Activism

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Episode 123: Message From Ukraine: Three Years Later

As the war between Ukraine and Russia enters its fourth year, Nahanni checks in with Vlada Nedak, the CEO of Project Kesher Ukraine. While American officials try to broker a temporary ceasefire, attacks on the ground in Ukraine are intensifying. Dozens of people have been injured and killed in the past month, including children. According to Reuters, over 12,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed since Russia invaded the country in 2022. Vlada Nadek lives in Kryvyi Rih, a city in central Ukraine, which is frequently the target of Russian missile and drone attacks.

Canoeing at Camp Bechol Lashon

Creating Belonging for Black Jews

Shoshana McKinney Kirya-Ziraba

Institutions created by and for Jews of color are fostering community, resilience, and belonging in ways that mainstream Jewish spaces often fail to.

Hanna Herzog

Professor Hanna Herzog is a key advocate for feminism in Israel. Herzog combines academic achievement and social activism, emphasizing the importance of listening to diverse voices and critically examining marginalized people. Her journey into sociology was influenced by her own experiences of marginalization, starting from her time at Reali High School in Haifa, which ultimately led to her interest in research and the pursuit of knowledge.

Episode 122: Miriam Anzovin on Power and Gender in the Megillah

In this special Purim episode, Talmudic TikToker and storyteller Miriam Anzovin joins us to talk about the darker side of the Purim story, especially the role of gender. We start with a dramatic retelling of the Megillah, with Miriam's very contemporary spin on the traditional tale. Then we take a closer look at the story's gender dynamics, which still resonate 2,500 years later. Happy Purim!

Auberge Shalom Pour Femmes

Auberge Shalom pour femmes was established in Montreal, in 1989, after a Jewish woman was murdered by her husband. It was the first and only Jewish shelter for women in Canada. The organization opened an additional point of service in 2002, providing counselling and support through an external office. 

Marge Piercy cropped

Q & A with Poet Marge Piercy

Deborah Leipziger

JWA talks to poet Marge Piercy about her latest book, self-care, and fighting for causes you believe in. 

Topics: Poetry, Protests

Fanny Klenerman

A lifelong rebel, a trade unionist, and a Trotskyite, Fanny Klenerman is chiefly associated with the Vanguard bookshop, an icon in left-wing circles in Johannesburg, South Africa, during the period 1931 to 1974.

Blanche Bendahan

Blanche Bendahan, born in Algeria in 1893, to a Sephardi father and a Catholic mother, became a renowned writer, poet, and political activist. One of her most famous works, Mazaltob, addressed themes of tradition versus modernity, women's rights, and the intersections between Jewish, Muslim, and Christian communities. She continued to write about her homeland until her death in 1975, combining her multicultural background with modernist style.

Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party Supporters Demonstrating

Black History is Jewish History

Marcella White Campbell

If we allow our history to be erased, and cover the parts that are inconvenient to those in power, what was once done in the dark will be done again—this time, in broad daylight

Topics: Civil Rights
Two women arranging flowers

One Community’s Journey to Inclusion

Robbie Terman

For decades, Sharon Alterman has fought for developmentally disabled people to be included in her Jewish community. 

Maimie Pinzer

Maimie Pinzer (1885-1940) was a resilient and ambitious woman with a strong survival instinct, navigating poverty, sex work, and societal prejudice while striving for a better life. She founded the Montreal Mission for Friendless Girls in 1915, which supported young women escaping prostitution. Through her letters to socialite Fanny Quincy Howe, she left behind a valuable account of working-class women’s lives in the early twentieth century, revealing personal and societal challenges in an era when women’s voices were rarely heard.

"An Unfinished Symphony," art piece by Judy Robkin

The Power of Visual Storytelling

Jen Richler

JWA chats with Barbara Rosenblit and Sheila Miller, the creators of Artful Disclosure, a program that honors the ordinary and extraordinary lives of Jewish women through visual storytelling. 

Birth of Inez Bensusan, Australian playwright, actress, and suffragist

September 11, 1871

Inez Bensusan, an Australian and English playwright, actress, and suffragist, was born on September 11, 1871. She wrote and acted in many feminist plays and was active in multiple activist groups, often combining theater and feminism for a political cause.

Birth of Denise Eger, first openly gay president of the CCAR

March 14, 1960

Denise Eger, the first openly gay president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and known for her trailblazing activism, was born on March 14, 1960. Eger’s rabbinical career spanned several decades and she notably served California’s queer Jewish community at the height of the AIDS crisis. 

Collage with photo of Charlotte Charlaque surrounded by black and white designs.

A Young Liberal Feminist’s Post-election Message to Her Peers

Jess Shapiro

Charlaque lived through perhaps one of the most horrific periods in world history as a Jew AND as a transgender woman, AND she survived.

Dr. Estée Klar and her son Adam Wolfond

Q & A with Artist and Disability Advocate Dr. Estée Klar

Sarah Groustra

JWA chats with Dr. Estée Klar about collaborating with her son Adam Wolfond, a non-speaking autistic poet and artist, on a new video installation exhibit.

Megaphones on either side with an artistic interpretation of the flag of Turkey in the middle

Addressing Violence Against Women in Turkey

Lea Davis

Attending my friend’s club truly opened my eyes to the horrific reality that is day-to-day life for many Turkish women.

Topics: Women's Rights

Arlene Agus

Arlene was known for her intense and fervid connection to Jewish liturgy, her dazzling smile, her love of words, music and laughter, and her steadfast commitment to feminism.

A white rectangle with a Stars of David pattern. A pink rectangle in the middle with the artistic silhouette of the bust of a woman.

Fighting for Better Breast Cancer Treatment as Jewish Feminists

Bee Foster

Jewish women, like Patricia Barr and Rose Kushner, fought so people like my grandmother could live happy and full lives after breast cancer. 

Collage with images of Bella Abzug and a rainbow background.

How Bella Abzug Inspires Me to Never Give Up

Dany Dorsey

One of the themes in Bella’s story is a refusal to stay down when pushed into a corner.

Topics: Women's Rights
Collage of hand holding a megaphone with stars in the background

Let’s Get Angry Together — And Make Change

Charli Duchalski

Anger can be a very powerful tool for Jewish women.

Aurora Levins Morales and Book Cover

Q & A with Poet Aurora Levins Morales

Deborah Leipziger

JWA talks to poet Aurora Levins Morales about her new book of poetry, Rimonim: Ritual Poetry of Jewish Liberation, and considers the power of protest, prophecy, and music in these times that call us to action.

Topics: Poetry, Protests
2024 Highlights Photo Montage

Jewish Women Who Shaped 2024

JWA Staff

As 2024 draws to a close, the JWA team takes a moment to celebrate some of the incredible moments and achievements of Jewish women and gender-expansive people from the past year. Here are our picks for the standouts that inspired us, made us laugh, and reminded us of the power of resilience, community, and creativity.

Repeated images of the Statue of Liberty on the top row. Repeated images of Emma Lazarus on the bottom row.

Lifting Our Lamp to Welcome the Stranger

Yona Pianko

Learning about Emma Lazarus' important work aiding Eastern European refugees fleeing from discrimination, violence, and pogroms inspired me to think more deeply about immigration: both its connection to my own life and to today’s world.

Topics: Activism
Collage of a kippah and a rainbow

How My Kippah Affirms My Trans Identity

Murphy Slater

I feel most sure of my gender identity and presentation when it melds with my Jewish cultural identity.

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