Activism

March for Our Lives, Pittsburgh, March 2018

Disarming Hate

Ari Kane

Gun violence affects all of us, and we cannot just bury our heads in the sand and think and pray it away.

Topics: Activism
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.

Field in Austin, Texas

How Will Your Jewish Mother Feed You on a Starving Planet?

Sophie Hurwitz

Food justice is a feminist issue, and a Jewish one.

Topics: Activism, Food
Keep Abortion Safe and Legal

Abortion Activism Brought Me Back to Judaism

Nina Henry

Jewish law actively reaffirms principles of reproductive justice.

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.

Shira Minsk in theater production of The Diary of Anne Frank

Redefining Theater

Shira Minsk

I worked with a few of my peers to found the Actors’ Helping Alliance. Every season we pick a charity to partner with whose mission is connected to central themes in the show we’re performing.

2018-2019 Rising Voices Fellow Phoebe Chapnick-Sorokin at a 2018 March for Our Lives action that she planned. 

Students Against School Shootings

Phoebe Chapnick-Sorokin

In my year and two months as a gun control activist, this type of conversation has been a common occurrence.

Topics: Protests, Schools
Pete Holmes doing stand-up

No, I Can’t Take This Joke

Emma Cohn

In between the mutters of “slut” thrown out like gut punches, the message was clear. They were making rape jokes.

Topics: Feminism, Schools
Women of the World club yearbook photo

“Less Feminist”

Madelyn Gelb

Women of the World was the club where I could talk about issues I really cared about, such as sexism and the wage gap.

Topics: Feminism, Schools
Irma Gershkowitz in a Pussy Hat CROP

A Century of Hats and Spirit

Leann Shamash

A new mother/daughter photo project encourages viewers to challenge ageism and value the experiences of the elderly.

Sister Mary Siena Schmitt, O.P. CROP

The Women Who Organize

Jeannie Appleman

Jeannie Appleman, Senior Trainer and Organizer for JOIN for Justice, shares five tips for organizing and honors the women who inspired her. Fearless women, presente!

Topics: Activism, Family
Hannah Downing at L'Taken Social Justice Seminar

Raising My Voice

Hannah Downing

I was in a room full of young Jewish liberals of diverse backgrounds, taking workshops on topics such as campaign finance reform and the history of abortion in the Talmud. What could be better!?

Book display for school social justice week

Standing for Social Justice at My School

Abigail Glickman

Every year, my high school hosts a Social Justice Week, and this year, I’m the primary organizer.

Photograph of a school classroom

Orating for Justice

Naomi Bethune

Sometimes, we unintentionally challenge the way others think. This prompts dialogue, which is essential for creating change.

Topics: Activism, Schools
Disobedience Book Cover

"Disobedience" and the History of Jewish Lesbian Obscenity

Sophie Hurwitz

Naomi Alderman's acclaimed novel Disobedience is the latest in a long line of Jewish works about women in love and owes much to predecessors like Gut fun Nekome.

Poster for Rainbow Rams, a school gay-straight alliance club.

Building Inclusivity at My Jewish Day School

Nina Baran

Until last year, when the club was first started, we didn’t have a GSA; we also don’t have any LGBTQ+ books, and students aren't aware of staff who are trained in LGBTQ+ inclusivity.

Gay-Straight Alliance bulletin board

An Education in Allyship

Emily Axelrod

As word spread about what we were trying to do, a number of students told us they were in support of a GSA and would definitely participate if we succeeded in creating it.

Still Photo from "Working Woman" (2018)

Film Review: "Working Woman"

Karen Davis

Exclusively for JWA, film critic Karen Davis reviews Working Woman, a film about one woman’s #MeToo story in Israel.

Audre Lorde, Meridel Lesueur, and Adrienne Rich, 1980

Poetry as Protest: Adrienne Rich Fought for All Women

Abigail Glickman

Rich once said, “In a time of frontal assaults both on language and on human solidarity, poetry can remind us of all we are in danger of losing–disturb us, embolden us out of resignation.” In other words, poetry has the power to express the things that unite us all as humans and can inspire us to work together toward a common goal.

Fabric Collage

Vashti's Story: A Midrash

Rabbi Rachel Bearman
Rabbi Paul Kipnes

Rabbis Rachel Bearman and Paul Kipnes retell the story of Vashti in her own voice in this “Midrashic Monologue.”

Topics: Feminism, Purim
Phonetic Spelling of Privilege

Privilege and the Chosen People

Ava Berkwits

I feel as if I won the lottery by being born Jewish, as so many of my most cherished memories and values are inherently tied to this part of my identity. As proud as I am of my Jewish identity, I’ve always been troubled by one of the fundamental ideas in Judaism: that Jews are “the chosen people.”

"Jewish Feminisms/American Visions" Conference Poster

Seven Lessons from our Feminist Foremothers

Judith Rosenbaum

JWA’s Executive Director Judith Rosenbaum reflects on her experience at the “Jewish Feminisms/American Visions” conference at the University of Michigan.

Bella Abzug Speaking with Constituents, 1976, by Diana Mara Henry

Hurricane Bella: A Whirlwind of Intersectional Feminism

Emily Axelrod

Abzug is an exemplar of what it means to be an intersectional feminist. She used her power and privilege to advocate for those she described as “on the outside of power.” Being a Jew herself, she was familiar with identity-based oppression, and because of that she knew she had to use her power to help fight for others.

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