Professor Abrams reflects on her trip to Israel

Brandeis School of Law Professor Jamie Abrams recently returned from Tel Aviv, Israel, where she was a selected presenter for the Third Annual Junior Scholar Workshop on Legal Theory. The workshop featured 28 participants from 11 countries.

Professor Abrams presented a paper titled, "The Feminist Case for Acknowledging Women's Acts of Violence." She chose this angle because "it is an intellectual question that has been festering with me for awhile."

"The feminist movement has struggled to respond meaningfully to incidents of women as domestic abusers. The domestic violence movement was organized around a gender binary that positions men as would-be abusers and women as potential victims," Abrams explained. "This marginalizes women who are abused by other women, men who are abused by women, and men who are abused by men. Conventional feminist responses accept men as victims of domestic violence, but do not meaningfully consider what it means when women abuse."

Abrams explores why the domestic violence movement -- as a social movement built upon a rigid gender binary -- is limiting the efficacy of the movement to end gendered violence.

Abrams was also able to explore various areas of Israel, however with some limitations.

"In the weeks leading up to the conference, the security situation deteriorated considerably, particularly in the West Bank and Jerusalem. I was receiving regular Homeland Security updates and news alerts that really led me to question whether to go," she said.

Abrams describes the City of Jerusalem as "ominously quiet."

"It was the Sabbath, so many of the shops were closed for religious observations, but the streets were uncomfortably quiet and deserted. The tension was palpable among those who were out in the streets. People were very vigilant and on edge," Abrams said.

She points to an example of a woman accidentally dropping a water bottle on the street, which caused many people to jump in fear. She also said her bags were searched repeatedly, gates were closed abruptly, and many individuals were stopped and searched at random.

To get onto Tel Aviv University's campus, visitors have to enter through secured walls and undergo military inspections. She said there were drones flying overhead on campus and bomb shelters in place at both the hotel and on campus.

These abundant security measures are what surprised her most about the experience.

"Now that I'm home safely, I know that it was an incredibly amazing experience to see these religious and historic sites with no lines or crowds, but in the moment it was unnerving," Abrams said.

Despite the tense atmosphere, Abrams said her favorite part of the trip was listening to people, who were anxious to talk about the current state of politics, the United States' role in the region and the possible scenarios for the future.

"I left with much more understanding, but also a much greater realization of how volatile the region is and how incredibly complex the politics are," she said. "Over and over we had folks voice to us the life and death nature of the conflict. It was startling to realize how many people live every day of their life -- taking their kids to day care, getting their morning coffee, and sitting at their desks at work -- knowing that 'countries want them dead today, not tomorrow,'" she explained, quoting some of the people who live there.

Professionally, Abrams was able to garner useful feedback for her paper, which was placed for publication in the Yale Journal of Law & Feminism.

"I also grew as a professor. I learned fascinating distinctions in family law and tort law across legal frameworks," Abrams said. "Understanding borders, resettlement, citizenship, political identity, and migration is at the heart of the story of Israel and the region. I tried to learn from every conversation I had with people across all political and religious identities."