Oral History Collection

The Nicki Newman Tanner

Oral History Collection

As part of JWA’s mission to expand the narrative of Jewish history, we have collected and recorded hundreds of interviews with leaders, activists, and community members across the United States, documenting their encounters with major events and movements of the 20th and 21st centuries and the many ways that gender, class, place, and religious and ethnic identities have shaped women’s lives. With generous support from Nicki Newman Tanner,  Mass Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, we are proud to make these interviews and transcripts available to the public. All entries include transcripts; audio or video recordings are also available where narrator permissions allow. 

More about the collection

Judy Somberg

Project
Women Who Dared

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Judy Somberg on July 18, 2000, in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Somberg recounts her activism through the years, reflecting on her involvement in anti-war movements, women's rights, and the Cambridge Sister City Project, advocating for human rights and supporting affected communities.

Marion Stone

Project
Women Who Dared

Marion Stone was interviewed on February 4, 2004, in Chicago, Illinois, as part of the Women Who Dared oral history project. Stone shares her upbringing in Chicago Heights, experiences of antisemitism, education, a career in social work, involvement in the Jewish community, family resilience during the Great Depression, missions in Israel, and dedication to arts education.

Pamela Sussman-Paternoster

Project
Women Who Dared

Julie Johnson interviewed Pamela Paternoster-Sussman on March 1, 2005, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Paternoster-Sussman shares her upbringing in a blended family, strong Jewish identity, experiences of antisemitism, activism, teaching marginalized students, and her educational pursuits in Cleveland and Cambridge.

Marcy Syms

Project
General

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Judge Marcy Syms on October 3, 2023, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Judge Abrams explores her family, education, career path, focus on gender issues, and notable legal cases in an interview. The interview with Marcy Syms covers her diverse life, exploring her immigrant and Jewish roots, early encounters with feminism, experiences with discrimination, leadership in her family's company, activism for the Equal Rights Amendment, and insights into gender equality and workplace reforms.

Elana Sztokman

Project
Meet Me at Sinai

Jayne Guberman interviewed Dr. Elana Maryles Sztokmann on February 8, 2015, in New York City, New York for the "Meet Me at Sinai" Oral History Project. Dr. Sztokman, raised in a Modern Orthodox family, became a feminist activist challenging Orthodox Judaism's sexism, pursuing higher education, and seeking a balance between her beliefs and her commitment to gender equality.

Marillyn Tallman

Project
Women Who Dared

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Marillyn Tallman on February 2, 2005, in Chicago, Illinois for the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Tallman talks about her childhood, activism work, involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, and her Jewish life and Zionist beliefs.

Nicki Newman Tanner

Project
General

Gail Reimer interviewed Nicki Newman Tanner on August 24th, 2007, in Scarsdale New York. Nicki discusses her early life in Chicago, her experiences at Wellesley College, her career in Los Angeles, and her involvement in various leadership roles, including the board at Colonial Williamsburg, JWA, and HUC, as well as her Jewish identity and community engagement.

Jean Trounstine

Project
Women Who Dared

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Jean Trounstine on July 21, 2000, in Lowell, Massachusetts for the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Trounstine details her Jewish background in Cincinnati, how it shaped her political lens, and her prison reform work, including theater productions with incarcerated women.

Reva Twersky

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Roz Bornstein interviewed Reva Twersky on June 19, 2001, in Seattle, Washington, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Twersky discusses her family's Russian roots, their Orthodox values, community life in Seattle, experiences during World War II, involvement in Jewish organizations, and her marriage.

Semah Unterman

Project
DAVAR: Vermont Jewish Women's History Project

Ann Buffum and Sandy Gartner interviewed Semah Unterman on August 12, 2005, in Belmont, Vermont, for the Vermont Jewish Women's History Oral History Project. Unterman discusses her family, childhood activism, experiences during the war, career in education and local politics, the importance of critical thinking, and her daughter's illness and travels.

Andrea Waldstein

Project
Soviet Jewry

Georgia Westbrook and Alexandra Kiosse interviewed Andrea Waldstein on July 14, 2016, in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the Soviet Jewry Oral History Collection. Waldstein explores her family's Ukrainian roots, her Jewish upbringing in Massachusetts, her involvement in the Soviet Jewry Movement, and her reflections on Jewish identity and women's issues.

Mollie Wallick

Project
Women Who Dared

Abe Louise Young interviewed Mollie Wallick on January 11, 2005, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Wallick reflects on her Orthodox upbringing, her family relationships, her evolving Jewish identity influenced by her gay rights activism, and her support for LGBTQ+ students as a University counselor.

