A recent submitter to the "Dear Prudence" agony aunt column that runs on the left-leaning current affairs site Slate.com was spurned when they sought advice on how to "change Judaism," a religion they described as "horrifying."

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The letter writer made it clear that they had "nothing against Jewish people," but said that Judaism itself institutionalized "infant genital mutilation [a reference to circumcision of male infants], animal abuse [referring to kosher ritual slaughter]" and espoused "extremely regressive social expectations."

While the advice seeker did not explicitly state whether they themselves were Jewish or not, they wondered how "they [Jews] can have the last openly apartheid state in the world."

The letter writer said that their attempts to "speak out" about these issues had attracted responses from "disgusting people," such as "Holocaust deniers [and] MAGA types," which prompted them to "hide [their] online presence" and asked Prudie (Jenée Desmond-Harris) how they might "guide the religion, kicking and screaming, into the 21^st century."

Desmond-Harris did not pull her punches in responding, telling the letter writer that the reason they couldn't find support from anyone other than "human garbage," as the writer called the people who responded to their attempts to "guide the religion," was that the letter writer was "thinking like human garbage."

Desmond-Harris called out the letter writer's "antisemitism," pointing out that they had pinned on Judaism a number of issues that exist in many religions and many non-religious contexts.

"Judaism doesn't need you, of all people, to drag it into the 21^st century, or anywhere else," Desmond-Harris wrote.

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A new bill advanced by Knesset member Uriel Buso of the Sephardic ultra-Orthodox Shas party aims to provide financial aid to Israeli Jews who leave the secular world and become religious, similar to that given to new immigrants upon their arrival in Israel.

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Buso proposed the legislation in response to another bill, advanced by Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg, which seeks to grant monetary aid to ultra-Orthodox Israelis who decide to no longer be religious – in an effort to help them complete their secondary education and go to university.

Buso's bill aims to get the state to recognize secular Israeli Jews who become religious – known as hozrim betshuva – by awarding them the same financial aid, or "absorption basket," given to new immigrants.

As per the bill, every Israeli Jew who leaves his or her secular community and becomes ultra-Orthodox will be eligible for the assistance regardless of their age, gender, or marital status.

If in a Jewish state – where Torah study is of supreme value – the government wants to provide absorption baskets to Jews who leave the religious way of life, then all the more so it should assist those who decide to begin adhering to it, according to the bill.

It further explained that returning to religion carried with it challenges similar to those encountered by new immigrants when entering a society they know nothing about.

"This process is in many ways similar to what new immigrants go through, and in some ways, it is even more difficult," the bill said, stressing that financial aid would help them "acclimatize immediately."

Knesset members are scheduled to deliberate on the matter on Thursday.

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Facebook already asks for your thoughts. Now it wants your prayers.

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The social media giant has rolled out a new prayer request feature, a tool embraced by some religious leaders as a cutting-edge way to engage the faithful online. Others are eyeing it warily as they weigh its usefulness against the privacy and security concerns they have with Facebook.

In Facebook groups employing the feature, members can use the feature to rally prayer power for upcoming job interviews, illnesses, and other personal challenges big and small. After they create a post, other users can tap an "I prayed" button, respond with a "like" or other reaction, leave a comment or send a direct message.

Facebook began testing it in the US in December as part of an ongoing effort to support faith communities, according to a statement attributed to a company spokesperson.

"During the COVID-19 pandemic we've seen many faith and spirituality communities using our services to connect, so we're starting to explore new tools to support them," it said.

The Rev. Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church in Dallas, a Southern Baptist megachurch, was among the pastors enthusiastically welcoming of the prayer feature.

"Facebook and other social media platforms continue to be tremendous tools to spread the Gospel of Christ and connect believers with one another – especially during this pandemic," he said. "While any tool can be misused, I support any effort like this that encourages people to turn to the one true God in our time of need."

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union of Reform Judaism, said he understood why some people would view the initiative skeptically.

"But in the moment we're in, I don't know many people who don't have a big part of their prayer life online," he said. "We've all been using the chat function for something like this — sharing who we are praying for."

