The position of women in the Middle East and their role in the various processes for social and political change are of crucial importance for an understanding of the societies of which they are part; and in considering general issues of women’s struggles. The articles in this book are mainly concerned with various aspects of women’s political roles in the Middle East. Of special importance is the issue of the relation between specifically women’s struggles and general political struggles; and too, of the relationship between Israeli and Jewish Palestinian women. Also included are articles that examine the social and cultural contexts in which women in the Middle East exist – both in the Arab world and in Israel.