Men and Women

The Sex Strike That Shook the Ultra-Orthodox World

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When news broke that a group of Orthodox Jewish women was organizing a sex strike against their husbands as part of a campaign to coerce one allegedly abusive husband to grant his poor wife a divorce, we knew we wanted to cover the story. And we knew, too, who should write it: the journalist Talia Lavin, who was not only raised Orthodox but also has personal experience with the arcane rituals that govern the religion’s divorce proceedings. What Talia came back with is one of the wildest stories we’ve published this year, replete with sex dolls, diamonds of Jewish lore, and a remote town in upstate New York full of enraged, hammer-swinging men beyond the reach of the law. But the most amazing part of all might be this group of women finding each other through social media to stand up for themselves — evidence that change might be possible even in a world where time is meant to stand still.

—Ryu Spaeth, features editor, New York

‘Mitzvah Night Is CANCELLED’ Inside the sex strike that has infuriated husbands and shaken the ultra-Orthodox world.

Photo: Courtesy of subject
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Categories: Men and Women, Religion and Philosophy, Sexuality and the State

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