Jewish Women’s Voices Matter

Your gift keeps these stories alive—it will be matched through year’s end, up to $50,000.

Help us meet our year-end goal
$40,000 of $50,000 raised.
Give Today

Search Results

Ruth Kullman, 2013

Ruth Kullman

As president of Touro Synagogue, Ruth Kullman focused on keeping her community together after Katrina.

https://qa.jwa.org/communitystories/katrina/narrators/kullman-ruth
Lis Kahn

Lis Kahn

A Danish immigrant, Lis Kahn lost many of her keepsakes from her first life in the storm.

https://qa.jwa.org/communitystories/katrina/narrators/kahn-lis
Jackie Gothard, 2013

Jackie Gothard

A third-generation New Orleans native and the first female president of Congregation Beth Israel, Jackie Gothard worked tirelessly to restore the synagogue and bring the community back together.

https://qa.jwa.org/communitystories/katrina/narrators/gothard-jackie
Deena Gerber

Deena Gerber

As executive director of the Jewish Family Service, Deena Gerber helped survivors navigate New Orleans’s shattered infrastructure and access social services after the storm.

https://qa.jwa.org/communitystories/katrina/narrators/gerber-deena
Sally Bronston

Sally Bronston

A high school freshman, Sally Bronston had to grow up fast, taking on new responsibilities for her family and community.

https://qa.jwa.org/communitystories/katrina/narrators/bronston-sally
Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer
May 12, 2015

For Women in Comedy, A New Jewish Voice

Sophie Edelhart

Jewish women are having a moment. At the end of 2014, Flavorwire published an article entitled “2014 Was—Secretly—The Year of the Jewish Woman.” It profiled Jewish women who made news in culture in the past year: Abbi Glazer and Ilana Jacobson of the Comedy Central show Broad City, Jill Soloway, the writer of the groundbreaking show Transparent,  and Jenny Slate, the comedian who starred in the romantic comedy Obvious Child, among others. 

Topics: Television, Comedy
https://qa.jwa.org/blog/risingvoices/for-women-in-comedy-new-jewish-voice
Lainie Breaux

Lainie Breaux

Having just given birth days before the storm, Lainie Breaux was focused on the needs of her new baby in the chaos of evacuation.

https://qa.jwa.org/communitystories/katrina/narrators/breaux-lainie
Rabbi Tziona Szajman, Timothy Olivieri, and Daughter Eliyana
May 7, 2015

The Dream That Was Meant To Be

Rabbi Tziona Szajman

Looking down at my beautiful daughter in my arms, I sometimes wonder what on earth took me so long. Bringing her into our lives was a long journey that did not begin with agency and governmental red tape, but with a dream I was afraid to let die.

Topics: Motherhood
https://qa.jwa.org/blog/dream-that-was-meant-to-be
Yana Kozukhin at the Bimah
May 7, 2015

Thoughts From Another Shul

Yana Kozukhin

I have an immense amount of respect for more traditional Jewish communities, Ashkenazi and Sephardi alike. Judaism cannot and should not be only one thing; and our culture’s ability to be both united and extraordinarily multi-faceted is part of what makes it so beautiful.

Topics: Synagogues/Temples
https://qa.jwa.org/blog/risingvoices/thoughts-from-another-shul
Carol Wise Beside JWA Poster in the Abandoned Congregation Beth Israel in Biloxi, June 21, 2007

Carol Wise

Frustrated with Jewish organizations that geared their offerings for women’s involvement around the interests and schedules of stay-at-home mothers, Carol Wise forged a more welcoming place for professional women in the Jewish community.
https://qa.jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/wise-carol
Roselle Ungar

Roselle Ungar

As assistant executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, Roselle Ungar helped evacuees maintain community and find aid from basic necessities to scholarships for children.
https://qa.jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/ungar-roselle
Sara Stone, 2012

Sara Stone

Sara Stone helped New Orleans weather hard times from the Great Depression through Hurricane Katrina.
https://qa.jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/stone-sara
Donna Sternberg

Donna Sternberg

A passionate supporter of Israel with decades of experience in fundraising for others, Donna Sternberg helped raise almost half a million dollars in aid to help her own community recover from Hurricane Katrina.
https://qa.jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/sternberg-donna
Lonnie Zarum Schaffer, cropped

Lonnie Zarum Schaffer

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Lonnie Zarum Schaffer stepped up to lead her struggling Modern Orthodox synagogue, Anshe Sfard, rebuild themselves even better than before.
https://qa.jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/schaffer-lonnie
Bluma Rivkin

Bluma Rivkin

Accustomed as a shlucha (Chabad emissary) to helping those in her community, Bluma Rivkin went into action after Hurricane Katrina, first with the pressing concerns of finding housing and aid for evacuees, then with the larger task of rebuilding the community.
https://qa.jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/rivkin-bluma
Julie Wise Oreck, cropped

Julie Wise Oreck

Both before Hurricane Katrina and during the long process of rebuilding New Orleans, Julie Wise Oreck has struck a balance between leading national Jewish institutions and focusing on organizations closer to home.
https://qa.jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/oreck-julie
Sandy Levy

Sandy Levy

Sandy Levy’s lifetime of experience in New Orleans as a fundraiser and a preservationist made her uniquely suited to help survivors of Katrina rebuild their lives and their homes.
https://qa.jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/levy-sandy
Peggy Olsen from Mad Men
May 6, 2015

Feminism, finally

Judith Rosenbaum

This week’s episode of Mad Men finally brought the moment I’ve been waiting for: when the women’s movement makes its arrival on the scene, if only in passing mention.

https://qa.jwa.org/blog/feminism-finally
Susan Levitas

Susan Levitas

A folklorist by training, Susan Levitas has used documentary and feature films to capture unexpected facets of the cultural history of the American South, from blues musicians in Washington to Jewish boxers in Savannah.
https://qa.jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/levitas-susan
Ruth Kullman, 2013

Ruth Kullman

Ruth Kullman has dedicated her career to working for positive change in her community, from chairing her local Planned Parenthood to helping her synagogue recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
https://qa.jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/kullman-ruth
Lis Kahn, cropped

Lis Kahn

Rebuilding her life time and again after great upheaval gave Lis Kahn unique insight as she helped the Jewish community of New Orleans heal after Hurricane Katrina.
https://qa.jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/kahn-lis
Jackie Gothard

Jackie Gothard

The first female president of her childhood synagogue, Congregation Beth Israel, Jackie Gothard helped the Orthodox synagogue rebuild after Hurricane Katrina.
https://qa.jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/gothard-jackie
Deena Gerber

Deena Gerber

A seasoned social worker and executive director of Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans, Deena Gerber helped residents put their lives back together in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
https://qa.jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/gerber-deena
Sally Bronston

Sally Bronston

Committed to youth leadership long before Hurricane Katrina, Sally Bronston lobbied on behalf of her community through the New Orleans Youth Leadership Council before turning to a career in journalism.
https://qa.jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/bronston-sally
Lainie Breaux

Lainie Breaux

When the hospital tending Lainie Breaux’s newborn son temporarily lost contact with her during Hurricane Katrina, Breaux used her fifteen minutes of fame to call attention to the plight of others devastated by the hurricane.
https://qa.jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/breaux-lainie

Donate

Help us elevate the voices of Jewish women.

donate now

Get JWA in your inbox

Read the latest from JWA from your inbox.

sign up now