Politics and Government

Pamela Brown Lavitt interviewed Bernice Stern on June 22 and July 31, 2001, in Seattle, Washington as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Stern discusses her Seattle upbringing, involvement in the Jewish community, activism in social justice causes, political engagement, and her roles as a councilwoman and grandmother.

Roz Bornstein interviewed Mildred Rosenbaum on August 8th and 9th, 2001, in Seattle, Washington, for the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Rosenbaum recounts her journey from a childhood accident and hospitalization to her involvement in the Jewish community, her marriage, her support for Israel, and the establishment of Congregation Beth Shalom in Seattle.

Marcie Cohen Ferris interviewed Edith Furstenberg on March 16, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Furstenberg, born in Baltimore in 1910, shares her family history, educational experiences, a career in social work, marriage, and reflections on national political movements, including the Civil Rights Movement.

Sheila Decter was interviewed on October 7, 2016, as part of the Soviet Jewry Oral History Project. Decter recounts her role in the Simcha Torah awareness truck drive, her work with the Kennedy Administration, the Jewish Agenda in Washington, and the ongoing importance of the Soviet Jewry cause.

Ary Rotman was interviewed on October 25, 2016, in Brookline, Massachusetts, as part of the Soviet Jewry Oral History Project. Rotman shares his experiences of discovering the official process to leave the USSR for Israel, his struggles in securing a visa and becoming a refusenik, his arrest and time in jail, his eventual successful visa acquisition, and his adjustment to life in the United States.

Tamar Shachaf Schneider, Aaron Hersh, and Gabriel Weinstein interviewed Rabbi Bernard H. Mehlman on November 1, 2016, in Brookline, Massachusetts, as part of the Soviet Jewry Oral History Project. Rabbi Mehlman shares his experiences delivering a heart valve in the USSR, arranging the evacuation of a refusenik, fundraising for Soviet emigre families, and providing support and education programs for newly arrived emigres at Temple Israel of Boston.

Elaine Eff interviewed Shoshana Shoubin Cardin on August 30, September 4, September 7, and October 3, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Cardin shares her journey as an immigrant to the United States, her experiences growing up in Baltimore, her education, marriage, and the challenges and changes in the Jewish community, as well as her lifelong commitment to volunteerism and philanthropy.

Elaine Eff interviewed Elsbeth Bothe on September 14 and October 22, 2001, in Baltimore Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women’s Words Oral History Project. Both shares her family background, education, career journey, activism in the Civil Rights movement, and reflections on her Jewish identity and experiences as a woman in the legal profession.

Abe Louise Young interviewed Madalyn Schenk on January 11, 2005, in New Orleans, Louisiana, for the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Schenk discusses her journey as an activist, starting with her involvement in the National Council of Jewish Women, her work in building economic partnerships between the US and Israel, organizing the first pro-choice rally in Louisiana, and her contributions to political campaigns supporting pro-choice and women politicians.

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Florence Schornstein on July 31, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, for the Katrina’s Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Schornstein, a longtime political and Jewish community activist in New Orleans, discusses her involvement in politics, her experiences during Hurricane Katrina, her role in rebuilding the city, and her frustration with national services for their lack of support post-Katrina.

Alexandra Kiosse interviewed Janna Kaplan on July 8, 2016, in Waltham, Massachusetts, as part of the Societ Jewry Oral History Project. Kaplan recounts her experiences as a refusenik in Russia, her immigration to the United States, challenges as an immigrant, career struggles, Jewish identity, involvement in the Jewish community, interest in science, and reflections on the Six-Day War, Judaism, and feminism.

Pamela Brown Lavitt interviewed Althea Diesenhaus Stroum on July 23, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Stroum discusses her upbringing, family history, experiences of antisemitism, community activism, marriage, role as a mother, support for the arts, and philanthropy.

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.

Judy Patkin was interviewed in Waltham, Massachusetts, as part of the Soviet Jewry Oral History Project. Patkin shares her experiences meeting refuseniks, visits to the former Soviet Union, involvement in the Soviet Jewry movement, the birth of Action for Post-Soviet Jewry, her Jewish identity, organizational work, interactions with the American government, personal growth, and the impact of her children on her trajectory.

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Madalyn Schenk on July 25, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Schenk talks about her upbringing in a tight-knit Jewish community in Chicago, her move to New Orleans, her leadership during Hurricane Katrina, and her involvement in civic organizations and fundraising for the city's rebuilding efforts, as well as her approach to Jewish identity through activism.

Marcie Cohen Ferris interviewed Jane Krieger Schapiro on April 11, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Schapiro details her journey growing up in Baltimore, encountering antisemitism, eloping with her first husband during World War II, her involvement in Jewish organizations, her commitment to Israel, and the roles of motherhood and community in her life.

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Roz Garber on July 26th, 2000, in Brookline, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Who Dared project. Garber, a Canadian, shares her journey from choosing to study in the United States and embracing Conservative Judaism, to her work in the Soviet Union, educating and supporting Refuseniks, and her subsequent activism within the Jewish community, recognizing the importance of fighting injustice both at home and abroad.

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Barbara Gaffin in Boston, Massachusetts on July 11, 2000, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Gaffin, raised in a Jewish community, recounts her career in Jewish organizations, her perspective on the relationship between American Jews and Israel, her work in Ethiopia, and the prejudice and contradictions she encountered while helping others.