperiences,howeverIdonotwishto suggestthat
genderanalysisislimited tothisfocus.Ialsodo notwishto uncomplicatedlyequatewomenwith
biologicallyfemale bodies; by‘women’Ireferto a heterogeneous collectivethatissocially
constructedandis thus fluidandcontested.Thisessayisnotan attempttodefine womenor
womanhood,howevertheseconcepts(inall theirvariety) are active inlivedexperience whichiswhy
I am choosingtouse them.
Demographics
Thissectionwill explore the ideaof women as“bearersof the collective”(Halperin-Kaddari and
Yagdar 2010) that secure the future presence of aJewish-majorityIsraeli state.Toreiterate,it isnot
sufficienttodiscuss‘women’withreference solelytobiological female sexandreproductive
function. Constructionsof gender,(femininities and masculinities) transcendbiological sex2
andare
influential inexplainingothersocial norms, behaviours andconstructions.Here Iwill specifically
addressconstructionsof ‘motherhood’ withrelationtosecurity.
Firstly,motherhoodcan be seen asa legitimisingfactorforwomen’spublicandpolitical voices
(ShalevandLemish 2013). Thisrelatestoideasof a republican‘social contract’whereby citizenshipis
achievedby contributingtothe nation.Women,throughbirthandmotherhood, contribute tothe
national goal of maintainingIsrael asaJewish-majoritystate byreproducingbothphysical human
bodiesand‘Jewishness’. Transmission of Jewish identityismatrilineal,conferringcertain
responsibilities specifically towomen (Halperin-Kaddari andYadgar2010:911). For example,the
state sponsorsJewishconversionfor people whohave migrated toIsrael viathe expanded law of
return3
. These free conversionsare particularlytargetedatyoung,single womenwhoare potential
1 I will use‘’ throughout the essay to indicatecomplicated and contested concepts.
2 which in itself is not a male/female binary
3 In 1970 people with a Jewish grandparent (and their spouse/chil dren) also becameentitled to citizenship.

5. mothers andthus potential reproducersof Jewishidentity andthe Jewish-majority nation(Kravel-
Tovi 2012). The role of motherhood inestablishing‘Jewishness’and‘Israeliness’alsoconcerns
socialisationandeducation.Womeninthe family(genderedasthe feminine sphere) andinother
‘mothering’rolesmake up the majorityof primarycarersandeducators.4
They are therefore largely
responsible forsocialisingchildrento‘fitin’withIsraeli society. ‘Motherhood’ canherebybe
understood both asbiological reproductionof children, andasperformingotherroles that
(re)produce JewishnessandJewishlives.Thisphysical andsocial reproductionadditionally
contributestosecuritybyproducing ‘future soldiers’whodefend the nation territorially (Herbst
2012). Women’smembershipof national society asachievedviamotheringistherefore directly
connectedtostate security.
Thisvaluationof motherhoodandbirth hasstrongconsequences forwomenwhoare unable or
unwillingtofill thatrole. Herbst(2012) arguesthat mothersare idealisedandthose who donot fit
thisideal type are condemned. Intermsof physical reproduction,fertilityis prized andinfertilityis
‘punished’;infertile womenare shamedandblamedfortheir owncondition (ShalevandLemish
2013). To ‘help’infertilewomen, the Israeli state offersalarge range of verylow-costfertility
treatments5
.Until recentlythisincluded unlimitedcyclesof IVFupuntil the birthof 2 healthy
childrenorthe womanturning 45. However,inFebruary2014 state IVFpolicy changedtopermita
maximumof 8 cycles(or 3 if a womanisover42), resultinginsubstantial backlash(Prusher2014). In
additiontoIVF,surrogacyis alsopermitted bythe state,alongside egg/spermdonationandfreezing.
Despite these reproductive technological options,astrongsocietal preferenceisstill indicatedfor
biological parenthoodand the conventional nuclearfamily (ShalevandLemish 2013).Shalevand
Lemishargue that if thishostilityweretobe overcome, reproductive technologies thatallow
‘infertile motherhood’have potential tosubvertgenderhierarchies.Forexample,if aheterosexual
4 For example in 2010 (the lasttime the World Bank collected this statistic for Israel) 85%of primary school
teachers in Israel were female (World Bank data 2014)
5 Availableto singleand non-heterosexual women as well as married women