Adeel Zeb, a Muslim chaplain at The Claremont Colleges in California, also was upbeat.

"As long as these companies initiate proper precautions and protocols to ensure the safety of religiously marginalized communities, people of faith should jump on board supporting this vital initiative," he said.

Under its data policy, Facebook uses the information it gathers in a variety of ways, including personalizing advertisements. But the company says advertisers are not able to use a person's prayer posts to target ads.

The Rev. Bob Stec, the pastor of St. Ambrose Catholic Parish in Brunswick, Ohio, said via email that on one hand, he sees the new feature as a positive affirmation of people's need for an "authentic community" of prayer, support, and worship.

But "even while this is a 'good thing,' it is not necessary the deeply authentic community that we need," he said. "We need to join our voices and hands in prayer. We need to stand shoulder to shoulder with each other and walk through great moments and challenges together."

Stec also worried about privacy concerns surrounding the sharing of deeply personal traumas.

"Is it wise to post everything about everyone for the whole world to see?" he said. "On a good day, we would all be reflective and make wise choices. When we are under stress or distress or in a difficult moment, it's almost too easy to reach out on Facebook to everyone."

The Rev. Thomas McKenzie, who leads Church of the Redeemer, an Anglican congregation in Nashville, Tennessee, said he wanted to hate the feature – he views Facebook as willing to exploit anything for money, even people's faith.

But he thinks it could be encouraging to those willing to use it: "Facebook's evil motivations might have actually provided a tool that can be for good."

His chief concern with any internet technology, he added, is that it can encourage people to stay physically apart even when it is unnecessary.

"You cannot participate fully in the body of Christ online. It's not possible," McKenzie said. "But these tools may give people the impression that it's possible."

Crossroads Community Church, a nondenominational congregation in Vancouver, Washington, saw the function go live about 10 weeks ago in its Facebook Group, which has roughly 2,500 members.

About 20 to 30 prayer requests are posted each day, eliciting 30 to 40 responses apiece, according to Gabe Moreno, executive pastor of ministries. Each time someone responds, the initial poster gets a notification.

Deniece Flippen, a moderator for the group, turns off the alerts for her posts, knowing that when she checks back she will be greeted with a flood of support.

Flippen said that unlike with in-person group prayer, she doesn't feel the Holy Spirit or the physical manifestations she calls the "holy goosebumps," but the virtual experience is fulfilling nonetheless.

"It's comforting to see that they're always there for me, and we're always there for each other," Flippen said.

Members are asked on Fridays to share which requests got answered, and some get shoutouts in the Sunday morning live-streamed services.

Moreno said he knows Facebook is not acting out of purely selfless motivation – it wants more user engagement with the platform. But his church's approach to it is theologically based, and they are trying to follow Jesus' example.

"We should go where the people are," Moreno said. "The people are on Facebook. So we're going to go there."

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The booklet, issued in early October, included instructions for religious soldiers on how to avoid interaction with women. The IDF prides itself on including women in nearly all units, including combat units, and while it makes allowances for religious soldiers who seek to avoid serving in mixed combat units, it often has to ward off attacks by religious figures who demand women be excluded from combat units.

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Several extreme religious figures have even demanded women be excluded from the Israeli military as a whole.

Addressing the issue during an officers' graduation ceremony held in central Israel on Thursday Kochavi said: "This would be a good opportunity to underscore what is the exclusive and important role of commanders in the army. Over the years, and even more recently, I have encountered attempts by non-military officials to dictate norms of conduct to soldiers. For example, issuing guidelines regarding the joint service for women and men in the IDF.

"Let me be absolutely clear: The only people who have any authority on the matter are those who define military orders, procedures, and norms, namely military commanders, chief among them, me. There is no place in the IDF for external individuals who presume to have authority over our soldiers."

Women who serve in the IDF "are a source of strength and power, and their contribution to all military units is immense," the chief of staff proclaimed.  "Men and women will continue to serve side by side, as one, in the Israel Defense Forces so as to ensure the security of the State of Israel."

