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About Elana

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Dr. Elana Maryles Sztokman is a feminist thought-leader, anthropologist, and writer whose research and ideas help shape a vision for a compassionate society. She has published five books on gender in society, and today helps women amplify their own voices and find their power through Lioness Books and Media. She coaches women through the writing process, edits and ghost-writes women's books, and publishes women's writing through Lioness. She also speaks and consults with groups and organizations around the world on gender issues and women's experiences in the world. Would you like to schedule a chat? Contact her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

A two-time winner of the National Jewish Book Council Award in the categories of Education and Women's Studies, as well as a winner of the Gourmand Award in the category of fundraising, Elana writes and speaks around the world about issues of gender, culture, politics, business, religion, and society. Her writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Slate, The Independent, The Jerusalem Report, Everyday Feminism, Lilith, Haaretz, The Forward, and many more. 

Elana was the Founding Chair of the founders of the Kol Hanashim Women's Party that ran for the 2020 Knesset, and was number four on the list. She also served as the Vice Chair for Media and Policy of Democrats Abroad-Israel and later as Chair.

Elana has worked with communities, organizations and individuals around the world on advancing gender inclusion and gender equity. She has worked with many women's organizations in Israel, including Mavoi Satum, Kolech, The Center for Women's Justice, ICAR, Itach-Maaki, the Modi'in Women's Council, and more. She was the 2016 Scholar-in-Residence for National Council of Jewish Women, Australia. From 2012-2014 she was the  Executive Director of JOFA, the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance. From 2014-2017 she was the Board Chair of El Halev, the feminist organization building safer communities through self-defense and women's martial arts.  

As a product of Orthodox Judaism with deep ties to the Jewish community, Elana seeks to connect political, cultural, and spiritual processes. After nearly 20 years as an active Orthodox feminist working to build equitable institutions and communities, she  began training as a Reform rabbi and ultimately received certification as a Spiritual Counselor from Hebrew Union College. She runs meditations and narrative-sharing circles for women, including a circle of Palestinian and Jewish women from East Jerusalem and Modiin. From 2015-2018, she created The Center for Jewish Feminism to provide resources and connections among Jewish feminists around the world. 

Elana is committed to empowering women in many ways. She founded Lioness Books as a media platform for "women who roar", which can be found at www.lionessbooks.com. She runs Release your Inner Lioness workshops for women writers and provides resources to enable women and non-binary non-conforming people from all backgrounds to birth their words into the world. 

Originally from New York and a graduate of The Yeshivah and Flatbush and then Barnard College, Elana holds a New York State HS Social Studies teaching certificate, a Master's Degree in Jewish Education from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a doctorate in education and sociology/anthropology with a specialty in gender studies from Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She wrote her dissertation on the identity development of adolescent religious girls in school. She went on to do post-doctoral research, thanks to a grant from the Hadassah Brandeis Institute, on the "other" side of the partition so to speak, i.e., on identities of Orthodox men. This research became the book, The Men's Section: Orthodox Jewish Men in an Egalitarian World, (Hadassah Brandeis Institute, UPNE, 2011) which won the 2012 National Jewish Book Council award in the area of Women's Studies. 

Elana's second book, Educating in the Divine Image: Gender Issues in Orthodox Jewish Day Schools, co-authored with Dr Chaya Rosenfeld Gorsetman,  released in October 2013 (Hadassah Brandeis Institute, UPNE), won the National Jewish Book Council Award in the area of education and identity.

Elana's third book The War on Women in Israel: The story of Religious Radicalism and the Women Fighting for Freedom, was released by Sourcebooks in Sept 2014 to great acclaim.

Elana's fourth book, Masala Mamas: Recipes and Stories by Indian Women Changing their Communities through Food and Love, a fundraising project for Gabriel Project Mumbai and the first release of Lioness Books (2018), won the prestigious Gourmand Award in the area of fundraising. All proceeds go to the women of the Kalwa slum collective in Mumbai who strive to keep kids in school instead of on the street simply by providing hot food in school. 

Elana's fifth book, Conversations with my Body: Essays on my Life as a Jewish Woman (2021), a project of Lioness Books, is a set of reflections on body issues such as 'modesty', voice, hair, sexuality, fat, food, and more. It marks Elana's 25th anniversary of her feminist awakening, as well as her 50th birthday. 

Elana has also taught these subjects in institutes of higher education: the Florence Melton Adult Mini-school in Melbourne, Australia, the Schechter Institute for Jewish Studies, the Efrata Teacher Training College, the Bar Ilan University Gender Studies Department, Young Judea, and more. She is regularly invited to speak on these topics at conferences and programs around the world, as well as to work with institutions on issues of gender, society, and creating compassionate cultures.

Elana moved to Israel in 1993, spent three years living in Melbourne, Australia, and today lives in Modi'in, Israel with her spouse Jacob and their children.

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About The War on Women in Israel

war100Across Israel-one of the most democratic countries in the world-women are being harassed as a rising Orthodox Jewish faction seeks to suppress them. In this gripping exposé, leading women's activist Elana Sztokman investigates the struggles of Israeli women against increasing levels of religious and political intrusion into their lives, from segregation on public buses to being refused admittance to public events. The War on Women in Israel weaves together interviews and investigative research to present a cutting-edge look at this alarming reality, and proposes solutions for creating a different vision for religion both in Israeli society and in cultures around the world.

Purchase this book on Amazon

About Educating in the Divine Image

divineimage100Have your kids ever come home from school with baffling or disturbing ideas about gender? Are you bothered by an overemphasis on "modesty" in the Jewish community? Do the increasing practices of gender segregation in Orthodoxy disturb you? Would you like your kids to learn the importance of supporting women's inclusion in Jewish life? Do you want your kids to learn more about the values of equality and justice in Torah?

Then this book is a must-read for you!

The first comprehensive examination of gender messages in Jewish education, this book is draws on studies in education, social science, and psychology, as well as personal interviews, to show how day school education advances gender inequities and socialize students into unhealthy gender identities and relationships. The book addresses pedagogy, school practices, curricula, and textbooks, as along with single-sex versus coed schooling, dress codes, sex education, Jewish rituals, and gender hierarchies in educational leadership. Drawing a stark picture of the many ways both girls and boys are molded into gender identities, the authors offer concrete resources and suggestions for transforming educational practice.

Purchase this book on Amazon

About The Men's Section

book-men100Have you ever wondered how men grapple with changes in the status of women in society? Do you think societal messages about "manhood" sometimes leave men confused and struggling? Do Jewish men receive different messages about their masculinity -- and how do they cope with all the changes around them?

If you have ever thought about these questions, then you must read The Men's Section: Orthodox Jewish Men in an Egalitarian World. This book, based on interviews with Orthodox men who are struggling with gender and religion, offers never-before-seen insights into the inner lives of Jewish men. The book takes place in a fascinating new venue: "partnership synagogues" where women have taken on public roles that used to be the exclusive domain of men. This book explores and analyzes the men's struggles as they take part in a movement of changing gender roles in an ancient patriarchal religious culture. The findings will astound you and inspire you.

Purchase this book on Amazon

Copyright © 2015 Elana Sztokman. All Rights Reserved.
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