Books Fictions of Gender: Women, Femininity, and the Zionist Imagination (Volume 1) (McGill-Queen’s Azrieli Institute of Israel Studies) by Orian Zakai (Author)

"Fictions of Gender: Women, Femininity, and the Zionist Imagination" by Orian Zakai explores the intricate relationship between Zionism and feminism through the lens of early Zionist women’s experiences and writings. The book is part of the McGill-Queen’s Azrieli Institute of Israel Studies and is informed by extensive archival research into published and unpublished creative, biographic, and essayistic works by Zionist women from the 1880s to the 1950s.

Zakai situates these women within broader histories of colonization and ethnic politics in Israel/Palestine, addressing contemporary debates on feminism, nationalism, and colonialism. The book challenges traditional scholarship on Modern Hebrew literature and culture by applying feminist and postcolonial perspectives to critically analyze the construction of national femininity and gender roles within Zionist discourse.