A Reserve Rabbis Forum, which issued the booklet, issued a statement saying, "We hope that the booklet we issued assists military rabbis in their important work, for the security of Israel and the military's success."

After Israel Hayom broke the story that the booklet was issued, Yisrael Beytenu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman warned that the religious establishment was trying to turn the IDF into a religious militia.

"The publication of a booklet with modesty guidelines for soldiers is yet another example of the radicalization of the national-religious camp, led by haredi nationalist elements," Lieberman wrote on Facebook, warning the IDF was becoming "Hashem's army" (God's army).

"This attempt to make the IDF into a haredi organization is part of this messianic trend that has been plaguing Israeli society and undermines the delicate status quo between religion and state," he continued.  "This must be stopped; this booklet should not be handed out to IDF soldiers."

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On Thursday, the UN chief cited a rise in attacks against individuals and groups around the world, saying: "Jews have been murdered in synagogues, their gravestones defaced with swastikas; Muslims gunned down in mosques, their religious sites vandalized; Christians killed at prayer, their churches torched."

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Guterres said that the first International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion and Belief was an opportunity to show support by doing "all in our power to prevent such attacks and demanding that those responsible are held accountable."

He urged people everywhere to resist and reject those who "falsely and maliciously invoke religion to build misconceptions, fuel division and spread fear and hatred."

Fifteen UN human rights experts marked the day with a call on all countries to ensure that religions and beliefs are not used to violate human rights – and to combat religious extremism.

The independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council said in a joint statement that "the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief is misunderstood as protecting religions and belief instead of the people with the beliefs and those without."

The experts, on issues ranging from freedom of religion to minorities to violence against women, emphasized the words of the General Assembly resolution sponsored by Poland and adopted in June that established the international day on Aug. 22. It said that "terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations cannot and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization or ethnic group."

At an informal UN Security Council meeting marking the day, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said by video from Geneva that "despite much progress, I am deeply alarmed by the worldwide rise of xenophobia, racism, religious intolerance that is menacing to our lives" as well as to democracy, social instability and peace.

"If we can't accept diversity ... there shall be no peace in the world," she said.

Bachelet said that a key to trying to combat religious persecution is to look for "early warning signs" like discrimination and words of intolerance, and take early action.

Samuel Brownback, the US ambassador at large for religious freedom, told the council that according to the Pew Forum, "83% of the global community live in countries with high or very high restrictions on the free practice of faith – and it's getting worse, not better."

He pointed to "the horrific actions of violence and ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims" in Myanmar, persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan "either at the hands of non-state actors or through discriminatory laws and policies," Boko Haram's attacks on mosques and churches in Nigeria, and the Islamic State extremist group's targeting of Iraq's Yazidis, Christians and Shiite Turkmen "for atrocity crimes."

Brownback said that the United States is "deeply concerned" about China's "escalating, widespread and undue restrictions" on religious groups, including Uighurs, Kazakhs and other Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, Catholics, Protestants and Falun Gong.

"We call on the Chinese government to end its war on faith and to respect religious freedom for all," he said.

The United States also strongly opposes Iran's "severe violations and abuses of religious freedom," including the death penalty for blasphemy, apostasy from Islam and proselytizing Muslims, and discrimination and harassment of unrecognized minorities such as the Bahai'is and Christian converts.

British Minister of State Lord Tariq Ahmad, a special envoy on religious freedom, said that religious minorities face challenges ranging from discrimination to armed conflicts, mass murders and violent assaults.

"The heinous attacks this year on places of worship from the Philippines to Burkina Faso, New Zealand to Sri Lanka, have reminded us all that the fundamental human right of freedom of religion or belief is increasingly under threat," he told the council. "As we commemorate the victims of such acts of violence, we demonstrate our commitment to supporting research to change people's lives and help build a world free of religious intolerance and hatred."

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The poll, conducted on behalf of the IDI by Panels Ltd., polled 500 male and female soldiers who are currently serving in the IDF or recently completed their service about an IDF directive ordering women to be integrated into combat service and to what extent that directive causes friction with religious male soldiers.

