From Protesting the State to Protecting the Nation: Gendered Forms of Nonviolent Resistance in Israel’s Pro-Democracy Protest and War

Triggered by the planned judicial overhaul of the current (far) right government, a massive nonviolent protest movement emerged in December 2022 to fight for Israel’s democracy and social justice. Women’s groups seeking social transformation have reached unprecedented visibility in light of their creative practices and embodied performances, most notably through the performative adaptation of the dystopian “Handmaid’s” imagery. Through a variety of practices, they managed to highlight the government’s explicit attack on women’s rights. Women in Israel have historically both participated in social activism and developed their own, women-led/-only practices, thereby often finding a way to voice their interests while mostly being sidelined from official decision-making processes and leadership positions. Our research comparatively investigates gendered, embodied, intersectional and symbolic expressions of resistance of five different women’s groups, namely Building an alternative [Bonot alternativa], Mothers On Guard [Imahot al hamishmar], Breaking Walls [Shovrot kirot], Mothers Against Violence [Imahot neged alimut] - as well as the peace movement Women Wage Peace [Nashim osot shalom]. Following the October 7th outbreak of the still ongoing Israel-Gaza war, these groups adapted their activism to address the urgent needs of affected communities, further underscoring the resilience and adaptability of women-led civic resistance in times of crisis. This study draws on qualitative methodologies, namely feminist ethnographic research (in person and digital) and interviews conducted from January 2023 to 2024. It answers current calls in social movement research for more nuanced intersectional analyses and particularly emphasizes an embodied perspective. Our paper highlights the different ways these women’s groups employ their bodies in relation to their intersectional positionalities within the complex power structures of a democracy in decline and growing social cleavages within the context of war.