The Gendered Aspects of Shared Accommodation in 1940s Tel Aviv

This paper explores the experiences of women in Tel Aviv’s early years in the context of shared accommodation. Large scale immigration during the 1930s and insufficient construction led to severe shortage of housing, pushing many to share space. The domestic sphere, expected to be a place of privacy and familial intimacy, became a meeting ground with unacquainted people and lifestyles. Frequently, conflicts ensued, and occasionally necessitated intervention; some involved a significant degree of violence. The position of women as homemakers and primary caregivers, and the easy access to the space of others within a dwelling left women particularly vulnerable to intrusion and assault. This essay draws on protocols of two arenas of arbitration, the Comrades’ Courts of the Histadrut and the Arbitrating Committee of the Municipality of Tel Aviv to trace the unique realities of women in a rapidly growing city and shed light on a seldom explored aspect of pre-state Israel.









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