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Despite the controversy sparked when the IDF issued the directive last year, 73.2% of respondents said that they had little or no knowledge of it, with 43.3% saying they had never heard of the directive at all. Only 15.8% of respondents said they were well-versed in the directive and had been briefed on it during their service.

Those who oppose integrating women into combat roles argue that it would harm the IDF's operational abilities, Soldiers, however, tended to disagree. Two-thirds (66.6%) of respondents said they disagreed that mixed-gender combat service was detrimental to operations, compared to 30.6% who said they disagreed. Nearly half (49.4%) said mixed-gender service posed no hardships to either gender, while 39.4% said that mixed-gender service made day-to-day life in the army more complicated.

The poll also questioned soldiers about tension created by women serving alongside religious soldiers: 77.8% of respondents said that religious soldiers in combat units were not required to carry out any actions that demanded physical contact with their female comrades, and another 66.4% said that they had not experienced incidents in which female soldiers were barred from any areas of bases because of the presence of religious male soldiers.

When asked if female soldiers were banned from wearing shorts or tank tops, 43.6% said that such cases happened infrequently or not at all, with 49.4% saying they had encountered such bans with varying frequency.

More than half (52%) of respondents said that their units addressed the needs of female soldiers and religious male soldiers equally, compared to 26% who said that more consideration was given to religious male soldiers. When asked about the overall situation in the IDF, 39% said that the two groups were treated equally, compared to 37% who thought that the army paid more attention to the demands of religious male soldiers than to those of female soldiers.

Dr. Idit Shafran Gittleman, a researcher with the Center for Security and Democracy at the IDI, said that the poll "indicates a need to inculcate the [mixed-gender] directive and implement it as stated. The data also shows that there are gaps in the positions of the two sides when it comes to gender equality, and these are expressed in a very broad interpretation of the directive, which leads [it] away from its principles."

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Over 1,600,000 pilgrims have already arrived in Saudi Arabia for the Hajj, according to the Saudi government. The majority of them are residing in Mecca, the holiest city for Muslims, while others are staying in Medina, the ministry added.

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With all guns blazing, the parade portrayed training exercises of Saudi security forces taking on armed attackers and tackling blazing buildings. The event is annually held to reflect on the preparations to ensure the safety of pilgrims.

Video: Reuters

Every able-bodied Muslim is supposed to undertake the pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime.

The pilgrimage traditionally takes place from the eighth to the 12th of Dhu al-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar.

Because the Islamic calendar is lunar and the Islamic year is about eleven days shorter than the Gregorian year, the Gregorian date of Hajj changes from year to year.

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Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, accused Republicans who claim to support Christian values of hypocrisy for backing policies separating children from their families at the US-Mexico border. The GOP, he declared, "has lost all claim to ever use religious language again."

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It was a striking moment that highlighted an evolution in the way Democrats are talking about faith in the 2020 campaign. While Republicans have been more inclined to weave faith into their rhetoric, particularly since the rise of the evangelical right in the 1980s, several current Democratic White House hopefuls are explicitly linking their views on policy to religious values. The shift signals a belief that their party's eventual nominee has a chance to win over some religious voters who may be turned off by President Donald Trump's abrasive rhetoric and questions about his character.

"The bar for Democrats on reaching broad swaths of the American faith community is lower than ever because of Donald Trump," said Michael Wear, who led White House faith outreach during President Barack Obama's first term and re-election. Wear said Democrats have an opportunity to show faith voters they don't just "have a seat at the table, the values table is our table."

Buttigieg, an Episcopalian who married his husband in his home church, often invokes his faith on the campaign trail and has tangled over values with Vice President Mike Pence, an evangelical Christian. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a practicing Methodist and former Sunday school teacher, recently declared that all of her expansive policy proposals "start with a premise that is about faith" as she cited a favorite biblical verse about Jesus urging care for "the least of these." New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker has called Jesus "the center of my life" and excoriates Trump for what he calls "moral vandalism."

John Carr, founder of Georgetown University's Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, urged Democrats to focus more on their personal faith and avoid wielding religion as a political weapon.

