Politics and Government

Reform Judaism leader Jane Evans argues for ordination of women rabbis

April 29, 1957

On April 29, 1957, Jane Evans spoke to 1,000 delegates in favor of ordaining women rabbis at a biennial general assembly meeting of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) – renamed

James Graham Phelps Stokes announces engagement to Rose Pastor

April 5, 1905

James Graham Phelps Stokes announced his engagement to Rose Pastor in a press conference on April 5, 1905.

Rabbi Janet Marder becomes president of Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR)

March 26, 2003

When Rabbi Janet Marder was named president of the Reform Movement's Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) on March 26, 2003, she became the first woman to lead a major rabbinical organizati

Hadassah president Irma Levy Lindheim challenges American Zionist leadership

March 30, 1928

Irma Levy Lindheim served as the third president of Hadassah, the American women

Passage of NY widows' pension bill advocated by Hannah Bachman Einstein

April 7, 1915

On April 7, 1915, New York's Governor Charles S. Whitman signed the Widowed Mothers Pension Act into law.

Lillian Wald celebrates 26th birthday by opening settlement house

March 10, 1893

Born into a successful merchant family in Cincinnati, Ohio, on March 10, 1867, and raised in Rochester, New York, Lillian Wald is remembered today as the

Creation of New York Female Hebrew Benevolent Society

March 15, 1820

The women of Shearith Israel synagogue in New York, led by Richa Levy, established the Female Hebrew Benevolent Society.

Henrietta Szold and the Provisional Zionist Committee, New York, circa 1915

Founding of Hadassah: The Women's Zionist Organization of America

February 24, 1912

On February 24, 1912, 38 women gathered at Temple Emanu-El in New York City to create a new organization called Daughters of Zion.

Death of Texan Jeanette Miriam Goldberg, organizer of Texas NJCW chapter & Jewish Chautauqua Society

February 28, 1935

Born in 1868 to Russian immigrant parents, Jeannette Miriam Goldberg grew up in Jefferson, Texas, at that time the sixth-largest town in the state.

Naomi Bronheim Levine appointed director of American Jewish Congress

March 1, 1972

On March 1, 1972, Naomi Bronheim Levine was appointed Executive Director of the American Jewish Congress (AJCong), becoming the first woman to take the helm of a major American Jewish organization

Judith Kaye, Presidential Libraries Conference, Hyde Park, New York

Judith Kaye is nominated as Chief Judge of New York State Court

February 22, 1993

When Governor Mario Cuomo nominated Judith Kaye for the position of Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals on February 22, 1993, she beca

Founding of Young Women's Hebrew Association in NY

February 6, 1902

Although an earlier organization of the same name had existed beginning in 1888, the Young Women's Hebrew Association (YWHA) foun

Death of Henrietta Szold

February 13, 1945

Failing health had brought Henrietta Szold, in July 1943, to the Henrietta Szold Nursing School on the grounds of the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem.

Hannah Arendt at the University of Maryland, 1965

Hannah Arendt's "Eichmann in Jerusalem" appears in "The New Yorker"

February 16, 1963

When Hannah Arendt published her first article about Adolf Eichmann's war crimes trial in The New Yorker in its February 16, 1963 issue, s

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright reveals her Jewish origins

February 3, 1997

Less than two weeks after Madeleine Albright was sworn in as the first female U.S.

Adlene Harrison becomes first Jewish female big-city mayor

February 11, 1976

On February 11, 1976, Adlene Harrison became the acting mayor of Dallas after the presiding mayor's resignation.

Florence Prag Kahn elected as first Jewish woman in US Congress

February 17, 1925

As the wife of Julius Kahn, a US Representative from San Francisco, Florence Prag Kahn had developed her own public identity by writing a column on Washington doings for her hometown newspaper. When her husband died, she ran in a special Congressional election held on February 17, 1925.

Ann F. Lewis appointed National Chair of the Democratic Party's Women's Vote Center

February 4, 2002

Ann F. Lewis was appointed National Chair of the Women's Vote Center founded by the Democratic National Committee's Women's Leadership Forum (WLF) on February 4, 2002. The Women's Vote Center was formed to educate and mobilize women voters to help elect more Democrats to office at all levels of government.

Golda Meir speech raises $50 million for Haganah

January 21, 1948

In January 1948, Israel's declaration of independence was imminent, and war with Arab states seemed inevitable.

Founding of labor Zionist group Pioneer Women

February 1, 1925

Sophie Udin and six other women who had been active in the labor Zionist organization Poale Zion, created the Pioneer Women’s Organization

Judge Justine Wise Polier Retires

February 3, 1973

Building on the legacy of her parents, labor activist and rabbi Stephen Wise and social reformer Louise Waterman Wise, Justine Wise Polier spent four decades on the New York City Family Court working for the rights of children before retiring on February 3, 1973.