Disputation or conflict

Read more about the article Article: “The State of Israel vs. The Cults – The Anti-Cult Discourse and the Israeli Public Discourse in Government Reports”
Disputation or conflict / History / Identity / Israel / Popular culture and mass media / State politics and law / Typology and comparative study

Article: “The State of Israel vs. The Cults – The Anti-Cult Discourse and the Israeli Public Discourse in Government Reports”

In the state of Israel, four govenmental reports were written against "cults". What is disturbing in this phenomena? Is it likely that each one of the reports finds different kind of problems with regard to the new religious movements in Israel? What can we understand from this? What can we learn about the Israeli society from those various reports? In this study, we've analysed the wording of the reports (from a discoursive angle), and indicated the similarity as well as the difference between them. The study serves of course a mirror for the Israeli society and processes it undergone in the last decades.

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January 17, 2022
Read more about the article A Report on Neo-Shamanism in Israel
Disputation or conflict / Feminism gender and sex / Israel / Magic and paganism / Popular culture and mass media

A Report on Neo-Shamanism in Israel

The report surveys the neo-shaman movement in Israel, approximately at 2014. Due to the dynamic nature and growth of the movement, currently the Israeli neo-shamanic picture is a bit different than described. The report includes an explanation on neo-shamanism as a global phenomenon, a description of neo-shaman centers in Israel, reference to the mass media's coverage of the movement and criticism of the later, as well as a short bibliographic list. The report was written as part of the activity issued by MEIDA center - An Israeli Information Center gor Contemporary Religions, sponsered by the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute (inspired by the British INFORM Centre.

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January 14, 2022
Read more about the article Article: The Witch Hunt in Ashkelon as Retold by Contemporary Spiritualities: From Embarrassment to Treasure Trove
Art (music\film\literature etc.) / Disputation or conflict / Feminism gender and sex / History / Identity / Israel / Judaism and Kabbalah / Magic and paganism / Myth / Popular culture and mass media / Typology and comparative study

Article: The Witch Hunt in Ashkelon as Retold by Contemporary Spiritualities: From Embarrassment to Treasure Trove

Once upon a time, thousands of years ago, dozens of witches operated at the promiscuous city Ashkelon. This study (some 8,000 words; and a similar one published in English - as follows) deals with contemporary spiritual interpretations of an ancient Jewish legend - on a witch hunt executed by Rabbi Shim'on ben Shatach at Ashkelon in the 2nd century B.C.. It presents a comparison of three spiritual leaders in Israel, each re-designing the old story in a different way, thus expressing various values - in relation to Judaism, to their feminism's character, and to the place of magic in the world. The article was published in the anthology "Between Times - Ritual and Text in a Changing Society", edited by Haim Hazan, Rachel Shar'abi, and Inbal Esther Sikurel, in the Hermeneutics and Cuture series at Carmel publishimg house.

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January 5, 2022
Read more about the article A research Article: “Trance, Meditation and Brainwashing – The Israeli Use of Hypnosis Law and the New Religious Movements Scene”
Critical theory / Disputation or conflict / Mind and psychology / State politics and law

A research Article: “Trance, Meditation and Brainwashing – The Israeli Use of Hypnosis Law and the New Religious Movements Scene”

"Under Israel’s hypnosis law, everyone is guilty of hypnosis—therapists, artists, religious leaders and even mothers who sing nursery rhymes to their children." [Natalie Pik, in Even 2012] This article presents a critical examination of the Hypnosis Law that is unique to Israel - integrating an analysis of the law's wording, an observation of the professional struggle between licensed hypnotherapists and alternative therapists, and moral panics events revolving mind control in Israel. (By the way, since 2018 procedures have been taken in the Knesset that might lead to the law's cancellation.)

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December 20, 2021
Read more about the article Article: Witch-Hunt or Women’s Oppression? The Secularization and Re-Enchantment of the Witches of Ashkelon Tale by Contemporary Spiritualities’ Leaders
Art (music\film\literature etc.) / Disputation or conflict / Feminism gender and sex / History / Identity / Israel / Judaism and Kabbalah / Magic and paganism / Myth / Popular culture and mass media / Science/medicine and technology / Typology and comparative study

Article: Witch-Hunt or Women’s Oppression? The Secularization and Re-Enchantment of the Witches of Ashkelon Tale by Contemporary Spiritualities’ Leaders

This study (some 10,500 words; and a similar one published in Hebrew- as follows) deals with contemporary spiritual interpretations of an ancient Jewish legend - on a witch hunt executed by Rabbi Shim'on ben Shatach at Ashkelon in the 2nd century B.C.. It presents a comparison of three spiritual leaders in Israel, each re-designing the old story in a different way, thus expressing various values - in relation to Judaism, to their feminism's character, and to the place of magic in the world. The article was published in the important journal of Jewish Studies, pronted by the Oxford Centre for Hebrew & Jewish Studies - Journal of Jewish Studies.

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December 14, 2021