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LGBTQIA Rights

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Judith Plaskow

Judith Plaskow is the first Jewish feminist to identify herself as a theologian. Deeply learned in classical and modern Christian theology yet profoundly committed to her own Judaism, Plaskow created a distinctively Jewish theology acutely conscious of its own structure and categories and in dialogue with the feminist theologies of other religions.

Jane Harman

The child of a refugee from Nazi Germany, Jane Harman began her career in law. After being elected in 1992, she spent 20 years as a vocal advocate of Israel, pro-choice legislation, and women’s issues as a Representative for California’s 36th Congressional District. After leaving Congress for the private sector, Harman held leadership positions in several prominent political organizations.

Don’t call her Anna-Lou, or a lesbian

Judith Rosenbaum

In week three of my Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia self-education program, I've been thinking about Annie Leibovitz.

Topics: LGBTQIA Rights

Charlotte Wolff

A pioneering German-Jewish lesbian and feminist physician, Charlotte Wolff became interested in sexology, psychotherapy, and chirology while working as a physician in Berlin’s working-class neighborhoods. Soon after the Nazis came to power she fled to France and then to England, where she began researching and writing books on chirology. In the 1960s she turned her research to homosexuality and published a landmark study on lesbianism.

Reconstructionist Judaism in the United States

Reconstructionist Judaism was founded in America in the early twentieth century, inspired by the ideas of Mordecai Kaplan as well as modern and American influences. A fierce commitment to integrating democracy into Jewish life has ensured that, from its founding, Reconstructionism has been expansive around raising up the voices and experiences of women in Jewish religious life and leadership.

Bette Midler

Bette Midler went from canning pineapples at a factory in Honolulu to starring in over 20 films, releasing two dozen records, and touring the world with record-breaking live concert performances. Midler got her start at a gay bathhouse in New York, where she developed the campy and confident persona “The Divine Miss M.” Her career in show business spans decades, old and new media, and musical genres.

Lesbianism

Lesbians and women’s same gender-loving has a long history in Jewish life, dating back to ancient times. Since the 1980s, particularly in the United States, Jewish lesbian thinking and activism has become a part of all facets of Jewish life.

Henriette Fürth

Despite facing ongoing anti-Semitism, journalist Henriette Katzenstein Fürth remained a passionate and vocal German patriot throughout her life. She began publishing articles on social criticism while raising eight children, eventually writing 200 articles and 30 monographs, earning both an income and a reputation for insightful journalism. She served on the Frankfurt municipal council and in 1932 she was honored by the city of Frankfurt for her 70th birthday.

Käte Frankenthal

A stubborn nonconformist from an early age, Käte Frankenthal was a physician and politician active in Germany’s Social Democratic Party. While running her own successful private practice, she was active in sex reform legislation and played a prominent role in the Federation of Women Physicians.

Dalia Dorner

Israeli Supreme Court Justice Dalia Dorner was known for citing non-legal sources in her decisions to illustrate the just society she aspired to live in. With landmark cases impacting gender equality, the right to education for all, and the right to live in dignity, Justice Dorner’s legal and social legacy is deeply rooted in human rights.

Barbara Dobkin

Barbara Berman Dobkin is the pre-eminent Jewish feminist philanthropist of the end of the twentieth and beginning of the twenty-first century. Her vision, dedication, and philanthropic generosity have transformed the landscape of Jewish women’s organizations and funding in both North America and Israel.

Bridges: A Journal for Jewish Feminists and Our Friends

Bridges: A Jewish Feminist Journal emerged in the overlap of late twentieth-century feminism and the Jewish and connected Jewish feminist writers, activists, and artists with each other, and with various public forums, for more than two decades. As a project made by, for, and about Jewish feminists, it became a space of creative collaboration, and a place to showcase late twentieth-century Jewish feminist cultural projection.

Evelyn Torton Beck

Evelyn (Evi) Torton Beck is a multi-faceted scholar, analyst, activist, feminist, dancer, Jew, and lesbian who has enriched each discipline she engaged. She wrote the iconic Nice Jewish Girls: A Lesbian Anthology, as well as articles on Franz Kafka, Frieda Kahlo, and the transformative power of the sacred circle dance. Under Beck’s leadership, the Women’s Studies Department at the University of Maryland, College Park, became world-renowned.

