300 Years & Counting 1H KILLS - On The Issues Magazine

neously rose up in mass protest. He alsodeals with how they have been able tomaintain the intifada, or "shaking off,"now in its fourth year.Arriving in Israel in the fall of 1984,Hiltermann spent five years studyingpopular organizations in the occupiedterritories. His main focus is on thelabor and women's movements, whichhe describes in scholarly detail, oftenincluding interview segments with activists.Hiltermann's analysis of thePalestinian situation draws close parallelswith the anti-colonial strugglesin Asia and Africa earlier this century.In both places an "iron fist" policy similarto Israel's provided the fuel for nationalistsentiment across class lines.In view of Israel's neglect of basicservices for the people of the West Bankand Gaza, and its disregard of the rightsof workers commuting to jobs insideIsrael, it became a matter of survivalfor the Palestinians to create their ownalternative systems of help and support.At the same time, it was in theinterest of the PLO — the Palestiniangovernment in exile — to promote theestablishment of institutions in the occupiedterritories that would providean infrastructure for eventual statehood.The labor unions and women'sworkcommittees, founded in the late1970s and 1980s, reflected thegrassroots dynamics of the PLO.Hiltermann's painstaking study demonstratesthe importance of thegrassroots networks to the success ofthe intifada's survival despite the continualdeportations and detentions ofthe leaders.Unfortunately, what facilitates thenational struggle may not benefit theindividual. It is Hiltermann's conclusionthat the nationalist fervor whichmobilized thousands of women to droptheir traditional roles, take the place ofimprisoned men, leave their houses andlearn to earn money through their skills,may stand in the way of realizing afeminist agenda. He points out that"the public struggle of Palestinianwomen has been, throughout the 20thcentury, a struggle aimed primarily atobtaining national rights... .Whereas inother countries, such as Egypt and Tunisia,early women's organizationsfought for such typically sociopoliticaldemands as the abolition of polygamyand summary divorce, for the right tovote, in Palestine women demandedthat the Balfour Declaration be re-ON THE ISSUES SUMMER 1992stricted, and that Palestinian politicalprisoners receive bettertreatment."Theanxious frequency with which Palestinianwomen declare that they will notreturn to the kitchen, like their Algeriansisters did after their revolution,bears Hiltermann out. They may not gettheir wish. The women of Palestine areall too aware that in societies in crisisthe aspirations of the individual takesecond place. While the young studentsof the 1970s' women's committees, whojourneyed to the villages and refugeecamps to organize housewives, havecome a long way from the elite 1920s'ladies who attended demonstrationsbehind heavy veils, how far they've comeremains to be seen.Meanwhile, Joost R. Hiltermann hasdocumented an important phase in anational movement that has dominatedMideast history since the end of WorldWar!—Inea BushnaqInea Bushnaq is a New York-based writerand editor. She was born in Jerusalemand has a degree in classics from CambridgeUniversity.GRANDMOTHER MOON byZsuzsanna E. Budapest (Harper-Collins, San Francisco; $1 5.95 paperback)The witches are making a comeback,and from the looks of the planet, ourpolitics, and the general state of genderimbalance, they're coming back just intime. And now they have a handbookfor exploring their lunar powers: GrandmotherMoon by Zsuzsanna (Z)Budapest. However, the book is not justfor witches; it was written for anyonewho wants to explore lunar lore, fromthe ancient festivals to the spells forweight control, mood enhancement andfertility. A fascinating collection ofmoon-based wisdom, Budapest writeslike the full moon enchants. Fairy talesare interwoven with rituals for dispellinggrief, next to the specific messagesof various lunations, cozied up to luciddreamtime-interviews with a host ofblessed Beings. Don't expect to do astraight read-through. In fact, hangonto your chair while you make yourway through these pages. Her wordscast a delightful spell over you whileBright, capable, withtheir whole lives aheadof them...what in theworld could holdthem back? Toooften their education.A newreport documentsthatgirls sufferfrom genderbias in ourclassrooms —that can derailtheir dreams andlimit their futures.The AAUW Report:How Schools ShortchangeGirls. Ordertoday! Call 800/225-9998 ext. 209 or send$ 1 6.95 ($ 14.95 for AAUWmembers) plus $2.50shipping to AAUW SalesOffice, PO Box 2'51 , Dept.209, Annapolis Junction,}49