Abstract

"With a picture of a courageous, rifle-toting Sabra firmly in mind, most Westerners think of the Israeli woman as the epitome of the liberated female. The popularity of Golda Meir, one of the few female heads of state in this century, has served to reinforce this image. The reality is very different, however. Seldom in the history of Israel are women mentioned at all, and the plight of the Jews is discussed in terms of men. Daughters of Rachel is the untold history of Israel--the history of its women. What has happened to the daughters of the early pioneers and settlers and their dreams of equality and emancipation? What of the women of today? Against the background of the Jewish experience, Natalie Rein shows how the promise of the first wave of immigration, the early kibbutzim, and the liberation struggles changed as the reality of Israel and Zionism demanded the perpetuation of traditional female roles. What she describes in this fascinating book is a complex, multifaceted, and intrinsically male-oriented society where women are still trying to find themselves and establish their own identities."--Back cover.