Gertrude Webb

Project
Women Who Dared

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Gertrude (Goldie) Mikel Webb on January 15, 2002, in Waltham, Massachusetts, for the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Webb, a Boston educator, discusses her Jewish upbringing, a career in teaching students with learning disabilities, and ongoing commitment to helping others influenced by her Jewish heritage.

Jill Weinberg

Project
Women Who Dared

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Jill Weinberg on January 31, 2005, in Chicago, Illinois, as a part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Weinberg talks about her upbringing, involvement in Jewish communal service, experiences in Israel, work at the Jewish Federation and Holocaust Museum, and her commitment to bridging Jewish and Indigenous heritage.

Tobie Weisman

Project
DAVAR: Vermont Jewish Women's History Project

Sandy Gartner and Ann Buffum interviewed Tobie Weisman on August 15, 2005, in Montpelier, Vermont, as part of the Vermont Jewish Women's Oral History Project. Weisman shares her family's immigration history, her upbringing, early experiences in Israel, her rabbinical training, and ultimately finding fulfillment in marriage and joining her husband's organic fruit tree farm in Vermont.

Sylvia Willard

Project
DAVAR: Vermont Jewish Women's History Project

Sandy Gartner and Ann Buffum interviewed Sylvia Willard on June 29, 2005, in Rutland, Vermont, as part of the Vermont Jewish Women's Oral History Project. Willard shares her family history, growing up in Vermont, her passion for theater, involvement in the Jewish community, meeting her husband Howard, and their successful ventures in the retail industry.

Dorothy Wittenberg

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Pamela Brown Lavitt interviewed Dorothy Wittenberg on April 26 and May 8, 2001, in Mercer Island, Washington, for the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Wittenberg recounts her family background, childhood memories, experiences as one of the few Jewish families in Tacoma, her education, volunteer work, and reflections on community, and women's roles.

Judith Wolf

Project
Women Who Dared

Julie Johnson interviewed Judith Wolf on February 23, 2005, in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Wolf reflects on her Jewish upbringing, volunteer work, religious schooling, and efforts to establish educational resources for disabled children in Ukraine, emphasizing the role of women and Jewish values in her life.

Judith Wolf

Project
Soviet Jewry

Alexandra Kiosse interviewed Judith Wolf in Newtown, Massachusetts, on July 25, 2016, as part of the Soviet Jewry Oral History Project. Wolf talks about her Jewish identity, marriage, and active involvement in the Soviet Jewry Movement and support for children with special needs, as well as her concerns for the future state of politics and the importance of public discourse.

Sue Wolf-Fordham

Project
Women Who Dared

Julie Johnson interviewed with Sue Wolf-Fordham on March 4, 2005 in Massachusetts for the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Wolf-Fordham explores her early exposure to social activism through her mother's engagement in the Boston Jewish community, which led her to create adaptive tools for Ukrainian children with disabilities and establish an Educational Resource Center, and her dedication to passing on these values to her children.

Judith Wright

Project
Women Who Dared

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Judith Wright on July 25, 2000, in Gloucester, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project, Wright discusses her family, Jewish identity, political activism, involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, incarceration during the Freedom Rides, and her continued engagement in various causes, including women's rights and antiwar activities.

Miriam Yasgur

Project
Barnard: Jewish Women Changing America

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Miriam Yasgur on October 29, 2005, in New York, New York as part of the Barnard: Jewish Women Changing America Oral History Project. Yasgur discusses her progressive Orthodox Jewish upbringing, her struggle with feminism in that context, and her journey to integrate feminism and religious practices into her life, including her art.

Rebecca Young

Project
Women Who Dared

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Rebecca Young on January 29, 2002, in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Young reflects on her upbringing in poverty, the loss of her mother, the reconnection to her Jewish identity, her activism in prison reform and prisoners' rights, and her involvement in various social causes including women's rights, anti-poverty, and anti-apartheid.

Mildred Zanditon

Project
Women Whose Lives Span the Century

Ellen Rovner interviewed Mildred Zanditon on November 10, 1997 in Brookline, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Whose Lives Spanned The Century Oral History Project. Zanditon recalls learning how to make challah with her daughter, her advocacy work for institutionalized individuals and the founding of the non-profit Vinfen, and her pride in passing on values of tzedakah and Tikkun Olam to her daughters.

Type

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

How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "Oral History Collection." (Viewed on June 13, 2026) <https://qa.jwa.org/oralhistories>.