The Politics that Shape Domestic Violence Policy in Israel

Professor Tamar Hofnung

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Dr. Tamar Hofnung, Visiting Scholar at the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, discusses how Israel's response to domestic violence has been shaped by an arduous network of political biases and problematic institutions.

Tuesday, April 19, 2022
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM (Pacific Time)

About the Talk

Due to feminist advocacy work, domestic violence in Israel began to be seen as an issue warranting a state response in the late 1970s. While Israel promptly began to fund shelters for victims of abuse, its convoluted institutional structures have impacted the treatment of domestic violence in conflicting ways. In her talk, Dr. Tamar Hofnung will analyze the political forces and institutions — including welfare services, state-supported grassroots organizations, and the peculiar jurisdictions of Israel’s religious courts — that have guided Israel’s response to this issue. Her examination of Israel’s domestic violence policies and practices sheds light on the rationale guiding the country’s response to this crisis and develops an understanding of how Israel’s ethnic, social, and religious divisions have influenced the country’s public perception of domestic violence. Dr. Hofnung will draw comparisons between the way domestic violence has been addressed in the United States and Israel to situate the Israeli response within a broader context. This event is co-sponsored by the UCLA Department of Sociology.

About the Speaker

Tamar Hofnung is a Visiting Scholar at the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies. She was previously a Postdoctoral Research Scholar in UC Berkeley's Sociology Department. Her current research is focused on analyzing the impact of unsystematic data gathering — and the lack of evaluation guidelines — on policymaking related to diversity and discrimination in Israel. Dr. Hofnung received her Ph.D. in Political Science with a specialization in Human Rights from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJ). She has been awarded, among other honors, the Rothschild Post-Doctoral Fellowship by the Yad Hanadiv Foundation, the Post-Doctoral Award for Excellent Female Researcher by HUJ and the Shulamit Aloni Scholarship for Advancing Women in Science by the Israel Ministry of Science, Technology & Space.

DISCLAIMER: The views or opinions of our guest speakers and the content of their presentations do not necessarily reflect the views of the UCLA Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies. Hosting speakers does not constitute an endorsement of the speaker's views or opinions.

Sponsor(s): Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, Department of Sociology

The Politics that Shape Domestic Violence Policy in Israel

Professor Tamar Hofnung

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