6. couple have a babythrougha surrogate ‘gestationalcarrier’ thenbothpartiesin the couple
experience pregnancy ina‘male’way;havinga babywithoutthe physical embodiment,‘labours’
and painsof pregnancyand birth (2013:333).
Finally,the pushfora highbirth rate may have implicationsonstate pregnancy-termination policy.
Terminationispossible inIsrael andrecentlythe state expandedsubsidisedtermination toinclude
womenbetweenthe agesof 20 and33 (Kamin2014). Whilstthisservice isnow available,women
seekingaterminationmusthave theircasesapprovedbefore a3 personpanel.Statisticssuggest
that between96-98%of casesare approved, howeverthismaybe due toself-selection (Steinfeld
2014). Onlythose whoknowtheircasesare likelytobe approvedwillstandbefore the panel,and
reportedlyhalf of all terminationsinIsrael take place illegally6
.Thisappearstoindicate thatavariety
of factors,linkedtothe social andnational discipliningof womenintomotherhoodasdescribed
above,still limitthe ‘acceptability’of termination.
In summarythissectionhasexplored constructs of motherhood,inrelationtobiological andsocial
reproduction, thatadvance the pursuitof Israeli existential securitythrough demographics.Usinga
genderlenstoexplore howbiopoliticalsecurity practicesaffectthe livesof women alsoreveals
several genderedinsecurities.Firstly,womenwhofail toembodyandperform the ideal-type of
motherhood (bothbiological andsocial) face ‘punishment’throughsocial disciplining.Secondly two
groupsof womenwhodonot ‘fit’the ideal-type of motherhood canbe identified;infertile women
and womenseekingpregnancyterminations.Alongsidesocial insecurity thatmayresultfrom
transgressionof ‘mothering’norms,thesegroups of womenface potential physical andmental
healthinsecurities.Infertile womenare encouragedtoengage witharange of fertilitytreatments
that involve large dosesof hormones;canbe physicallyinvasive;maylastforan extendedtime
period;andmay ultimatelybe unsuccessful.Thiscanhave substantial effectsonparticipants’ mental
6 Many by privatedoctors, for a fee of NIS 2,099 – 2,912, no questions asked (Steinfeld 2014)

7. health.Furthermore, fertilitydrugs mayalsobe linkedtoincreasedhealthrisks suchascancer,
thoughscientificresearch investigatingcausalityiscurrently inconclusive.Finally,women seeking
pregnancy terminationmay additionally face economicinsecurity if theyare unlikely tobe approved
by the terminationpanel and insteadseekexpensiveprivate/illegalterminations.
Territory and Military
The followingsectionwill elaborate onthis discussion of motheringfemininity inthe contextof the
military,focusingonexpectationsof female soldiers andhow these are constructedwithinfluence
fromwidergenderednorms insociety.The aimof thisisto demonstrate how genderedstructures,
normsand discourse connectdemographicandterritorial elementsof security.Inexploringthis,I
wishto drawattentiontoconflictingexpectationsof womenintheir motheringcapacityas“bearers
of the collective”and intheirmilitarycapacityas defendersof the collective.If conscripted military
service isconsidered integral inthe pathtofull citizenshipandsocietalparticipation,militarywomen
face a clashbetween ‘solder-citizen’ (Levy2010) and mother-citizenidentities.
If a liberal-feministapproachtowardsequal rightsistakenthenthe Israeli militarycanbe seenasan
institutionwhichhasbeen ‘progressive’withregardto genderequality.Forexample,since 2000
womenhave beenable toserve incombatpositions.Althoughsomerolesare still restrictedtomen
and female participationincombatrolesisstill low,(womenoccupied 3% of combat rolesin2008
and 60% of combat rolesare still closedtowomen, BergerandNaaman2011:273,) thisapproach
wouldconsiderthe pathtoequalitytolie in breakingdownthese remainingbarrierstoequal
participation.
However,amore radical lenschallenges the militaryinstitutionandmilitarisedpracticesas
themselvesgendered. Masculinity,specificallythe formof masculinitydeemedtobe desirable

8. (Khalili 2010),isprivileged withinthe militaryandentrenches patriarchal structuresof power that
extendbeyondthe militaryinstitution. Despite increasingnumbersof professional femalesoldiers,
assimilatingwomenintothe military isunlikelytosubstantiallychange the institution’sgendered
construction if bydoingso itsocialiseswomento emulate‘correct’masculine behaviours.Military
personnel are still channelledintogendered,hetero-sexualisedroles thatfavourthe formof
masculinityembodiedinthe figure of the ‘Sabra’or ‘new Jew’(Natanel 2012:83, Harris 2012). This
construction of educated butpowerful masculinitycanpossiblybe comparedtothe ‘soldier-scholar’
figure thatbeenconstructedto define ‘desirable’masculinityinothermilitary contexts;specifically
contextsof (neo)imperialism (Khalili 2010).
Militarywomenexperience a‘double blind’betweentwopathsthatbothequally subjectthemtoa
‘male gaze’heterosexualsexualisation(Levin2011).On one hand,a womancan emphasise her
professionalism;relyingonher abilitytoemulateideal-masculinebehaviour.Inthiscase,her
sexuality and‘womanliness’ maybe questioned (Levin2011).Simultaneouslyshe mayexperience
sexualisedcomments orbehaviours thatfunctiontodelegitimise her professionalskills by‘reducing’
herto a passive sexualbody.Onthe otherhand,ratherthan seekingprofessionalrecognitionby
complyingwith ideal-masculinecriteria,womenmaynavigate the military experience viadifferent
aspectsof femininity. Firstlyawoman’s sexual ‘desirability’ maybe emphasised;forexample
enjoyingthe sexual‘attention’paidtoherina male-majorityenvironment,orusing‘feminine wiles’
to heradvantage by gainingextrahelpfrommale superiors/colleagues (Levin2011).Womenwho
behave inthiswaycan be subjecttonegative labelling,bymenandotherwomen,aspromiscuousor
provocative.Alternatively, amore traditional femininitymaybe emphasised;there are stereotypes
that the militaryfunctionsasa‘datingsite’ forwomentofinda husband(Levin2011).
All of these constructionsof female behaviourare definedinrelationto male-gazeheterosexual
‘approval’ andprioritise awoman’sgenderoverotheraspectsof heridentity. Theyalsopositionthe

