Zionism

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AMIT

Founded in 1925 by Bessie Gotsfeld to create vocational schools for religious girls in Palestine, AMIT is now the largest religious Zionist organization in the United States and has a significant presence in Israel.

American Jewish Congress

The American Jewish Congress (AJCongress) advocates for Jewish interests in the United States and abroad. Women have played an important part in AJCongress since the organization was first established after World War I.

Anda Pinkerfeld Amir

Anda Pinkerfeld-Amir was a Zionist poet, and author whose works reflected the tension between Judaism and feminism in the early twentieth century. In her youth, she was a member of Ha-Shomer ha-Za'ir in Poland, and in 1920 she immigrated to Palestine to write Hebrew verse. She is best remembered as a children’s writer who tackled complex topics with humor and compassion.

Tosia Altman

Tosia Altman played important roles in the Jewish resistance to the Nazis. Her pale skin and blonde hair allowed her to blend in and serve as a spy, and she was integral to the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Rose Haas Alschuler

Rose Haas Alschuler founded and directed more than twenty nursery schools and early childhood education programs before turning her attention to Zionist causes and becoming a vital fundraiser for the State of Israel.

Frida Alexandr

A Brazilian-born daughter of immigrants, Frida Alexandr was the only woman writer to describe Jewish cowboys in Brazil from the viewpoint of one who lived among them. Her only published book was the novel Filipson, which chronicled the lives and episodes of the farm where she was born in 1906 and spent two decades of her life.

Beatrice Alexander

Beatrice Alexander, best known as Madame Alexander, started her dollmaking business out of her home in 1923; it later became one of the largest in the United States. She created many collections based on historic events as well as literature, music, art, and film, believing that dolls play a vital role in the early development of children. Her dolls are now on permanent display at museums worldwide, including the Smithsonian Institute.

Ruth Aliav-Klüger

Ruth Aliav-Klüger was the only woman among the early members of Mosad le-Aliyah Bet, the “illegal” immigration branch of the underground paramilitary organization Haganah that smuggled Jews out of Europe and into Palestine during World War II.

Hedva Almog

As commanding officer of the Israeli Army’s Women’s Corps, Hedva Almog created training programs and promotion opportunities for female officers, working to create a better environment for women in the army. After her lengthy service in the army, she became a politician, serving on Haifa’s City Council and as deputy mayor.

Nima Adlerblum

Nima Adlerblum was a writer, educator, and early Zionist activist in New York, whose life began and ended in Jerusalem. She wrote widely on philosophy, education, Jewish philosophy, and American history, and also founded Hadassah’s national cultural and educational program in addition to serving as its national and cultural chair from 1922 to 1935.

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.

Sarah Aaronsohn

A leading spy for the Nili ring during World War I, Sarah Aaronsohn fought to free Palestine from Turkish rule and withstood torture for her ideals; she committed suicide after arrest by Turkish authorities and was later described as a Jewish Joan of Arc. The semi-military role Sarah carved for herself, her activity, and her voluntary death made her an icon and a model of a new “Hebrew” femininity.

The American Jewess: Zionism before the State of Israel

Jordan Namerow

By Rebecca Honig Friedman, cross-posted on Jewess. This would have been an appropriate post for last week when we celebrated Yom Ha'azmaut and commemorated Yom Hazikaron but ...

Topics: Zionism, Journalism

A shuk of stories

Judith Rosenbaum

Today is the 60th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel, and I'd like to mark it not (only) by eating falafel but with something less tangible but ultimately more nourishing: considering stories. Sixty years is only half way to 120 - the mythical age Jews wish upon one another - but this "half life" contains within it so many dreams and visions, loves and losses, hopes and fears, connections and fractures, struggles that remain unresolved.

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