"When you use faith as a way to go after your adversaries, it sounds more like a tactic and less an expression of who you are," said Carr, who spent more than two decades as an adviser to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Regardless of Democrats' changing tactics, Trump and Republicans are all but certain to maintain their grip on one of the most influential religious voting blocs, white evangelicals; 8 in 10 who self-identified with that group voted Republican in the 2018 midterm elections, according to AP's VoteCast survey. Though Trump rarely discusses his own religious identity and isn't seen as particularly devout, he's won the loyalty of many evangelicals through his administration's successful push for conservative judicial nominees and focus on anti-abortion policies.

Democrats have appeal and opportunity with other religious voters. VoteCast showed Democrats captured half of self-described Catholics and 42% of Protestants in last year's midterms.

Democrats have long had to walk a tightrope with religious voters, given that their support for abortion and LGBTQ rights is at odds with leaders of several prominent denominations.

The 2020 candidates aren't shying away from those differences. Warren, for example, opposes the United Methodist Church's prohibition on same-sex marriages and LGBTQ pastors, which has prompted more progressive congregations to weigh a split.

"Elizabeth believes equal means equal, and that's true in marriage, in the workplace, and in every place," spokeswoman Saloni Sharma said.

Instead, they see an opening to talk about religion as a driver of their basic values, not a litmus test. Immigration offers one such opportunity, given that Trump's detention policies have drawn criticism from leaders of multiple faiths, including some evangelicals.

Jim Wallis, the founder of the Christian social justice group Sojourners, described the drowning of a father and his toddler daughter who attempted to cross the border as a test of faith for policymakers. Many devout Latino voters who are being courted to vote Republican next year "believe that's a religious question," Wallis said.

The Democratic candidates come from a variety of religious backgrounds and differ in how they speak about faith on the campaign trail.

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand identifies as Catholic but regularly attends evangelical services as well as Mass, her campaign said. Former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke said in a statement to The Associated Press that he was raised attending Catholic Mass, but, "As an adult, I have found a stronger connection with God outside of the church."

California Sen. Kamala Harris and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders speak about their faithless frequently than some of the others. But Sanders – who would be the first Jewish president – recently joined liberal Jewish activists for a picture that identified them as Jews against Israel's policies toward Palestinians.

Former Vice President Joe Biden has openly struggled to reconcile his Catholic faith with his party's more liberal position on abortion. In the 1970s, he said the Supreme Court went "too far" in legalizing abortion nationwide and later said abortion should be legal but not government-funded. He reversed that position only last month under intense pressure from his Democratic opponents, drawing a public reprimand from the archbishop of Philadelphia.

But Biden flouts his church's hard-line positions against homosexuality and same-sex marriage. "We are all God's children," he explained last month at a Human Rights Campaign gala in Ohio.

Booker often speaks about his faith as he campaigns. His home church is Metropolitan Baptist in Newark, New Jersey, and his campaign said he attends services whenever he isn't traveling to early voting states.

The New Jersey senator generally avoids direct use of religion to criticize the GOP, but he told a South Carolina pastor during a CNN town hall in March that "the Bible talks more about poverty, about greeting the stranger, about being there for the convicted ... [more] than it talks about the kind of toxic stuff you often hear the president spewing."

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She is one of 100 women admitted every year to study for up to three years in the institute in Rabat, run by Morocco's ministry of religious affairs.

Morocco, which is nearly 100% Muslim, has marketed itself as an oasis of religious tolerance in a region torn by militancy – and has offered training to imams and male and female preachers of Islam from Africa and Europe on what it describes as moderate Islam.

It currently trains 1,300 people mostly from the sub-Sahara nations of Mali, Senegal, Nigeria, Guinea, Gambia and Chad, where Al Qaida and Islamic State are active.

"When I go back to my country, I will find some children and women who did not go to school and don't know a lot about religion...we will be very useful to them and we will teach them about the fundamentals of religion," said Koulibaly.

"We will show them how to behave with others and not to be extremists. We will show them how to be moderate in religion".