9. womaninrelationtoa genderednorm(s) thatshe istransgressingoradheringto.Whennormsare
transgressed,disciplinarypowerfunctionsby‘punishing’women;pushingthembacktowardsthe
norm throughsocial stigmatisation,suchasderogatorycomments.
To summarise, Kotef (2011:561) refersto thisdouble-blindasthe ‘lesbian/whore’dynamicfor
‘classifying’women,howeverI suggestthatit is actuallya triple-blindof ‘lesbian/whore/wife’.
Militarywomenexperience agenderedcontestationof identityassoldier-citizenandmother-citizen
that isnot easyto resolve; asLevy(2010:191) argues,“a unique identityforawomancombatanthas
not yetemerged”.Ideal-masculinebehaviournecessarytosucceedprofessionallyinamilitary
contexttransgressesnormsof femininitysurrounding motherhood,whilstwomenexhibiting
feminine‘motherly’behaviourare unlikelytosucceedprofessionallyinthe military.
Parallel tothis,womencharacterisedas‘whores’doublytransgressnorms.Onone handovert
expressionof femalesexualitydoesnotfitgenderedexpectationsof professional soldiering.Onthe
otherit posesa ‘danger’to genderedconstructionsof marriage,motherhoodandthe ideal nuclear
family(ShalevandLemish2013). Thisformof ‘deviant’female sexualitymay therefore be asite of
resistance thatcomplicates andchallenges genderconfigurations.
Resistance
Thissectiontakesa brief lookatpossibilitiesforresistancetothe dynamicsI have drawnattentionto
throughoutthe piece.Addressingacontroversyamongstfeministmovements,Harris(2012:10)
questions howresistance istakingplace andthe space inwhichit functions;whetheritismore
effectivetoassertspace inmasculine-dominatedareasorwhetheraradical conceptualisationof
gendermovesbeyondthistoforge newdiscourse andpractices. Forexample,thereiscontestation
betweenincreasingwomen’sprofessional militaryopportunities;andfeministpeace movements

10. that lookto endpatriarchal structuresof militaryoccupationand indeedthe militaryaltogether
(Levy2010)7
. Furthermore,there isdebate overwhetheractivismthatusesprivilege or‘strategic
straightness’/’dissidentcitizenship’(Sparks1997 inKotef 2011:556) to enable political actionis
constructive;orwhetheritfailstosubvertandactuallyfurtherentrenchesstructuresof oppression.
For example,CheckpointWatchisan organisationmade uplargelyof middle-class,middle-age
womenwhouse the privilegeof theirsocietalpositionand favourable‘motherly’attributestogain
access to andmonitorcheckpoints.Theiractivismmayhelpimprovetreatmentof Palestiniansat
checkpoints,howeveritmay unintentionallyimply thatcheckpointsare acceptableif theyare
humane ratherthan workingtoabolishthe systemof checkpointscompletely(Kotef:2011).
Otherelementsof resistance take amore ‘everyday’form.Forexample,Kotef (2011:564) addresses
howwomenbehavingas‘badmothers’mayactuallyopenpossibilitiesforalternativeconceptionsof
motherhoodandthe family.ShalevandLemish’s (2013) conceptof ‘infertilemotherhood’ also
challenges genderednormsof reproductionandparenting.Reproductivetechnologydraws
attentiontohowmultiple women(andindeedmen)maybe partof the creationof one new life
(biological andparenting),potentially subvertinggendered societal preferencesforbiological
parentsand the nuclearfamily.
Conclusion
Thisessayhas demonstratedhowgenderis essential tounderstandingthe wayinwhichIsraeli
existential security isconstructed. Ithasdrawnattentionspecificallytogendereddiscourse and
practice regardingtwoareas of security: demographyandterritory.Withinthis ithasillustrated the
7 Feminism(s) that take this approach may also address howthe Israeli -Arab conflictand associated security
concerns have over-ridden other social concerns and activism(Halperin-Kaddari and Yadgar 2010)

11. wayin whichmilitarywomenembodya gendered locationof clashbetween thesetwoaspectsof
securityasexpressedthrough the mother-citizenand soldier-citizenmodels.Finally,ithasbriefly
addressedpossibilitiesforresistance and potential contestation between differentformsof
resistance. A consistentobservationthroughoutthispiece isthatthatgenderandsexualityare sites
of powerandcontestation.Asafinal note,genderingispervasive and thisanalysishas been
relativelyshallow; focusingmostlyon‘women’ andassociatedfemininities.Tofurtheranalyse
existential securityinIsrael genderingcanbe appliedmore deeply,forexampletoexaminedynamics
of militaryoccupationoruse of space.
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