“My Body Speaks My Ideology”

Abstract I examine the activism of Jewish Israeli adolescent girls during Israel's 2023 – 2024 protests against the judicial overhaul and the post-7 October war. Situated in debates on democratic erosion, gendered citizenship, and feminist protest, I explore how girls embodied agency amid contested dissent. Interviews revealed that early protests functioned as safer spaces that fostered leadership, hope, and embodied exploration, while later sociopolitical shifts rendered these spaces more fragile, reshaping adolescent girls’ bodily presence, emotions, and forms of engagement. Conceptualizing the body as a palimpsest, I theorize activism as a multilayered accumulation in which agency and rage coexist without erasing prior inscriptions. Contributing to global discussions on youth activism and gendered citizenship in times of crisis, I show how shifting perceptions of safety reconfigured embodied resistance.