Compared to other countries in North Africa Morocco has been largely insulated from militant attacks. The first since 2011 took place last December when two Scandinavian tourists were found murdered in a tourist spot in the Atlas Mountains. Four suspects had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.

Students at the institute receive 2,000 dirhams ($208.33) a month in addition to free accommodation, plane tickets, and health insurance. Admission criteria include having a BA degree.

The curriculum covers Islamic studies along with philosophy, history of religions, sexual education and mental health.

"We show them that the concepts of democracy and human rights serve purposes rooted in Islamic values," said institute director Abdeslam Lazaar.

Imams also receive vocational training in electrics, agriculture or tailoring to enable them to have a source of stable revenue when they return home.

Imam training can help sub-Saharan countries facing militancy and a vacuum in the supervision of religion, Salim Hmimnat of the Rabat-based African Studies Institute said.

Pope Francis visited the imam training institute during his trip to Morocco in March.

Students also come from France, such as 25-year-old Aboubakr Hmaidouch.

"The Muslim community in France is in great need of imams and female religious preachers to ensure that the values of religion contribute to living together and to the spiritual well-being of society," he said.

Training takes into account practical life and culture, and accepts diversity he said.

"When I return... I hope to put into practice and transmit this knowledge, especially this spirit of peace, love, fraternity and tolerance."

The institute also helps Rabat expand its foothold in a region where major Moroccan banks and companies have been investing for years.

"The use of religion plays an important role in the kingdom's overall soft power equation," said Anouar Boukhars, a Maghreb expert and Carnegie Endowment fellow, noting Morocco promotes its tolerant Islam as an alternative to the extremist ideologies in the Sahel.

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Linda cites her religious responsibilities no fewer than three times throughout our conversation. "I am a devout Muslim, I observe the commandments on prayer and fasting, I raise my children on the values of respect, love and peace."

She reminds me of myself. Ever since I removed the head covering that was a part of me for 18 years, and which I removed following a divorce, I find myself feeling the need to explain to complete strangers that despite the absence of a head covering on my head, I am just as religious as I was at 17.

Linda mainly paints portraits of women, from beauty icons to regular flesh and blood. She was born, raised and educated in the Israeli Arab town of Jaljulia in the Triangle Region of northern Israel, a town ranked 2 out of 10 on the socio-economic scale, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.

"Ever since childhood, I had a gift for painting, but what we learned at school was … mainly embroidery. … I didn't go to after-school art activities, there were no such afterschool activities here. Mother was creative, as was my older sister, but I wasn't aware that art was studied in academia."

After high school, Linda worked as a teaching assistant in a class for the hearing-impaired while studying for a bachelor degree in sociology and Arabic at Bar-Ilan University. It was there that she became aware of the possibility of combining her academic studies with her love of painting.

"I'm from the village. It was only at the university that I was exposed to the world and saw pamphlets on art colleges."

She left Bar-Ilan University and was accepted to Beit Berl College, where she earned an art degree and a teaching certificate. Today, Linda is now studying for a master's degree from Oranim Academic College and works as an art teacher at an elementary school in the village.

"On the weekends, I run after-school activities for small groups in my studio in Jaljulia, and there is a demand. People understand that painting does not need to be functional. The school where I teach was the first in the [Arab] sector that brought in art studies. We are a small village. I may have been the first person from the village to go and study art. Today, there are at least five girls younger than me that have gone to study art in academia."

Linda says Arab men are less likely to study art as it doesn't earn them as much money.

"I ran away from the pain"

She shows me the studio, a room in her apartment. On the wall, two paintings hang, paintbrushes are arranged in transparent jars.

"I chose to teach to have an income and also to send a message to children. Art is an educational, cultural tool, a way to self-examination and self-expression. It is important to me that the child in my class brings himself out of himself. At first, she intertwined in her work thin strings of political identity, as an Arab woman in a traditional and conservative society, including an expression of "Palestinian roots and Israeli lifestyle." She then went on to speak in a more universal manner.

"I don't see myself as an emissary of the Arab public but rather an emissary of women who have overcome obstacles, difficulties.

