Conflict and Alliance in the Struggle: Feminist Anti-Imperialism, Palestine Solidarity, and the Jewish Feminist Movement of the Late 20th Century

Abstract

This dissertation is focused on research into and consideration of the relationship between a nascent form of Jewish feminism that arose in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s, and the post-1967 Palestine solidarity movement-both of which took shape in the overlap of feminist and anti-imperialist movements of the late 20th century. While restoring an archive of social movement culture, this study reveals the impact of Zionism and anti-Zionism on US feminisms, with attention to the "Question of Palestine" as a site of division and alliance for feminist movements. Utilizing theories and methods from cultural studies, ethnic studies, feminist studies, and related interdisciplinary formations, I consider ideologies and practices of late 20th century feminist movements as they address gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and nation through and against identity politics. With focus on the lesbian-led, politically leftist, grassroots sector of U.S. Jewish feminism and related feminist formations, I ask how the discourse of identity has been mobilized in contradictory ways, re-mapping feminist alliances and conflicts about race, nation, and colonialism.