Amplify Jewish Women’s Voices

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Activism

Content type
Collection
Black and white photo of three women laughing in a kitchen
November 22, 2022

Let’s Fight for Gender Equality Across All Branches of Judaism

Savoy Curry

We shouldn’t assume that “progressive” branches of Judaism are always more feminist than traditional ones.

Topics: Feminism, Synagogues/Temples, Judaism-Orthodox, Judaism-Reform
Noa Karidi at her bat mitzvah collaged on a blue watercolor background
November 18, 2022

Honoring the Women of the Wall With My Tallit

Noa Karidi

By choosing this tallit, I am honoring the hard work of other women that allowed me to go through this process.

Topics: Ritual, Women's Rights, Family
Rachel Finkelstein's The Herstory shows images of the artist, her daughter, her grandmother, and her great grandmother superimposed onto an identification card.
November 17, 2022

Rachel Finkelstein's Queer Feminist Holocaust Art

Emily-Rose Baker

Through its exploration of gender, sexuality, nationality, and intergenerational trauma, the work of artist Rachel Finkelstein is a reminder of the power that art holds as a form of activism.

Topics: Photography, Holocaust, LGBTQIA Rights, Palestine
Outlined drawings of women's faces and hamsas on a yellow-orange background
November 14, 2022

Jewish Women Count: How B’midbar Taught Me to Be a Jewish Feminist

Samantha Berk

Standing in front of my closest friends and family discussing a holy text that claimed women “do not count” taught me to pay more attention. I became a Jewish feminist.

Topics: Bible, Feminism, Synagogues/Temples
Woman with girl on her shoulders who had her hands in prayer position
November 10, 2022

Translating God's Name in a New Way

Rabbi Beth Lieberman

The entire Hebrew Bible has never been translated into English without the male-centric God language—until now.

Topics: Feminism, Bible, Writing
Protesters holding sign that says "Israeli women divide the right to divorce"

Episode 83: Fighting for Israel's "Chained Women"

Listen Now

In Israel, marriage and divorce are governed by Jewish law and controlled by the ultra-Orthodox rabbinical courts. If a Jewish woman wants a divorce, she has to get permission from her husband—and he can refuse. That's exactly what happens to about 1 in 5 Jewish women in Israel who want a divorce, according to a recent survey. In this episode of 'Can We Talk?,' we speak with Kylie Eisman-Lifschitz, board chair of Mavoi Satum, about how rabbinical control over the divorce process in Israel harms Jewish women, and about how organizations like Mavoi Satum are taking on the problem, by working with women one-on-one, but also by fighting for systemic change. 

Hedy Ratner

Project
Women Who Dared

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Hedy Ratner on January 31, 2007, in Chicago, Illinois, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Ratner shares her journey from her childhood in Chicago as an immigrant's child to her experiences with Jewish education, women's liberation, social justice activism, and her evolving relationship with Judaism, highlighting the influential figures and moments in her life.

A-WA
November 2, 2022

Happy Mizrahi Heritage Month!

Jen Richler

Celebrate Mizrahi Heritage Month by checking out some of our favorite JWA content by and about Mizrahi women. 

Topics: Photography, Fiction, Feminism
Victoria Marks by Beatriz Schiller

Victoria Marks

Victoria Marks (b. 1956) is an American dancer, choreographer, professor, and activist. Marks began dancing as a child and later expanded her career as the founder of Victoria Marks Performance Company and a professor at various conservatories around the world. She is also an advocate for mental health and accessibility, collaborating on films that investigate the effects of mental illness and founding the Dancing Disability Lab at UCLA in 2014.

Two women wearing "I voted" stickers
November 1, 2022

Casting a Vote for Reproductive Justice

Steph Black

In the upcoming midterm elections, Jews have the chance to affirm that access to safe, legal abortion is a Jewish value.

Topics: Reproductive Rights, Feminism, Organizations and Institutions
Collage of candlesticks on a stack of books with a light purple background
October 28, 2022

Setting My Feminist Intentions with Shabbat

Olivia Gnad

When I unfold my little silver candle holder and light the flames, I bring in the light of a commitment to practicing my Judaism alongside my feminism.

Topics: Ritual, Feminism, Women's Rights
Collage for Can We Talk episode 82: Jewish Women Talk to the Dead

Episode 82: When Jewish Women Talked to the Dead

Listen Now

In this season of ghosts and haunted houses, we’re taking you back to a time when communicating with the dead was a popular way to spend an evening. Séances were the main practice of the spiritualist movement, which is based on the belief that when people die, they survive as spirits, and that we can talk to these spirits with the help of a medium. The movement had its heyday in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and Jews all over the world, from London to Brooklyn to Cairo, were at the forefront. Scholar Sam Glauber-Zimra explains why spiritualism had such appeal among Jews, what rabbis had to say about it, and why Jewish women were prominent as mediums. 

