Politics and Government

Content type
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jwapedia Hashtag

Some #jwapedia favorites

Leah Berkenwald

Last month we celebrated Jewish American Heritage Month with #jwapedia, a campaign to tweet JWA's Encyclopedia.

jwapedia Hashtag

The final day of #jwapedia

Leah Berkenwald

Today is the final day of May, which also makes it the final day of Jewish American Heritage Month and the final day of our #jwapedia campaign to tweet the Encyclopedia.

Honoring our Jewish service members on Memorial Day

Kate Bigam

Time for a quick Jewish-American history lesson: In 1655, New Amsterdam colonist Asser Levy rallied against a colonial ordinance that forbade Jews from joining the colonial militia.

Topics: Military
Cheerleading

Does cheerleading matter to Jewish women?

Leah Berkenwald

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is considering a proposal to recognize competitive cheerleading as an emerging sport, a step towards legitimacy as a championship sport. Anyone who has seen competitive cheerleading (and the injuries cheerleaders often sustain) can understand why; it’s a physically demanding and dangerous version of gymnastics where people perform flips and handstands not on a balance beam, but on top of a human pyramid.

Summer internship opportunities at JWA

Leah Berkenwald

Do you know someone looking for an engaging internship experience this summer? The Jewish Women's Archive has openings for several unpaid interns, 10–20 hours per week, beginning June 13, 2011 for both undergraduates and graduates. Academic year positions may also be available. 

Jaclyn Friedman

Jaclyn Friedman speaks out against slut-shaming and victim blaming at Slutwalk

Leah Berkenwald

Jaclyn Friedman is a 'Jewess with Attitude' who talks the talk and walks the walk -- the Slutwalk, that is. Jaclyn Friedman, founder and the Executive Director of Women, Action & the Media, is a powerful voice in the current Feminist movement. Co-author of Yes Means Yes!: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape, she is particularly concerned with tearing down rape culture.

Parshat Emor: What it means to leave a legacy

Elyssa Cohen

In our lives:
This past week we have seen a “modern” example of sacrifice upon hearing the news of American troops killing Osama Bin Laden. All week I reflected on what Osama’s life meant and the legacy he would be remembered by. Reading countless news articles caused me to question, was Osama happy? And, although the US spent a decade hunting him, did our country do the right thing by killing him? These are not easy questions, and there may not be easy answers.

Shabbat at Planned Parenthood

Chanel Dubofsky

The people awake at 7:15 a.m., when I left the house this past Saturday morning, were walking their dogs, washing off the streets in front of their stores and picking up a bite to eat.

Judith Frieze, June 21, 1961

Why do we act? Lessons from the Freedom Rides

Judith Rosenbaum

Fifty years ago, in May 1961, a small group of civil rights activists embarked on a journey that would change them and change America. Boarding buses headed south for what they termed a "Freedom Ride," these young black and white activists challenged segregation by sitting together on the bus and in the waiting rooms of bus stations.  Though the Supreme Court had already declared segregation in interstate travel illegal, the Federal Government was not enforcing the law, so the Freedom Riders engaged in nonviolent civil disobedience to call attention to this injustice.

Gail T. Reimer Recieves "Lives of Commitment" Award, May 6, 2011

Gail T. Reimer receives the Auburn Seminary's "Lives of Commitment" Award

Ellen K. Rothman

On Friday, May 6th, Auburn Seminary in New York held its annual “Lives of Commitment” breakfast.

Hillary Clinton, President Obama, and Security Team in the Situation Room, 2011

Hillary Clinton "too sexy" for Hasidic newspaper

Leah Berkenwald

Brooklyn-based, ultra-Orthodox, Hasidic Jewish newspaper, Der Tzitung, has decided to rewrite history by photoshopping Hillary Clinton out of the photo of U.S. leaders receiving an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden (right). Why? Because the idea of a woman in the Situation Room was "too scandalous."

