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Handmaid's Tale inspires Israeli women battling religious coercion

Hundreds of women clad in red cloaks and sporting white bonnets have been appearing in the past few weeks in several of the anti-judicial overhaul, pro-democracy demonstrations across the country.

 Rally in Jerusalem, Feb. 25 2023 Credit: Tal Kfir Shor
Rally in Jerusalem, Feb. 25 2023 — Credit: Tal Kfir Shor

Some 150 women clad in red cloaks and sporting oversize white bonnets obscuring their faces have taken to the streets in Israel, in the midst of the massive pro-democracy protest organized in Tel Aviv last week.

The organizers told Al-Monitor that their protest, inspired by Margaret Atwood's fictional book "The Handmaid's Tale", channels power through silence and is a dire warning to Israelis of what could come if the far-right gets the final word. 

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