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Exclusion of (Breastfeeding) Women in Beit Shemesh and Hod Hasharon

September 7, 2012 by 30 Comments
image: religious mom breastfeeding in Israeli park

Hebrew text of Navon correspondence with Israel PostPublic breastfeeding is in the news again, after a nursing mom was asked to leave a café in the Sharonim mall in Hod Hasharon. Tal Eisenberg asked a waitress to find her a comfortable seat to nurse her baby. Tal then overheard the shift manager asking the waitress whether Tal was nursing, and instructing her to find an excuse to make Tal leave. That waitress, and then a second one, approached Tal and asked her to leave without explanation. Tal and her mother took the baby, who was by now screaming at having his feeding interrupted, and left the café. She posted her story on the huge Facebook group "Mamazone," whose members left angry … [Read more...]

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The Zen of Public Breastfeeding

June 3, 2012 by 16 Comments
Ethiopian mother breastfeeding in shuk

Please welcome today's guest post by Miriam Kresh. Let it be said yet again: a woman can breastfeed in public with total modesty. Even in the middle of a bustling Middle-Eastern open-air market. Honest. I saw it myself last week in the local shuk. The scene was so modest as to be almost invisible. Trundling along with my wheeled shopping cart, I stopped at a stand selling particularly beautiful tomatoes.  At the corner of my eye, I noticed a young Ethiopian woman settling down on some steps next to me. Strange place to take a rest, I thought. Right in front of a butcher's. Not the cleanest or quietest place. Maybe she's not feeling well. She adjusted her big white shawl, an … [Read more...]

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Why Can’t Breastfeeding Mothers Just Be Nice?

April 29, 2012 by 138 Comments
Mom nursing baby discreetly while husband looks on.

When someone posted a picture of a Jewish TV celebrity breastfeeding on the subway, it prompted a hot Twitter debate about whether breastfeeding in public is inconsiderate. Seeing a mother breastfeeding, even if nothing shows, makes some people uncomfortable. That feeling is unlikely to change, at least in the short term. I believe this happens when people grow up without seeing breastfeeding as part of daily life.  Our culture associates breasts with sex, not with feeding babies. Even if the mother exposes more than necessary, the uproar over public breastfeeding exceeds concern over women who wear skimpy outfits. Clearly the breastfeeding itself sets people off. While … [Read more...]

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Modiin Mom Told to Nurse in the Changing Room

July 11, 2008 by 41 Comments

Yiska visited a mall in Modiin with her young baby. Here is her story:I was at the mall this morning with my 3-week-old daughter. While modestly nursing her, a security guard approached me and told me I shouldn't nurse in public, and that there is a changing room which I should use, "so everyone will feel more comfortable." I nodded and said OK, and just left it at that.An hour later, in a different spot, the same thing happened. This time it was one of the cleaning men. I told him I was perfectly comfortable where I was.It seems to me they were told by the management to ask women not to nurse in public.It's pretty ridiculous. It's fine for women to walk around half naked, but feeding your … [Read more...]

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