Sarah Biskowitz

Sarah Biskowitz Headshot

Sarah Biskowitz works at the Jewish Women's Archive as the manager of the Rising Voices Fellowship for high school students. She is a proud RVF alum herself from the 2016-2017 RVF cohort. Before working at JWA, Sarah completed the 2022-2023 Year Program at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies and served as the 2021-2022 Richard S. Herman fellow in bibliography and exhibitions at the Yiddish Book Center. A graduate of Smith College, her work has been published in Jewish Currents, Hey Alma, Pakn Treger, and In geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies. She has spoken about feminist Yiddish culture at the Maine Conference for Jewish Life, the Association for Jewish Studies conference, and various synagogue and Moishe House events. Visit her website www.sarahbiskowitz.com.

Blog Posts

Installation of crocheted white bra and underwear with a prayer book, on a dark background

7 Questions For Artist Gavi Weitzman

Sarah Biskowitz

JWA talks to Gavi Weitzman, a multimedia artist based in Philadelphia whose work explores Judaism, the body, and identity.

First Lady Michelle Obama with Students

Nutritious School Lunches for All

Sarah Biskowitz

Sometimes when I babysit, kids don’t like the meals I prepare for them. They scrunch their noses and whine “ewww!” at the nutritious food on their plates; but then I explain to them how carrots make their eyesight sharper, yogurt makes their bones stronger, and whole-grain pasta gives them the energy to play. Wanting to be strong and healthy, the kids listen and eat up.

Rising Voices Fellow Sarah Biskowitz with Grandmother Helene

A Girl Grows Up in Brooklyn

Sarah Biskowitz

“It was the magic age of growing up in Brooklyn,” my grandmother Helene told me as she recounted her idyllic 1940s and 1950s childhood. “A lot of people came out of Brooklyn, and it was a great place to grow up…Bernie Sanders was in my class...Ruth Bader Ginsburg graduated a year ahead of my brother…” 

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Jewish-American Witches

Sarah Biskowitz

Despite my positive feelings about them, I was disappointed that Tina and Queenie didn’t acknowledge their Jewishness, that the movie left this part of their identity ambiguous. Sometimes it’s fun as a Jewish viewer to get winks that fictional characters may be members of the tribe. The hints of Judaism in Fantastic Beasts, like Tina’s middle name being Esther and a glimpse of a challah, made me smile. But since having two Jewish women starring in such a global, mainstream fantasy film would be monumental, I wished that Tina and Queenie had claimed their heritage proudly like I do.

Topics: Film, Fiction
Betsy DeVos

Get Educated

Sarah Biskowitz

Betsy DeVos and I are about as close to enemies as two advocates for children could be, and about as different as two white Midwestern women have ever been. We both believe in the power of education, but we see the purpose of education very differently.     

Woman Running at Sunset

Rabbi Hillel on Stress Relief

Sarah Biskowitz

I grimace. My stomach churns. My muscles tense up. Reading the news used to be my favorite pastime. But ever since the election, reading the news feels like sitting in the backseat during another kid’s Driver’s Ed lesson: being jerked around by someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing as dangers lurk at every turn. American standards for truth and respect seem to be at an all-time low for my lifetime, and I’ve never felt so worried for the future.

2011 Wisconsin Budget Protest

Raushenbush, Wisconsin Workers, and Me

Sarah Biskowitz

When I first discovered the Jewish Women’s Archive, my concern and love for my home state led me to immediately look for a fellow Jewish feminist who was a Wisconsinite like I am.

Topics: Law
2016-2017 Rising Voices Fellow Sarah Biskowitz and her Sister Lighting Shabbat Candles

The Ham Sandwich

Sarah Biskowitz

Looking back, I now know that the comment about my sandwich choice was an extremely inappropriate thing for a coach to say to a student. It was also just rude. But most of all, it capitalized on my outsider-ness. 

2016-2017 Rising Voices Fellow Sarah Biskowitz with her Sister and Friend

A Podcast That Sounds Like Me

Sarah Biskowitz

“‘We talk about current events, friendship, Beyoncé, and politics,’ Aminatou Sow said in Episode One of the podcast Call Your Girlfriend. I smiled to myself. That’s exactly what I talk about with my friends, I thought.”

Topics: Feminism, Media

How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "Sarah Biskowitz." (Viewed on September 21, 2023) <https://jwa.org/blog/author/sarah-biskowitz>.