Activism

Passage of NY widows' pension bill advocated by Hannah Bachman Einstein

April 7, 1915

On April 7, 1915, New York's Governor Charles S. Whitman signed the Widowed Mothers Pension Act into law.

James Graham Phelps Stokes announces engagement to Rose Pastor

April 5, 1905

James Graham Phelps Stokes announced his engagement to Rose Pastor in a press conference on April 5, 1905.

Lisa Batya Feld on Merle Feld's "A Spiritual Life"

Publication of Merle Feld's "A Spiritual Life: A Jewish Feminist Journey"

April 1, 1999

Merle Feld's memoir, A Spiritual Life: A Jewish Feminist Journey was published on April 1, 1999.

Launch of Advancing Women Professionals and the Jewish Community (AWP)

April 12, 2001

Reflecting frustration with the Jewish communal world's persistent glass ceiling, Advancing Women Professionals and the Jewish Community (AWP) launched its first efforts on April 12, 2001.

"The Collected Stories" by Grace Paley, 1998

Writer Grace Paley arrested at Vietnam protest

March 19, 1970

On March 19, 1970, writer and activist Grace Paley was arrested with 181 other individuals for protesting the Vietnam draft in an act of mass civil d

Opening of "Too Jewish?" exhibit featuring work of artist Helène Aylon

March 10, 1996

Helène Aylon's The Liberation of G-d was first shown in the New York Jewish Museum's Too Jewish?: Challenging Traditional Identities

Rachel Adler receives National Jewish Book Award

March 11, 1999

Rachel Adler was awarded the National Jewish Book Award for Jewish Thought on March 11, 1999.

"New York Times" Reviews "Our Bodies, Ourselves"

March 13, 1973

In 1969, a group of women began meeting in the Boston area to discuss women's health issues.

Ezrat Nashim presents manifesto for women's equality to Conservative rabbis

March 14, 1972

A small New York study group, founded in 1971 to study the status of women in Judaism, presented Conservative rabbis with a manifesto for change at the Rabbinical Assembly convention on March 14, 1

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire

March 25, 1911

Approximately 500 workers were making ladies blouses at the Triangle Waist Company's factory near Washington Square in Lower Manhattan when fire broke out on March 25, 1911.

The New York Times reports on naming ceremonies for Jewish girls

March 14, 1977

Noting that the new Reform Jewish prayerbook, published in February 1977, included a naming ceremony for baby girls for the first time, and that Ezrat Nashim a small feminist activist collective, was about to publish a booklet entitled “Blessing the Birth of a Daughter: Jewish Naming Ceremonies for Girls,” the New York Times reported on March 14, 1977, that such ceremonies were becoming common in all branches of Judaism.

E.M. Broner's "The Telling: The Story of a Group of Jewish Women Who Journey to Spirituality Through Community and Ceremony"

E.M. Broner publishes "The Telling"

March 1, 1993

Publication of E.M. Broner's "The Telling: The Story of a Group of Jewish Women Who Journey to Spirituality Through Community and Ceremony."

Labor activist Rose Pesotta organizes in Akron, Ohio

February 25, 1936

In 1936, in the midst of nationwide union organizing drives, the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) se

"New Orleans Times-Picayune" celebrates 100th birthday of Elizabeth D.A. Cohen, Louisiana's first practicing female physician

February 22, 1920

The "New Orleans Times-Picayune" published an interview with Elizabeth D.A. Cohen, the first practicing female physician in Louisiana, on her 100th birthday.

Judith Kaye, Presidential Libraries Conference, Hyde Park, New York

Judith Kaye is nominated as Chief Judge of New York State Court

February 22, 1993

When Governor Mario Cuomo nominated Judith Kaye for the position of Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals on February 22, 1993, she beca

Death of Texan Jeanette Miriam Goldberg, organizer of Texas NJCW chapter & Jewish Chautauqua Society

February 28, 1935

Born in 1868 to Russian immigrant parents, Jeannette Miriam Goldberg grew up in Jefferson, Texas, at that time the sixth-largest town in the state.

"The Vagina Monologues" Performed at Tufts University, 2006

V's "The Vagina Monologues" performed at Madison Square Garden

February 10, 2001

The February 10, 2001, performance of V's The Vagina Monologues was cheered by 18,000 men and women at New York City's Madison Square Garden.

First Conference on Feminism and Orthodoxy is held

February 16, 1997

The first Conference on Feminism and Orthodoxy took place in New York City on February 16-17, 1997, with the theme "Exploring the Impact of Feminist Values on Traditional Jewish Women's Lives." A s

Publication of "The Feminine Mystique" by Betty Friedan

February 17, 1963

The publication of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, on February 17, 1963, is often cited as the founding moment of second-wave femin

Ann F. Lewis appointed National Chair of the Democratic Party's Women's Vote Center

February 4, 2002

Ann F. Lewis was appointed National Chair of the Women's Vote Center founded by the Democratic National Committee's Women's Leadership Forum (WLF) on February 4, 2002. The Women's Vote Center was formed to educate and mobilize women voters to help elect more Democrats to office at all levels of government.

Florence Prag Kahn elected as first Jewish woman in US Congress

February 17, 1925

As the wife of Julius Kahn, a US Representative from San Francisco, Florence Prag Kahn had developed her own public identity by writing a column on Washington doings for her hometown newspaper. When her husband died, she ran in a special Congressional election held on February 17, 1925.

Judge Justine Wise Polier Retires

February 3, 1973

Building on the legacy of her parents, labor activist and rabbi Stephen Wise and social reformer Louise Waterman Wise, Justine Wise Polier spent four decades on the New York City Family Court working for the rights of children before retiring on February 3, 1973.

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