Natalie Goldstein Heineman, 1913 - 2010

In every organization in which she was involved, she was recognized not only for her effective leadership but for her independence, intellect, hard work and kind heart.

jwapedia Hashtag

#jwapedia: Tweeting the Encyclopedia!

Leah Berkenwald

In honor of Jewish American Heritage Month, the Jewish Women’s Archive is launching a campaign to tweet our online Encyclopedia of Jewish women’s history. The project poses an intriguing and entertaining challenge: to summarize a scholarly article in no more than 140 characters.

Ruth Nussbaum, 1911 - 2010

She understood the need for promoting religious pluralism, human rights, and democracy in Israel as fundamental Reform Jewish values. To Ruth, Jewish nationalism expressed in Zionism is a seamless and natural aspect of Reform Jewish identity.

A Fifth Question for Passover

Linda Frank

The Passover Seder offers an opportunity to remember more than just the exodus from Egypt and our desert wanderings.

Charlotte Jacobson, 1914 - 2010

She traveled the world in defense of Jewish rights, meeting with refuseniks and facing commissars in the Soviet Union, and advocating freedom of worship and emigration in front of the leaders of Syria and Egypt. She also defended Israel and the Jewish people in the halls and overseas conferences of the United Nations.

Synagogue Sanctuary

Is the shul a place for political activism?

Kate Bigam

I spent last Friday night celebrating Shabbat at Temple Ohabei Shalom in Brookline, Mass., a Reform synagogue I’d never before visited. I was in awe of the chapel’s breathtaking, brightly colored stained glass windows, and I was fascinated by Rabbi John Franken’s take on Parshat M’tzora, which drew unexpected parallels between, of all things, skin diseases and marketing (all with a Jewish bent, of course). But it was a bright green insert in the Friday night program that struck me most.

Democratic National Committee (DNC) Logo

Jewish women and the Democratic National Committee

Leah Berkenwald

Yesterday, President Obama chose Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz as the new chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), making her the second Jewish woman to hold this position after Debra DeLee in 1994. After doing a little research at jwa.org, however, I realized that even though Wasserman Schultz may be the only the second Jewish woman to chair the DNC, she is actually joining a long tradition of Jewish women who have been active in the organization.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Mazel Tov Debbie Wasserman Schultz, new chair of the DNC!

Leah Berkenwald

Yesterday the Democratic party announced that President Obama chose Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz as the incoming chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, making her the first woman DNC chief in 15 years and the third in history. Considering that the first two women to lead the DNC only served temporary stints, Wasserman Schultz’s appointment is extremely significant.

Netiva Ben-Yehuda

Remembering Netiva Ben-Yehuda

Ari Davidow

Many years ago I was sitting in a kibbutz dining hall in the north of Israel. One of the older members, a woman, was reminiscing about the equality of the sexes that supposedly existed when the kibbutz was founded.

Top 11 Labor History Landmarks in New York City

Labor History Landmark: No. 11 The Lower East Side Tenement Museum

Leah Berkenwald

The Top 11 Labor History Landmarks in New York City is a blog series on Jewesses with Attitude created in honor of Women's History Month and the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Waist Factory fire. Learn more about the series here, or check out JWA's online walking tour.

Top 11 Labor History Landmarks in New York City

Labor History Landmark: No. 10 The Henry Street Settlement

Leah Berkenwald

The Top 11 Labor History Landmarks in New York City is a blog series on Jewesses with Attitude created in honor of Women's History Month and the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Waist Factory fire. Learn more about the series here, or check out JWA's online walking tour.

Top 11 Labor History Landmarks in New York City

Labor History Landmark: No. 8 Carnegie Hall

Leah Berkenwald

The Top 11 Labor History Landmarks in New York City is a blog series on Jewesses with Attitudecreated in honor of Women's History Month and the 100th anniversary ofthe Triangle Waist Factory fire. Learn more about the series here, or check out JWA's online walking tour.

The 8th of the Top 11 Labor History Landmarks in New York City is the Carnegie Hall.

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