Reading Three Israeli Bat/Bar Mitzvah Curricula as Gender,Theological, and Autobiographical Texts

This article analyzes three curricula for the bat/bar-mitzva year of the public religious, Tali and public schools in Israel. It compares their views on gender and theology, and throws light on the intersection of gender, religion and education in Israeli society. It shows how the messages of the public religious and public schools serve to further hegemonic interests in Israeli society, while those of Tali serve interests of marginal groups. In addition, the article analyzes autobiographical influences of some of the curriculum decision made by the authors.