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Activism

Book cover that reads "JPS Tanakh: Gender-Sensitive Edition" - blue and brown letters on white background

What's a "Gender-Sensitive" Bible Translation?

Rabbi Beth Lieberman
Dr. Elias Sacks

The new translation empowers readers to view the Bible with fresh eyes.

Topics: Feminism, Bible, Theology
Collage of "The Baby-Sitters Club"

Netflix's "The Baby-Sitters Club" Brings Humanity to Girlhood

Lily Katz

What can tweens turn to in order to feel heard, understood, and empowered?  I believe the answer lies in the first season of Netflix’s adaptation of "The Baby-Sitters Club."

Topics: Television, Feminism
Collage of the "Barbie" Movie

Feminism, Sexism, and the "Barbie" Movie

Roz Larsen

Barbie's core message that women can transcend their “assigned” roles and defy societal double standards may not have landed with everyone.

Topics: Film, Feminism
A Court of Thorns and Roses Book Cover: red background with black dragon in the background, Sarah J Maas at the bottom

A Cult Favorite with Jewish, Feminist Themes

Dr. Jamie Ehrenpreis

In her hugely popular fantasy series, Sarah J. Maas puts Jewish texsts and biblical women at the forefront. 

Topics: Fiction, Bible, Feminism
Headshot of Emma Mair with shoulder-length light brown hair and tortoiseshell glasses, posing in front of trees

Where Are They Now? RVF Alum Emma Mair

Sarah Biskowitz

JWA talks to Rising Voices Fellowship alum Emma Mair for our series marking the 10th anniversary of the fellowship.

Collage of Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift's Feminism is Death by a Thousand Cuts

Sara Weinstein

Despite my love for Swift, her music, and the community she provides, we as Swifties must recognize that her activism, and specifically her feminism, deserve our critique.

Topics: Music, Feminism
Marra Gad cropped headshot

7 Questions For Marra Gad

Jen Richler

JWA talks to author, speaker, and writer/producer Marra Gad. 

Ruth swearing her allegiance to Naomi

Asexuality: A Text Study

Jessie Atkin

I have never looked at a person and thought, Yes, that is someone I want to know in the biblical sense

Collage with pink background, blue abstract designs, fist in the air, and picture of Beatrice Alexander

A Defense of Failed Activism

Sydney Burgess

Any activist’s favorite thing to do is be better than everybody else.  

Topics: Activism
Bettina Aptheker, April 1967

Bettina Aptheker Saved My Life

Ariadne Wolf

Seeing a Jewish woman defy efforts to silence her was life-giving.

Collage of Emma Goldman with her signature and name in Yiddish

Education, Activism, and Anarchy: Examining Emma Goldman’s Legacy

Aria Lynn-Skov

Balancing the good with the questionable doesn’t mean we should ignore the harder parts of history, but in the end, it’s important to focus on what we can learn from them.

Collage of line drawings of women and Iran on tan patterned background

For Iranian Women Who Break the Laws About Their Dress

Talia Waxman

Could the solidarity that Iranians have shown towards Israelis and that Israeli women have shown towards Iranian women be the beginning of peace between the two nations?

Collage of hands holding tampons on red and white background

Anita Diamant’s and My Advocacy for Menstrual Equity

Elah Tuchshnieder

Periods are hard enough for me, but many women can't even afford basic necessities to lessen their symptoms.

Young woman with dark hair and black sweather standing in front of a pillar

Where Are They Now? RVF Alum Isabel Kirsch

Sarah Biskowitz

JWA talks to Rising Voices Fellowship alum Isabel Kirsch for our series marking the 10th anniversary of the fellowship.

Collage of torn paper forming a stylized American flag

Voting Rights in the U.S., From the Women’s Suffrage Movement to Now

Lucy Targum

As a feminist who cares about voting equality, it is clear to me that current voting rights advocacy is in part descended from the women's suffrage movement.

Portrait of Lauren Tuchman smiling in front of a stained glass window wearing a maroon top and gold necklace

7 Questions For Rabbi Lauren Tuchman

Sarah Groustra

JWA chats with rabbi and disability justice advocate Lauren Tuchman.

Collage of pro-choice poster on green background

Diana Mara Henry's Photography and Progressive Activism

Sasha Kranson-Forrest

Through the pictures I took of the protest, I used photography as a way to exhibit women’s rights issues, just like Diana Mara Henry and many other activists did.

Collage of Ora Namir on grey blue background

Learning from Ora Namir and Advocating for a Better Israel

Lily Katz

The actions taken by so many progressive Israelis against their far-right government have inspired me to consider the history of activism and fights for equality within the state of Israel. I am particularly inspired by the legacy Ora Namir left for Israeli women.

Collage of Jewish Women Who Died in 2023

Jewish Women Whose Memories I’m Carrying into 2024

Judith Rosenbaum

The year 2023 brought the deaths of several powerful and influential Jewish women, whose insights and voices changed the world and are all the more painful to lose in this difficult time. 

Collage of Shulamit Aloni on patterned blue and white background

Is It Possible to Be A Left-Wing Zionist?

Ava Cohen

While it may not be exactly the case right now, there have been many people in Israel’s short history that have gone against the grain to form progressive parties in the government, like Shulamit Aloni.

Topics: Zionism, Activism
Collage of "Identical Twins" and clip art of a camera on black and white patterned background

Diane Arbus and Art as a Means of Processing, Coping, and Acting

Julia Brode Kroopkin

Arbus’s career sets a beautiful example of how to create space for purely expressive art. Art as a means of activism and coping is nothing new—yet it often feels inaccessible. I'm inspired by the risk she took to step away from commercial work.

Young woman sitting surrounded by signs: "Protect kids, not guns!" and "Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. How about you fucking do something?"

Where Are They Now? RVF Alum Ilana Goldberg

Sarah Biskowitz

JWA chats with Ilana Goldberg for our series of interviews with Rising Voices Fellowship alums to mark the 10th anniversary of the fellowship. 

Erica Riddick Headshot

Bilhah and Zilpah Made Me Yearn for Torah

Erica Riddick

Listening for their voices has helped me find my own.

 

Rainbow collage of various protest symbols and flowers

Jewish Queer Activism: Rising Upon Our Past

Julia Brode Kroopkin

In the same way I have an obligation to my Jewish ancestors to continue the fight for social justice and equity, I have an obligation to my queer ancestors as well.

Rabbi Minna Bromberg leading a workshop

Why We Need Fat Torah

Ariadne Wolf

Until fatphobia is erased from our Jewish lives, people with bodies like mine will never be able to truly come home.

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