Leah Berkenwald

Leah Berkenwald was born and raised in Northampton, MA, where "The coffee is strong, and so are the women." As such, she was a feminist and equal rights activist straight out of the womb. She is particularly passionate about reproductive rights and sex education, despite her father's wish that she do something less controversial like "save the whales." Leah draws strength from the memories of her grandmothers - two incredible Jewesses with some serious attitude. After three years as JWA's Social Media Specialist, Leah moved on to Wentworth Institute, where she coordinates Wellness Education. You can read her blog at www.leahbee.net

Blog posts

Weekly Wrap-Up
- February is Black History Month. Feministing recognizes the contributions of women to the Civil Rights Movement in this blog post (with a tribute video). Jewish women played an important role in the Movement. Learn the stories of 16 extraordinary Jewish women who dedicated their lives to fighting for civil rights in a special feature on jwa.org.
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Debbie Wasserman Schultz stands up for women!

The news over the H.R. 3, the so-called "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act" has made me sick all day. If passed, this bill would make the Hyde Amendment (which currently prevents federal funding for abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or danger to the mother's health) permanent and further limit abortion access by making it harder for abortion to be covered by private insurance and also limiting the rape exception to "forcible rape." Rep.

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Graphic Details: Interview with co-curator Sarah Lightman

Graphic Details: Confessional Comics by Jewish Women is the first museum exhibit to explore this unique nic

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Weekly Wrap-Up
- Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is renaming their School of Sacred Music in memory of Debbie Friedman. It will now called The Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music.
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The trouble with nice Jewish boys and girls

I recently got wind of the 2011 Nice Jewish Guys calendar, described thusly:

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Graphic Details: Interview with co-curator, Michael Kaminer

What began with a 2008 story about autobiographical comics by Jewish women in The Forward has developed into a touring museum exhibit.

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Weekly Wrap Up: Miss America fallout, Jewish feminism stalls, and more
- Miss Massachusetts Loren Galler Rabinowitz did not win the Miss America pageant, but that doesn't mean we we can't talk about it. Ms. Magazine wonders why we haven't been protesting the pageant, while The Daily Femme takes issue with the fact that the winner, Miss Nebraska Teresa Scanlan, is too young to drink - or even vote.
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Celebrate Jewish women environmentalists on Tu B'Shevat

Tonight is Tu B'Shevat, the "Jewish birthday for trees" that has become synonymous with Jewish environmentalism. In order to identify and honor Jewish women working in environmental activism, we are inviting you to put an environmentalist "On the Map." You can read more about that project here or watch this quick tutorial to get started.

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Put a Jewish woman in environmental activism "On the Map!"

Next week is Tu B'Shevat, the Jewish birthday for trees. The meaning of the holiday has undergone some major evolution over the years; it started as a tax deadline, was co-opted by Kabbalists and then the Zionists, and is now considered a holiday celebrating the environment and environmental activism in a broad sense. At the Jewish Women's Archive, our Tu B'Shevat tradition is to seek out and celebrate Jewish women who have dedicated their lives to environmental activism.

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MLK, Miss America, "tiger mothers," and Barbie - Link Roundup

Oy, what a week. Here's what we missed:

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Leah Berkenwald

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