"I was drawn to the image of the beautiful and young woman we see in commercials. The ideal and the youth reflected in social media. I chose images of anonymous women of fantastic beauty and I painted them without any emotional involvement. Gentle women, undamaged, who have no wrinkles or cares. In reality, I have experienced the opposite. I created an ideal, perfect world. In effect, I escaped the everyday pain and the difficult reality in which I and other women around me live through the paintings."

Last month, the exhibit that brings together the works of 22 Jewish and Arab, mostly religious, artists, who met for a year within the framework of the "Female leadership in culture" project" in cooperation with "Studio of Her Own and MATI Jerusalem business development organization. The project was led by Noel Abu Issa and is curated by Hadas Glazer and Yael Massar. It is the 12^th exhibit Taha has participated in.

"I had big dreams, to be exposed, to be "in", to leave a mark in the village, so I had to get to the openings, to the exhibitions, but the way of life dictated me differently, at the age of 23 I was with a child. There are no galleries in the Triangle, there are no galleries in the Triangle, more people are interested today, they support me personally, but in order to consume art I have to go north or Tel Aviv, the only gallery I know in the sector is in Umm el Fahm."

I ask about the Arab identity, the hijab, the accent, the house in Jaljulia, and whether from an artist's perspective, they are more of an obstacle or a springboard. She assumes it's a springboard. I am jealous.

"There is something interesting in my statement, my tradition. My work exudes Arabism. I paint a modest woman, with her head partially covered. I assume that gets me attention."

Linda started wearing a hijab at the age of 24, following the birth of her first son and continued to do so for 14 years.

"I chose the hijab. I wanted the air of modesty, the appearance of a religious woman, the appreciation the surroundings have for a modest woman. I wore a hijab every day. I would only take it off at home, and only if there was no one at home. The decision to wear a hijab was mine. No man forced it on me. Not my father, not my husband. So, too, was the decision to remove the hijab my own personal decision."

"With us, it's not dependent on familial status like it is with you," she tells me, explaining that divorced and single women will also wear a hijab. "It is considered elegant. A majority of the women my age cover their heads. In my mother's generation, most women didn't and only at the age of 50 began to. It is a religious law that has been given a fashionable social tone."

Q: Does the hijab impact the way you dress? Because for religious Jews, there is a sort of give and take. If you expose your arms, then the skirt will be longer; if the skirt is shorter, the collar will be closed. In Jerusalem, for example, one can see religious women in tight jeans who compensate by wearing head coverings.

"With us, it's the opposite. The hijab obligates one to wear more modest clothing. It's part of the show, part of the spirit of the covering. I once taught a religious Jewish friend how we tie the head covering. It was an interesting experience to see her try. I still take care to dress modestly. That is the way I was brought up. I am a devout Muslim, who observes the basic laws. I read the Quran, pray, visit graves."

Q: What happened to the cloth that once covered your head?

"As the years passed, I felt I wanted to be myself, Linda, for people to see me as I am. I came to the decision to remove the covering years ago, but it wasn't important for me to act on it. I got along with it fine. After the divorce crisis, I was with the kids, they were 2 and 6 years old, I focused on their education, in an attempt to get myself back on my feet. I couldn't make that kind of change."

When Linda received an offer offered to participate in the "Female Leadership in Culture" project two years ago, she thought it was because of her hijab.

"I was considered a conservative artist and that suited the aspirations of the organizers. During that same period, I reached the decision to remove the head covering. I shared my personal experience with my friends in the project, Jewish, Arab, Bedouin women. I spoke of tradition, religion and the education I got at home. The first time I went out with my hair uncovered was for a project meeting at Beit Ha'Gefen."

I immediately recall the first time I left the house without a head covering. I felt as if the world had come to a halt.

"Going out for the first time without [a head covering] – it's scary. I talked about it with my family and the kids beforehand. I remember the way from the house to the car, my heart beating loudly, feeling as if the entire world was focused on me. Every once in a while, my hand reaching out to my head, to feel what is not there."

