Hebrew is changing to become compatible with gender justice

TAL JANNER-KLAUSNER: New letters, optional endings and switching forms are among the creative solutions to create a gender-inclusive language.

Three features of Hebrew grammar present a challenge in the context of gender justice.

Firstly, Hebrew grammar is highly gendered, with all nouns and adjectives, as well as most verb forms and prepositions, changing according to grammatical gender. It’s inescapable and strengthens the societal assumption that gender must be known, addressed and is immutable.

As the Israeli poet Yona Wallach wrote, “Hebrew is a sex maniac”.

Secondly, this grammatical gender is binary: for objects as well as people, there are only two options - masculine or feminine. Nothing neutral or other.

Finally, these two options are not on an equal footing. The masculine form often takes precedence, such as the use of masculine plural forms when addressing a mixed-gender audience, even if there is only one man present.

This is not coincidental. Language reflects our social norms and strengthens them by making them seem natural and unchangeable. For example, it can be harder to understand the concept of non-binary gender if the language you speak doesn’t seem to have an option for addressing someone who is non-binary.

Additionally, multiple research studies have shown that using masculine forms of address as default harms the achievements and motivation of women in education and work. 

We are witnessing a moment of change in the Hebrew language, thanks to the efforts of the feminist and LGBTQ+ advocates. The movement for gender-equal Hebrew asserts that, contrary to the guidelines of the Academy of the Hebrew Language, masculine grammatical gender is not neutral or all-inclusive. This assertion is now increasingly accepted in broad swathes of Israeli society, widening the adoption of alternative ways of speaking and writing.