Link Roundup: Remembering 9/11
Welcome to this week’s installment of Lilith’s Link Roundup. Each week we post Jewish and feminist highlights from around the web. If there’s anything you want to be sure we know about, email us or leave a message in the comments section below.
10 years later, Lilith looks back at Ruth Messinger’s words about September 11th, reminding us what we learned in the aftermath. [Lilith Magazine]
In his new book Contending With Catastrophe: Jewish Perspectives on September 11th, author Rabbi Michael J. Broyde revealed the Jewish dilemma that resulted from the 9/11 attacks. Many Jewish widows became agunot and were not permitted to remarry because they couldn’t prove that their husbands had been killed. [JTA] & [The Forward]
On Thursday, the state of Virginia passed the strictest abortion provider regulations to date in the United States, putting the state’s 22 abortion clinics at risk of being shut down. [Huffington Post]
The U.S. Labor Department has begun cracking down on gender discrimination in wages by examining the pay practices of government contractors. [Capital Business]
The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina filed a lawsuit against the state for authorizing a “Choose Life” license plate, while refusing to issue a pro-choice alternative. Katherine Lewis Parker, the organization’s Legal Director, stated, “It is a fundamental tenet of the First Amendment that the state cannot use its authority to promote one side of a debate while denying the same opportunity to the other side.” [Mother Jones]
For the first time ever, the city of Chicago will now offer its employees paid maternity leave. [Huffington Post]
Four religious cadets were dismissed from the army’s officer course after walking out of an IDF event because they refused to listen to female soldiers singing. [Haaretz]
This isn’t the only gender issue that the IDF has faced. This summer, a debate broke out after Avi Zamir, the former head of the Israel Defense Forces’ Personnel Directorate, released a statement calling for the curtailment of the army’s religious extremism because of its threat to the advancement of women in the IDF. [Arutz Sheva] & [Ynet]
Author Shaul Kelner explained why he pledged to only participate on panels that included at least one woman, writing, “What message does an all-male panel send about who is valued, who is worth listening to, who has something important to contribute to a conversation?” [eJewish Philanthropy]
Newly appointed editor-in-chief of the New York Times Jill Abramson sparked a debate among female editors after stating, “The idea that women journalists bring a different taste in stories or sensibility isn’t true.” [The Maynard Institute] & [The Forward]
Forbes Women warned readers to beware of studies that blame the leadership gender gap on women’s reluctance to be competitive. [Forbes]
Israel’s High Court of Justice summoned Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino to appear in court to explain his controversial decision to close the police unit responsible for combating human trafficking. [JPost]
A study conducted by University College London found that half of Orthodox Jewish parents, living in the UK, refused to allow their daughters receive the HPV vaccination. Those who opted out believed their daughters were not at risk because “the girls were not yet sexually active and were only ‘likely to have one or few sexual partners.’” [The Jewish Chronicle]
Despite the outrage over JCPenney’s “Too Pretty For Homework” t-shirt, Forever 21 began selling their own sexist t-shirt with the slogan “Allergic to Algebra.” Both t-shirts have now been pulled from shelves. [MORE]
An Israeli wig company has a new solution for ultra-Orthodox women on a budget—wig leasing. For a monthly fee of NIS 270 shekels (about $75), women can rent a wig or test out new styles before committing to purchase a permanent one, which can cost as much as NIS 10,000 (about $2,770). [Ynet]