"I remember surprising physical sensations. The rain, the wind. I felt something I had not felt for years, a strange, pleasant feeling, I was a little girl who realized the simple things, like a baby walking for the first time.

After I removed the covering, I discovered that I had given myself another task, another thing to maintain. We don't have enough to deal with? Now I have to dye my hair, blow dry it ...

But Linda said, "My hair was always meticulous, even under the hijab, so I didn't feel that way."

Q: How did your surroundings respond?

"There were those that did not recognize me, although they know me well. They were surprised. They didn't make the connection that it was me. There were those that asked me "Why?" There were those who were silent. I don't know what they say about me behind my back. If there was shock, it was not shown in my presence."

Q: What did you with all the head coverings?

"I divided my collection among friends that do cover their heads. The chance of me putting one back in one slim to none, but if I want to go back to wearing a head covering, I will buy new ones. Some I gave to my mother, she was happy. I kept a few at home. If I go to a cemetery, I will put one on, out of respect. Also during prayer."

Linda tells me how other women have recently decided to remove their hijabs, each for their own personal reasons. "But there are also many that have gone back to it and observe the laws."

Q: Do you need courage to remove the hijab? I had the excuse of a change in familial status. I don't know if I would have done it had I stayed married.

"A nose job would be a more difficult decision to make."

Against one of the walls in Linda's studio there leans a painting of a young bride, her face erased, her body wrapped in bandages that comprise a wedding dress. Or perhaps they are shrouds.

Q: Does one need courage to get a divorce?

"I guess so. But it's a personal decision. It is important to maintain mutual respect between the parents."

Q: Do you go out on dates?

"It's not simple. My education and occupation are not trivial. I can't go out on dates, meet a guy. … But I'm not exactly in a position of getting offers to be set up either."

In recent years, Linda's older sister, Lena, fought a battle with liver cancer.

"On my sister, I saw how the boy changes, disintegrates, surrenders, betrays. I saw the damage to femininity, beauty, youth. The damaged spirit, the sunken soul. I couldn't continue to paint refined women, icons, and ignore the despair and suffering. Suddenly, the expressive side came out of me, the expression of emotion. I realized that I had distanced myself from life in my paintings. I began to splatter paint, to let it drip, to draw a real, flesh and blood, fragile woman, to release the anger that was inside me."

Lena died two years ago, at the age of 42. She left behind two children.

"We had a strong connection. She was a genius, understanding and had a scientific mind. I still haven't gotten over her passing. I'm trying to internalize it. I think she has only gone to a distant place and will be back any minute. Father died 10 years ago. It's a different kind of loss. Father was the protector; a sibling is part of you."

In one of the pictures at the exhibit, Linda and Lena's mother is seen sitting alongside her dying daughter's bed, one month before her passing. She is reading verses from the Quran to cleanse her suffering daughter's soul.

"Mother believed it would make the suffering easier on her. That was all that was left to be done. We knew it was terminal. We didn't think there would be miracles, but we believe these prayers calm the sick person, cleanse their soul. Lena was weak and slept most of the time. I took the picture and later I hung a canvas and began to paint. It is difficult to paint these kinds of scenes. It was accompanied by tears."

On the day she photographed her sister, Lena recalled that "in the air, there was electricity, sanctity and pain. An older woman who read verses from the Quran joined us. There was a monotonous low murmur of the words of God that merged into the room for a holy moment. I saw a pained mother saying a prayer not for healing, because there was no cure, but to cleanse her daughter's soul, sitting alongside the fruit of her womb and just saying her goodbyes. We are used to adults passing on and the children accompanying them. Here, there was a reversal of roles. I saw Mother reserved, believing that crying would not help here, only prayer. "Her hair fell out due to the treatments, and she made sure to wear the hijab up until her very last days. When she didn't have the strength, we put the covering on her head for her. When she passed, the entire family was at her bedside. I believe that she went to a place of peace, cleanliness, reconciliation.  "I saw her before she was buried," Linda said. "She had an angelic, captivating smile. Before the burial, she was dressed in a festive, white hijab.

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