The study of conservative religious movements is centered mostly on its male leadership and male domination; very little research is devoted to female participation in these movements. Righteous Transgressions: Women's Activism on the Israeli and Palestinian Religious Right by Lihi Ben Shitrit adds greatly to our knowledge by telling the story of women in four important movements in Israel and Palestine.

The title of the book comes to argue, in a nutshell, that women's participation in these movements is a paradox: while women are conducting righteous actions they are transgressing the “correct” or “orthodox” way of things. Ben Shitrit studied four Jewish and Muslim movements, and in both Islam and Judaism there is a place for the idea of “holiness of sin.” Throughout history, change was narrated under the understanding that exceptional times require exceptional measures, thus at some points of time actions are required even though they might contradict religious law. Ben Shitrit's interesting observation is that many followers of these orthodox movements believe that they are living in such harsh times, thus women can play a bigger role in the movement's struggles, something in which in “normal” times would not be acceptable.

The book covers the Jewish settlers’ movement, Shas, which represents Mizrachi Jews in Israel, the Islamic Movement in Israel, and the Palestinian Hamas. The research was based on observant participation in three of the four movements (Ben Shitrit could not participate in Hamas activities) and review of primary sources. Righteous Transgressions is well researched and comprehensive, an important contribution to our knowledge of these movements, which are important social and political players in Israel and Palestine, yet under-studied in many ways.

The author divides the movements into two categories: “religious nationalism” which refers to movements that are outwardly focused on a struggle against a foreign rival (Settlers and Hamas) and “proselytizing” movements that are inwardly oriented and seek primarily to spread religiosity in their communities (Shas and the Islamic Movement). Her main conclusion is that religious movements that are primarily concerned with nationalistic politics provide women with discursive framing tools to justify and promote forms of political participation that diverge from the gender ideology upheld by the movement. Thus, for the sake of the national struggle, they claim, women must be allowed to engage in exceptional, unusual and even immodest public behavior. On the other hand, in movements that are primarily engaged in proselytizing activists, women are less favored for behavior that diverges from dominant gender ideology.

The second chapter outlines the four movements and what they share in common. They all abide to their religious laws and they all share the commitment to make their societies and states more religious. The sexual division of labor by all movements is such that a woman's most important duty is motherhood and caregiving, while men dominate the public and religious leadership. All of these movements encourage women's secular education and women's employment to support their families. All stress the importance of women's modesty and have a negative view on feminism.

The chapter provides the social and historical backgrounds of each movement, and explains its gender ideology. In the Jewish settlers’ movement, women are expected to build a Jewish home by having large families. The stress of caregiving and motherhood is connected to the national project: it is the women's responsibility for the biological reproduction of the nation, and a woman's womb is viewed as a weapon in the fight for demographic superiority. The Islamic Movement in Israel believes in setting boundaries between roles of men and women, and, as much as it supports the advancement of women in the workforce, it does not want to see their women “westernized.” The numbers Ben Shitrit provides show a growing trend of women's education, but the speakers of the movement emphasize that women should not overstep religious norms. Shas, like the Islamic Movement, stresses the separation of the sexes and the role of modesty. The movement believes that women can study and work, but it sees feminism as an attempt to blur the lines, thus they advocate for a clear gender behavior. The Palestinian Hamas Movement also supports the idea of women as the biological reproducers of the nation, a concept that is written in the movement's charter. Hamas encourages women's education and employment as long as the interaction between the sexes remains controlled.

Chapter three discusses the type of activism women undertake in each movement. Ben Shitrit argues that being mothers and homemakers is viewed as unique contributions women can make to their movements. Thus, women in the settlers’ community are viewed with high esteem, as without their contributions and sacrifice life in the settlements would be unsustainable. From this perspective, women's contribution to the national effort is viewed as standing beside their men. In the Islamic Movement, women's main contributions are in the field of spreading piety, providing social charity services, and promoting community-building services. Another interesting activity is teaching Quran memorization for girls and women of all ages, and also providing Quran lessons. In the eyes of Shaykh Sarsour, one of the leaders of the movement, women's roles reflect the movement's broader goal of offering a “third way,” between traditionalism and Westernization, which includes protecting the Islamic lifestyle while advocating greater freedom for women. Women affiliated with the Shas Movement, Ben Shitrit argues, have been the main innovators in Haredi professional education, such as the Margalit Institutes that provide low-income students with academic and professional education, and even a Haredi college was established to advance women's education. Hamas also used their educational network to reach out to mothers and fathers and to spread the religious message. Hamas established Quran memorization institutes offering also training workshops for women. Encouraging women to come to mosques, learn about religion, and adopt a more pious lifestyle has been central to Hamas work. Hamas emphasizes that the women of Palestine should stand behind their male relatives in the latter's resistance endeavors. By taking care of the house and children, the women liberate their husband to focus on the national struggle.

The fourth chapter, which discusses women's protest, was the most interesting for me. In all the movements discussed in the book, a call for women's activism is explained by their maternal, nurturing, emotional characteristics. Ben Shitrit makes an interesting observation that since women contribute to the national cause they are considered righteous. For the sake of the nationalist struggle, the entire nation must be recruited. Thus, temporarily blurring the lines between the religious and secular through women's transgressions is a strategy that further assists, rather than undermines, the nationalist cause. Thus, settlers’ women activists can participate in public protest that can include dragging, pushing, physical restraining, and arrests by the police. Such types of protest are common. Orthodox practice doesn't allow women to touch men, however, which makes this behavior puzzling. The rationalizations of such behavior by women activists prioritize the defense of the Land of Israel over modesty laws. They argue that while in peaceful times women should be quiet and modest, in exceptional times, they are the ones to lead the struggle.

