Activism

Sexual Education Illustration

Meet the Hasidic Women Talking about Sex

Allison Abrams

The Jewish Orthodox Women’s Medical Association (JOWMA) is breaking barriers.

Title page of the Register of a Jewish Midwife by Roza, 1700s

From the Archive: Register of a Jewish Midwife

Deborah Dash Moore
Dory Fox

The Posen Library shares an eighteenth century midwife's register of births from their archive.

Pro-Choice Demonstrators Outside the Supreme Court in 1989, Washington DC

Roe v. Wade is the Floor, Not the Ceiling

Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler

What's next for the reproductive justice movement?

Betty Friedan

Reading 'The Feminine Mystique' in 2021

Betsy More

On Betty Friedan's 100th birthday, we reflect on her seminal work, The Feminine Mystique.

Text: "Call Jane" with teal background and bright blue stripes

Heather Booth and The Jane Collective: Judaism in Pursuit of Justice

Ma'ayan Stutman-Shaw

Recently, I’ve found hope in the work of a Jewish feminist icon whose pro-choice activism is awe-inspiring: Heather Booth.

Leslie Feinberg

Leslie Feinberg and the Power of Queer Jewish Memory

Avivit

After reading Stone Butch Blues, I feel like I finally have a history and a sense of memory as a queer Jew.

Drawing of Zelophehad's Daughters

The Daughters of Zelophehad and the Right to Broadband Internet

Noa Gross

Noa and her sisters pushed for something which, at the time, wasn’t recognized as an inherent right. Today, we need to do the same with broadband internet access.

Colorful Geometric Watercolor Background

Confronting My Assumptions about Orthodox Judaism

Jessie Schwalb

I have come to understand that no sect is a monolith.

Lilith Magazine Fall 1987 (crop)

Jewish Feminist Texts Help Me Get through the Pandemic

Molly Fraser

I will continue to access Jewish feminist texts for wisdom and fortitude when I need them.

Daniella Levine Cava With Supporters in Coral Gables, Florida

Daniella Levine Cava: Miami’s Matriarch

Goldi Lieberperson

Daniella Levine Cava, to whom I affectionately refer as “DLC,” made history during this election cycle.

Photo of Kamala Harris with Barbie Silhouette Background

From Barbie to Kamala: “Little Girls, Dream Big”

Dahlia Plotkin-Oren

Just as Mattel has expanded Barbie dolls to represent broader diversity, we as a society need to continue working towards equality and representation. Kamala Harris's election is a step in that direction.

Graphic of swimmers

My Body Is My Own in Lockdown

Dahlia Soussan

For the first time in my life, my body is entirely my own.

Topics: Feminism
Pro-Choice Demonstrators Outside the Supreme Court in 1989, Washington DC

How Blu Greenberg Helped Me Form My Views on Abortion as a Conservative Jewish Woman

Dodie Altman-Sagan

I identified with Blu Greenberg’s stance, as I read it: even if I wouldn’t have an abortion myself, it’s still a valid decision for other women to make.

Photo of Mollie Steimer with Lined Background

Mollie Steimer: Finding a Radical Approach to the American Criminal Justice System

Liana Smolover-Bord

Mollie Steimer dedicated her life to advocating for prisoners. Though we’ll likely never fully live up to her anarchist ideals, we can fight for radical solutions.

Painted Lines Overlayed with Outline of Ohio

The 2020 Election in Ohio: Continuing the Feminist Struggle for and Beyond Representation

Rose Clubok

Electing a candidate who advocates for reproductive rights for all is just as essential as ensuring women are represented in government.

Judith Collage, 2020 by Judy Goldstein

Facing Holofernes: How to Live Up to a Name Like Judith

Judy Goldstein

In order to live up to a name like Judith, we must face our own Holoferneses head on.

Topics: Feminism, Bible
Illustration of Silhouetted Face Over Butterfly Background

My Jewish Feminist Metamorphosis

Lily Pazner

On the day of my bat mitzvah, I started to confront my internalized antisemitism and sexism.

Mexico-US border wall at Tijuana, Mexico

Keep the Pressure On: Jewish Activists Continue the Fight for Immigration Justice Under Biden

Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler

JWA's politics writer talks to Jewish activists from Never Again Action about keeping the pressure on the incoming presidential administration when it comes to immigration justice.

"Women and Their Bodies" Coursebook, 1970

Revisiting Medical History: The Women's Health Movement and COVID-19

Jillian M. Hinderliter

Looking to the history of medicine can help us grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.

A uterus superimposed over images of Hanukkah items

Hanukkah Blessings for Reproductive Justice

Steph Black

Activist Steph Black offers eight blessings for reproductive justice, one for each night of Hanukkah.

Photo of Dr. Martens Boots

In Their Footsteps: Stomping in the Boots of My Feminist Foremothers

Goldi Lieberperson

My Doc Martens are so much more than just shoes.

Topics: Feminism, Family
Dodie Altman-Sagan's Bubbe's Lion of Judah Pin

Exploring My Identity with My Bubbe's Lion of Judah Pin

Dodie Altman-Sagan

My Bubbe’s Lion of Judah pin is a reminder for me of my grandmother: a strong, feminist leader.

Maya Stutman-Shaw Wearing Tefillin with a Friend at the Western Wall

My "Girl Power" Tefillin Journey: Wearing Davening Attire as a Girl

Ma'ayan Stutman-Shaw

One day, I hope to walk into an egalitarian Jewish space with my tallit on my shoulders and my kippah on my head.

Topics: Feminism, Ritual

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