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Rising Voices Blog Posts

Rising Voices

Learn more about the Rising Voices Fellowship, JWA's thought-leadership program for Jewish girls and non-binary teens.
Shoshannah Hemley and another student stand in front of a crowd of students, shouting in protest. Someone in the crowd holds a sign that says "girls against guns."

“Too Loud” and "Too Jewish": Standing up for Gun Control

Shoshanna Hemley

We were at a school open mic about gun control in the weeks following the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting.

Topics: Activism, Schools
Open Torah scroll with yad.

Leining: A Balancing Act

2020 RVF Fellow

Existing at the border between modern and traditional values often feels like teetering across a balance beam.

Two women wearing tallit are moving away from the wall, a police officer looking at them and speaking to them. Another woman films the event on her phone.

The Wall Between My Identities

Sasha Azizi Rosenfeld

I expected to feel emotion and attachment to the Kotel. However, despite the burning midday sun, my first visit left me cold.

Three figures, arms over shoulders, walking on a paved road. Guard towers lined alongside them.

Prayers in Majdanek

Isabel Hoffman

Last March, as I prepared to visit Holocaust sites as part of my high school semester in Israel, I braced myself.

Topics: Holocaust, Prayer
Maddy Pollack speaking at her Bat Mitzvah party, microphone in hand. Cake on a table in front of her with text "Mazel Tov, Maddy."

The Only Jewish Kid

Maddy Pollack

When I was in third grade, my teacher asked me to tell my class about the Jewish New Year.

Gold Star of David necklace hanging in midair, in partial focus.

Jewelry and Jewish Feminism

Lila Goldstein

Like everything we wear, our jewelry displays our tastes and preferences. On a deeper level, though, it also projects our values to the world.

Auschwitz

A New Take on the Holocaust Experience

Lily Drazin

In reading Ozick’s thoughtful insight about the double victimization women faced during World War II, I realized that my Holocaust education was indeed lacking.

Topics: Holocaust
Watercolor by Abigail Glickman

Ayin Tovah: Learning to See

Abigail Glickman

In a passage from Pirkei Avot, Eliezer ben Hurcanus recommended “ayin tovah,” a “good eye” in Hebrew, which, my teacher explained, meant judging people in a favorable light.

Flowers in Naomi Bethune's Yard

Other

Naomi Bethune

I am not seen as average or conventional: not Black enough, but certainly not white enough; Jewish, but not “Jewish” enough for some.

Topics: Activism
Stock Photo of Microphone

How I Became a Slam Poet

Ruby Russell

Maybe we can shatter some glass ceilings if we shout loud enough. 

Phoebe Chapnick-Sorokin in D.C.

Treacherous Torah Teachings

Phoebe Chapnick-Sorokin

Teachers should receive training when preparing to educate students on sensitive topics, such as religion, so that they are providing the students with the most accurate information possible.

Graduation Stock Photo

A Jewish Goodbye

Madelyn Gelb

I’ll be leaving high school with a great big Jewish goodbye.

Nina Baran with her parents at her first "Court of Honor"

Scout Me In

Nina Baran

On February 1, 2019, Boy Scouts of America changed the name to Scouts BSA and opened its membership to girls.

#StopTheBans Rally

Abortion Bans and Rape Culture

Amy Jarkow

Restrictive abortion laws demonstrate the entitlement that men and the government feel they have over women’s bodies. Simply put, this is rape culture.

Desk with computer, coffee, notebook, and phone on top

Find Your Voice, Then Share It

Shira Minsk

Forming strong opinions is easier said than done, and for me, the exercise of writing helps me get there.

Sneaker with butterflies on it

Butterflies and What They Mean to Me

Lila Zinner

I love butterflies because, to me, butterflies represent freedom and bliss.

porcupine quills

Quills

Emily Axelrod

I couldn’t understand why it was this incident that spurred me to tears—why it was the struggle of a dog rather than the countless struggles of humans that had made me cry.

Rising Voices Fellow Emma Cohn with father

How Jewish Are You?

Emma Cohn

I have spent the last year learning that we are all at different places in our Jewish education; we have all had different sets of experiences. And they are all valid.

Sign with #MeToo written on it

Someone You May Know

Hannah Downing

I never, ever imagined that I would be sexually harassed. I thought that my environment was safe, and that I was doing everything I could to keep myself safe.

Topics: Feminism, Schools
Banner that reads, "men of quality respect women's equality

Why Feminism Needs Teenage Boys

Emma Nathanson

The boys in my class created a self-fulfilling prophecy. Their worry over claiming a title because of their lack of action made it impossible for them to take action in the first place.

Topics: Feminism, Schools
Pro-choice demonstration in front of supreme court

L’chaim: A Pro-Choice Narrative

Ava Berkwits

The summer of 2015, rising seventh grade me went off to sleepaway camp with an abstract sense of Malala/Emma Watson-based feminism, and a hunger to learn more.

Rosie the Riveter

Finding My Femininity

Ilana Jacobs

I was weird for being strong. “Weird” because physical strength is not often an attribute associated with women.

Olympic athlete Caster Semenya

Restricting Semenya is Sexist and Violates Human Rights

Molly Weiner

By saying a woman can only be defined as female and enjoy success if she has an arbitrary amount of testosterone, the IAAF has turned the hormone into something it is not: a myth of male greatness.

Birth control pills

Healthy Youth, Act!

Emma Nathanson

We’ve questioned the way sex ed is taught and brainstormed new methods health teachers should be using.

Photograph from the Oslo women's march

A Jewish Day School Revolution: Combatting Injustice

Lily Drazin

With the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements on the rise, I knew I wanted to deal with the issue of sexual violence.

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How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "Rising Voices Blog Posts." (Viewed on June 15, 2026) <https://qa.jwa.org/blog/risingvoices>.