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Elana Maryles Sztokman

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Elana Maryles Sztokman
Elana Maryles Sztokman smiling at camera
Maryles in 2014
Born
Elana Maryles

(1969-12-20) December 20, 1969 (age 54)
Flatbush, Brooklyn
Occupations
  • Sociologist
  • writer
SpouseJacob Sztokman
AwardsJewish Book Council Award (2012, 2013)
Websitejewfem.com

Elana Maryles Sztokman (born December 20, 1969) is an American sociologist, writer, and Jewish feminist activist. Her first two books, which explore the topic of gender identity in the Orthodox Jewish community, were awarded the National Jewish Book Award.[1][2][3] She ran unsuccessfully for the Knesset in the 2020 Israeli legislative election as a founding member of the Kol Hanashim Women's Party.

Biography

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Sztokman was born in Flatbush, Brooklyn, the third of four daughters born to Gladys (née Schmeltz) and Matthew Maryles, an investment banker. Sztokman attended the Yeshiva of Flatbush elementary and high schools, going on to study political science and education at Barnard College. She immigrated to Israel in 1993, and received a master's degree in Jewish education and a doctorate in education, sociology, and anthropology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[4]

She helped found Mavoi Satum, an organization dedicated to helping agunot, which she co-chaired from 1997 to 2002, and became the executive director of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance in 2012.[5] She received media attention in September 2014, after a Haredi man refused to sit next to her on an El Al flight from the U.S. to Israel.[6][7][8]

As of 2017, Sztokman was studying to become a Reform rabbi at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.[9]

Bibliography

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  • The Men's Section: Orthodox Jewish Men in an Egalitarian World (University Press of New England, 2011)
  • Educating in the Divine Image: Gender Issues in Orthodox Jewish Day Schools (with Chaya Rosenfeld Gorsetman) (Brandeis University Press, 2013)
  • The War on Women in Israel: How Religious Radicalism is Stifling the Voice of a Nation (Sourcebooks, September 2014)
  • Masala Mamas: Recipes and Stories from Indian Women Changing their Communities through Food and Love (Lioness, an imprint of Panoma Press, 2018)
  • Conversations with My Body: Essays on My Life as a Jewish Woman (Lioness, 2021)

References

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  1. ^ Borschel-Dan, Amanda (February 26, 2012). "Brother Suffragettes: Elana Sztokman's work on a new feminist approach within modern Orthodoxy is making waves around the Jewish—and non-Jewish—world". The Times of Israel. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
  2. ^ Zion, Mishael (December 25, 2011). "Single-Malt Scotch for Feminists: The Masculine Dreams of Partnership Minyan". The Forward. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
  3. ^ "NJBA Winners". Jewish Book Council. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  4. ^ Sztokman, Elana (February 2005). Gender, ethnicity and class in state religious education for girls: The story of the Levy Junior High School, 1999-2002 (PhD Thesis). Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
  5. ^ "Opening the Dead End for the Aguna". Mavoi Satum. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  6. ^ Berman, Paul (September 24, 2014). "Orthodox Man Refuses to Sit Next to Feminist Activist on Flight to Israel". Tablet. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  7. ^ Sales, Ben (September 30, 2014). "El Al faces uproar over haredim's refusal to sit near women". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  8. ^ Sztokman, Elana Maryles (September 29, 2014). "Deciding to Speak Out About Religious Misogyny". The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  9. ^ Dolsten, Josefin (September 18, 2017). "Formerly Orthodox, This Jewish Feminist Leader Found A New Home In Reform". The New York Jewish Week.
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