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Tel Aviv (2007) was the first focus group I conducted in Israel. I talked with potential subjects before the group met, usually on the phone, and retrieved some personal data. Since I was worried that some might not attend, I asked every potential subject to bring along a friend who might be interested in joining the group. I interviewed six potential subjects and twelve women actually participated in the group. It was a diverse group of women; all lived in Tel Aviv or outer suburbs or towns in the vicinity, apart from one who lived in a small settlement south of Tel Aviv. The age range within the group was 35–55 years. All participants were mothers. The socio- economic status of the women in this group ranged between middle to upper middle class. (Group's code - TL)

Participant's code68 Participant's age Personal status Occupation

TLAs 47Y Married+ University lecturer

TLO 54Y Married + Architect

TLP 53Y Separated + Manager

TLRa 35Y Married + University lecturer

TLAh 39Y Single + University lecturer

TLAy 42Y Married + Actress

TLH 50Y Married + Graphologist

TLT 38Y Married + Home-maker

TLR 42Y Married + Independent

business woman

TLI 47Y Married + Secretary

TLSm 44Y Married + Fundraiser

TLSy 54Y Married + Manager

Herzelia (2007) was the third focus group conducted in Israel. It had three young participants in their early twenties; they were all known to each other previously. One of them contacted me through an ad placed at Tel Aviv University and gave my contact details to two friends. This group was supposed to include three other young

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In preliminary discussion, I requested some personal details from potential subjects. Most volunteered before I asked for these details. When I did have to ask, I made a point of informing the participant that it was her choice to disclose personal information.

women in the same age group, but they didn’t show up, although I had spoken to them in advance.69 Two participants in this group were students; one lived in Herzelia and two in Tel Aviv. They were all single and resided with their parents. The socio- economic status of the women in this group was middle class. (Group's code - H)

Participant's code Participant's age Personal status Occupation

HS 24Y Single Student

HM 24Y Single Student

HR 24Y Single Student

Kefar-Sava (2007) was the second focus group I conducted in Israel. It had five participants, aged 23 to 74 years. It was a diverse group in age as well as occupation and status. All participants contacted me after obtaining my contact details from neighbourhood contacts. Two lived in Tel Aviv, one lived in Ra'anana, and two lived in Kefar-Sava.70 The oldest participant volunteered to host the group in her home in Kefar-Sava. Except for the youngest participant, all participants were mothers. The socio-economic status of the women in this group ranged between middle to upper middle class. (Group's code - KS)

Participant's code Participant's age Personal status Occupation

KSR 74Y Widow + Pensioner

KSN 69Y Married + Pensioner

KSL 55Y Married + Pensioner

KSD 43Y In a relationship + Physiotherapist

KSS 23Y Single Student

Rishon-LeZion (2007) was the fourth focus group conducted in Israel. It had four participants, aged 40 to 49 years, and all were mothers. One participant contacted me after obtaining my details from her neighbourhood contact. The other three were her sister and two neighbours. The group took place in the kitchen of one of the participants in the morning. Three participants were married and one was a single mum. Three lived in the same building in Rishon-LeZion and one came from a suburb north of Tel Aviv. The socio-economic status of the women in this group ranged between middle to lower middle class. (Group's code - RZ)

Participant's code Participant's age Personal status Occupation

RZS 46Y Married + Kindergarten

teacher

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One of them contacted me a day after the group took place and scheduled an individual interview, to which she did come.

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RZT 51Y Single + Secretary

RZE 40Y Married + Home-maker

RZY 39Y Married + Salesperson

Pardes-Hanna (2007) was the fifth focus group conducted in Israel. It had three participants in their mid twenties. Two were single, one was married, and none had children. Two worked, one as au pair and one as a salesperson, one was unemployed. The two singles lived with their parents in Pardes-Hanna, a small town in the centre of Israel, with some middle-class neighbourhoods with a country character and other lower socio-economic neighbourhoods, where violence and crime were more prevalent. The married participant used to live in Pardes-Hanna, but moved out. One participant obtained my contact details from her neighbourhood contact person, and the other two participants were her twin sister and a neighbour. The socio-economic status of the women in this group was lower middle class. (Group's code - PH)

Participant's code Participant's age Personal status Occupation

PHS 24Y Married Secretary

PHSh 24Y Single Au pair

PHM 23Y Single Unemployed

Caesarea (2007) was the last focus group conducted in Israel. It had six participants, aged 37 to 62 years. Five lived in Caesarea, an upper middle-class neighbourhood in the centre of Israel. One participant lived in a small settlement (Moshav) on the outskirts of Haifa. All participants contacted me through an ad placed in their neighbourhood house. Five were married and one was a widow, all were mothers. Four participants lived for long periods of time outside Israel in the USA, South- America, Europe and India. Two, who had not lived outside Israel, had travelled extensively overseas. The socio-economic status of the women in this group was upper middle class. (Group's code - C)

Participant's code Participant's age Personal status Occupation

CG 63Y Widow + Pensioner

CM 40Y Married + Home-maker

CS 45Y Married + Home-maker

CE 53Y Married + Teacher

CD 43Y Married + Home-maker

CSh 61Y Married + Pensioner

Melbourne (2007) was the pilot group conducted in Melbourne prior to my field study in Israel. This group had four participants. All participants had arrived in Israel

two decades ago, as young single women; three arrived from Melbourne and one from the USA. They all met their spouses in Israel, three of them married Israeli men, lived with them in Israel for two or twenty years and are still married to their partners, currently living in Melbourne. The US participant met a Jewish-Australian man, in Israel; after living together in Israel for almost two years, they moved to Melbourne and have lived there ever since. This participant is currently single again. One contacted me after getting my details from my contact person in the Israeli community in Melbourne; the other three were her friends who joined the group and discussed their time in Israel. All participants were in their mid-forties and were mothers. The socio-economic status of the women in this group was middle class.

(Group's code - M)

Participant's code Participant's age Personal status Occupation

MH 48Y Married + Independent

business woman

MR 49Y Married + Secretary

MJ 45Y Married + Home-maker

MB 52Y Single + Nurse

Individual interviews. Eight participants were interviewed individually, five due to practical reasons to do with time, place and their personal schedules. Three preferred one-on-one interviews and chose not to participate in group discussion. Each interviewee was given a name code that included II and their first name initial.

(Group's code - II)

Participant's code Participant's age Personal status Occupation

IIEn 28Y Single Salesperson

IIEi 40Y Married + At home mum

IIG 38Y Married + Artist

IID 27Y Single Artist

IIEs 53Y Married + Art teacher

IIMs 57Y Married + Manager

IIMp 68Y Married + Artist