Sandra Bernhard

Sandra Bernhard

Sandra Bernhard is an American actor, stand-up comedian, singer, memoirist, and talk show host. She has been a high-profile LGBTQ+ presence over a career that has spanned five decades. Bernhard’s work amalgamates the three perspectives that she has said define her: “the feminist, the social commentator, the Jewess.”

Photographs of Torah, a book of commentary, and Shabbat candles collaged on patterned orange background.
October 14, 2022

Imagining Feminist Torah Commentary For Everyone

Miriam Stodolsky

For the past year, I’ve been reading the parasha each week. It's been fascinating, meaningful— and incredibly exasperating.

Topics: Midrash and Aggadah, Feminism, Jewish Education
Large group of people sitting on grass, hills in background.

Episode 81: Linke Fligl Ends With Love

Listen Now

On a hot, humid day in late August, Nahanni Rous joined a gathering at Linke Fligl, a queer Jewish chicken farm and cultural organizing project in New York's Hudson Valley. (Linke Fligl is a pun—Yiddish for "left wing.") For the past seven years, queer Jews have celebrated holidays, farmed, and built community on this ten-acre, off-the-grid piece of land—but the project is coming to a close. In this episode of Can We Talk?, we walk the land at Linke Fligl, talk to people at the final gathering, and hear from founder Margot Seigle about how the project started and why it's ending.

Photo of someone's hands holding ground cherries
October 7, 2022

This Sukkot, Let’s Commit to Respecting and Caring for Our Land

Savoy Curry

Sukkot is an urgent reminder not to take our land for granted.

Topics: Activism, Agriculture, Sukkot

Ellen David-Friedman

Project
DAVAR: Vermont Jewish Women's History Project

Ann Zinn Buffum and Sandra Stillman Gartner, project directors, interviewed Ellen David Friedman on November 8, 2005, in East Montpelier, Vermont, as part of DAVAR's Vermont Jewish Women's History Project. Friedman reflects on her family background, immigration history, Jewish identity, involvement in progressive politics, volunteer efforts, and her role as a grassroots labor organizer in Vermont.

Mindy Portnoy

Mindy Portnoy

Project
Washington D.C. Stories

Deborah Ross interviewed Rabbi Mindy Portnoy on November 9, 2010, in Washington, DC, as part of the Washington D.C. Stories Oral History Project. Rabbi Portnoy shares her personal journey and observations as a female rabbi, her motivations for entering the rabbinate, her perceptions of women in this new position, and her responses to challenges during a transformative period in Jewish life.

Muriel Pokross

Project
Women Whose Lives Span the Century

Ellen Rovner interviewed Muriel Pokross on December 20, 1996, and June 30, 1997, in Belmont, Massachusetts, for the Women Whose Lives Spanned the Century Oral History Project. Pokross reflects on her experiences during significant historical events, her efforts to aid Jewish refugees, and her career as a rehabilitation counselor, while emphasizing the passing down of values and her close family bonds.

Sheryl Grossman

Death of Jewish Disability Activist Sheryl Grossman

March 28, 2022

On March 28, 2022, Jewish disability activist Sheryl Grossman died at the age of 46. She was a fierce advocate and activist for the rights of the disabled and served as a role model and source of empowerment for disabled people both within and beyond the Jewish community.

Close up of hands holding Miriam's Cup
September 22, 2022

A New Year Ritual for Reproductive Justice

Steph Black

I created this handwashing ritual to ground us and to prepare us for the abortion rights fight that lies ahead. 

Topics: Reproductive Rights, Ritual

Yossi Nemes

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Rabbi Yossi Nemes on July 13, 2006, in Metairie, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Rabbi Nemes recounts his experiences during Hurricane Katrina, including hiding in his flooded house, escaping to Memphis with help from the Jewish community, and his acts of kindness, while discussing Hasidic teachings and faith.

Ann Meyers Kaplan

Ann Meyers Kaplan

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Pamela Brown Lavitt interviewed Ann Meyers Kaplan on March 30, 2001, in Mercer Island, Washington, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Kaplan shares her family background, upbringing in Seattle, career, involvement in the National Council of Jewish Women, advocacy for the hearing impaired, reflections on Jewish identity and community, and fond memories of various aspects of her life.

Sara Mayeux

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Sara Mayeux on September 21, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Mayeux talks about her family, moving between cities, meeting her husband in California, their decision to move to New Orleans, her involvement in the Jewish community, and her role in the city's recovery after Hurricane Katrina.

Sally Mack, 2000

Sally Mack

Project
Women Who Dared

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Sally Mack on August 3, 2000, in Gloucester, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Mack discusses her Orthodox Jewish upbringing, her transition into social activism, including her arrest for protesting, and the connection she finds between activism and spirituality in Jewish communities.

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