In our society, especially here in this area, many men don’t let their wives go to cafes…the first thing that most Arab men think, when they see a woman in a cafe, is of a sex object

– Noa Shpigel, Arab women open a cafe of their own in Sakhnin, Haaretz, Friday, July 31, 2015 

This is not exclusively an “Arab” issue. It is a big problem in Israel among Jews, and not only religious Jews. Germaine Greer (and other prominent feminists of the twentieth century)  argued that feminism begins with the woman. Why didn’t the women in government demand resignations when they were painted out of a photo? How does a cafe for women correct the sexism and misogyny in Israeli society? 

Papers 4 #Orthodox parties w Ministers in new #Netanyahu govt photoshop’d female Ministers out of group shot #Israel pic.twitter.com/tX4zpkkKzL

— E. Buckar (@ebuckar) June 6, 2015

– Arab women open a cafe of their own in Sakhnin, Haaretz, Friday, July 31, 2015