Bella Abzug

A leader of the women’s movement, Bella Abzug fought to pass the Equal Rights Amendment and other vital legislation for the rights of women as a member of the House of Representatives. Towards the end of her career, she focused on global issues of women’s rights and human rights, ensuring that those issues were continually addressed by the United Nations.

A community for queer Orthodox women

Lily Rabinoff-Goldman

As a new “blog roller,” I have been amazed to see what fascinating ideas and communities exist on the dynamic web. Yesterday, I came across Tirtzah: A Community of Frum Queer Women, a multi-author blog associated with an eponymous, in-person community based out of New York City. It’s a new blog – there are only a few posts up yet, but what is there so far, feels fresh and exciting.

An Army of Ex-Lovers

Judith Rosenbaum

I have a love/hate relationship with memoirs. I start them with a healthy appetite for the juicy details of the author's life, but about halfway through, I develop a sudden distaste and a mounting sense of outrage: who does this person think s/he IS? Such arrogance, to assume that I would care about all these details!

What would Bella do?

Judith Rosenbaum

Today is the tenth anniversary of the death of Bella Abzug, activist extraordinaire. With her big hats and even bigger charismatic personality, her sharp mind and even sharper tongue, Bella took on the world and changed it. As a young girl, she spoke on street corners for Hashomer Hatzair, the socialist Zionist youth movement. As a young lawyer in the 1950s, she took on civil rights causes in the atmosphere of McCarthyism. As a mother and activist, she fought for a nuclear-free world with Women Strike for Peace.

Courage and Dissent: The Work of Irshad Manji

Jordan Namerow

I first heard the word "Refusenik" applied to Israelis who refuse to serve in the Israeli Defense Force. Then I heard it in relation to Jewish citizens of the former Soviet Union who were refused permission to emigrate. I learned the word in a third context -- "Muslim Refusenik" -- a few years ago, when I heard Irshad Manji speak at my college. Ms. Manji is a Canadian lesbian Muslim feminist.

Joan Nestle in the Blogosphere!

Jordan Namerow

An exciting development in the blogosphere -- Joan Nestle has a blog! One would expect that a blog created by the founder of The Lesbian Herstory Archives would be nothing short of provocative and indeed, Nestle's first two entries are exactly that.

Mazel Tov, Massachusetts!

Jordan Namerow

Yesterday was no ordinary lunch break. When noon rolled around, Judith, Emilie, and I headed downtown to the Massachusetts State House for the Constitutional Convention to rally in solidarity with other gay rights activists. With almond butter and jam sandwiches in hand, we cheered as we heard that the proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage had been defeated 151-45, ensuring that same-sex marriage would remain legal.

Bold, Beautiful Jewesses and GLBT Pride!

Jordan Namerow

June is GLBT Pride Month! To enrich your celebration, check out JWA's new online feature: Jewish Women and GLBT Pride. Do you know who introduced the first Federal bill to support gay/lesbian rights? A Jewess, of course! That's something to be proud of. Happy Pride!

Topics: LGBTQIA Rights

What if a Jew Becomes a Jewess?

Jordan Namerow

A few months ago, I got a call from my mom, a university professor, who had a student she described as “extremely androgynous with a unisex name.” She didn’t know how to address this student using a pronoun and asked me: “What should I do? What should I say?” I didn’t have a good answer.

Justice, Community, and Adrienne Rich

Jordan Namerow

April is National Poetry Month, and over the past few days I’ve been re-reading some poems by my favorite poet, Adrienne Rich. There’s so much that I love about Rich and her writing. I love how powerfully—and radically—she fuses political commitment and the pursuit of justice into her poetic vision. She writes provocatively on sexuality, race, language, power, and women’s culture as she combats racism, militarism, homophobia, and anti-Semitism.

What's in an Orange?

Jordan Namerow

As I prepare for Passover, I’ve been struck by the wide range of explanations given for why some Jews include an orange on a Seder plate.

JTS Welcomes Gays and Lesbians!

Jordan Namerow

Earlier today, the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) announced its decision to open its doors to gay and lesbian rabbinical and cantorial students, a decision that is effective immediately!

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