The Islamic Movement in Israel prioritizes the defense of the Al-Aqsa mosque from Jewish threat as a major component of its identity, and the role of women in securing it is interesting. According to Ben Shitrit, thousands of women participate in the Al-Aqsa in Danger Campaign by the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement. Women protest and even try to prevent the entrance of Jewish groups into the Temple Mount plaza who seek to pray in the premises. When such groups attempt to enter, with the escort of the Israeli police, the women who are congregating near the entrances shout allahu akbar, bang on the metal gates, and physically confront policemen and soldiers. Hamas women use nationalistic ideology to justify more transgressive public activity, and Ben Shitrit offers the case of Reem Riyashi, who in 2004, was the first woman from Hamas to commit a “martyr operation.” The mother of two, she exploded herself at the Erez checkpoint, killing four Israeli soldiers and wounding dozens of people. Until her suicide, Hamas opposed female jihad on the grounds that this behavior contradicts traditional gender roles. In order to allow what is forbidden, Hamas needed Sheikh Qaradawi from Qatar to rule that martyr operations are forbidden, except in Palestine. In his ruling, he argued that the Palestinian case requires a temporary suspension of the taboo against killing yourself. Necessity permits the prohibited. In her martyrdom last message, Riyashi criticized the men of Palestine and challenged their masculinity. She said that the short-comings of men and the grave danger facing the nation forced her to make a temporary provision and to act like a true man, offering her life to the cause of jihad. In her language, the duty of jihad received prominence over motherly duties, and her martyrdom honored her children. After her death, Qaradawi issued a fatwa that legitimized women's participation in suicide missions, and, in the name of the national struggle, temporarily suspended modesty for the sake of greater communal need. When it comes to Shas, which is not engaged in a nationalist struggle, women are assigned a pivotal responsibility to maintaining the boundaries between the secular and the religious, and between gender roles and modesty. In the absence of a nationalist or communalist preoccupation, such boundaries cannot be transgressed, concludes Ben Shitrit.

The fifth chapter deals with women's formal representations in political parties. The chapter found greater women's representation among the settlers and Hamas, while much less political representation in the other two movements. Ben Shitrit explains that in religious-national movements, the placement of women in leading roles is explained as an exception that is needed due to the national struggle. These movements also need to place women in strategic and visible places in order to attract outsiders to support their parties. Women in settlements took almost 13% of representatives in local councils in 2010, which in general is close to the national rate of women in local councils in Israel. The Habait Hayehudi Party in the Knesset, who claims to represent the settlers, even placed two female representatives in its Knesset list. In the Islamic Movement in Israel, no women ever held leadership positions in its administrative body, but there were several cases of women's representation at the local level. Their high placement was explained on the grounds of nationalistic or communalistic need. The Islamic Movement does not object to women's political participation, it argues, but still many obstacles are raised. The movement argues that women lack interest in political power, and it does not prioritize women. The Islamic Movement tends to include women candidates only in regions where other lists include women. Thus, a regional atmosphere of inclusion is necessary for the movement to nominate women, explained Ben Shitrit. Shas has never appointed women to run in its party list in local or national elections. According to Shas rhetoric, a Woman of Valor should be a housewife, not a politician. Women might acquire a visible place in the movement, and women would be important for the electoral process and success, but, from that perspective, this is the most regressive movement of the four.

For me, the case of Hamas was the most surprising. Hamas women have participated as candidates in lower level representative bodies such as student governments and trade unions, local councils, and in the short-lived Islamic Salvation Party in 1995. Palestinian election law requires a quota for women in every local council, and on the national level the law requires a woman candidate in the top of each party’ three candidates. Hamas abided by the quota requirements and included women in their local and national lists. Moreover, Hamas women explained their political nominations as a call to duty that they had accepted. Hamas, from its perspective, rationalized women candidates on their lists as following Islamic values.

In her conclusion, Ben Shitrit points to another paradox that in the religious national movements such as Hamas and the settlers, where women are much more engaged and visible, their activism is explained as an attempt to restrict rather than expand women's freedom and choices, and their transgressions are justified as temporal provisions. On the other hand, in Shas and the Southern Islamic Movement, women minimal activism is reviewed as freedom and agency, like they have chosen to be secluded.

I must disagree with Ben Shitrit on the last point. In the book, she brings a story of a Shas woman whose husband ordered her to change her head-cover from a wig to a handkerchief. At first the woman thought she looked ugly, but later she supported her husband's decision and now is happy with her new look. Another story is of two Muslim girls who were ordered to wear head-covers. At first they thought they looked like grandmothers, but later they learned to accept their new look. I found these stories as rationalizations and excuses to new situations in which women have no power and they have to live according to the orders coming from above, even if they dislike them; I did not see them as a proof of agency and freedom.

To conclude, Ben Shitrit's Righteous Transgressions is an important addition to our knowledge of orthodox movements. She has identified interesting patterns among women's participation in these movements, and the wide scope of the research is impressive. These movements are fast growing and their influence on the international level is turning significant, however scholars are late to pay attention to them. This book aims to fill some of this gap.