10/9/13 - Zeke Ackman

1.  The goal of the Alliance Israelite Universelle was to educate jews so that they would be better able to become productive members of society and educate them on their heritage.  Before, basic moral and religious instruction occurred in the home and was performed by the mother of the household.  For men secondary education took place in schools run by jews while most women did not receive further education or else gained to from a private tutor at their home.  The Alliance Israelite Universelle wished to broaden the education that both sexes received.  Rather than simply giving religious instruction and education the alliance wished to give men an understanding of law, agriculture and other necessary skills.  With many jews receiving emancipation new opportunities were now open, but many lacked the education to take full advantage of their new rights.  The alliance wished that men would as soon as possible be ready to be full citizens and their education was designed to teach them all they might need to take part in society, while still retaining their jewish heritage.  The education that women received differed from men in a number of ways.  Rather then focusing on law, women were given moral teachings and given skills such as operating machinery so that they might be useful in a household.  Their moral and religious instruction was not meant to prepare them as citizens but rather to prepare them to teach their future children and make them productive members of a household, able to create textiles and other goods.

3.  Rabbi Ben-Zion Uzziel argued for the right of jewish women to participate in elections and hold office if publicly elected.  One of his arguments was that it would be unjust to create laws that govern the lives of women without giving them a say or vote.  This view only corresponds to giving women the right to voice their opinion in a public forum.  This was the less contentious issue of the debate so Rabbi Uzziel was able to take a more definite position in favor of women's suffrage.  The second issue brought up pertains to whether women could hold public offices.  Here Rabbi Ussiel does not take a definite stance.  He sites several authorities that claim that men should receive leadership rather than a women but he also brings up Deborah from the time of the Judges as evidence that women can in some cases hold positions of authority.  It seems that Rabbi Uzzziel, while willing to give women the right to vote, did not believe that all public positions should be open to women.