Ann Abrams

b. 1956

Ann Abrams was born in 1956 in Boston, Massachusetts. She was active in Young Judaea leadership, both locally and regionally. Ann has been the librarian at Temple Israel since 1985, and served an important role in the burgeoning queer activism there. In 1986,  she co-edited a book of Jewish songs for peace, Shiron L’Shalom with Lucy Sollogub. She has two children with her wife Deb.

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Scope and Content Note

On November 14, 2022 Nicole Zador interviewed Ann Abrams. Ann describes her childhood in the late 50’s and 60’s, growing up in the Conservative movement, and her involvement in Young Judaea. Ann discusses her coming out to herself and her friends and family, and the development of her queer identity. She went on to become the Temple Israel librarian, and there, she provided support to the gay and lesbian members of the congregation, one of the most welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community at that time. Ann shares her love of musical parodies and how they help her process major moments in her personal life and world events. She also chronicles the publication of a book of Jewish folk songs for peace with Lucy Sollogub. Ann recounts how she met her wife, Deb, through her work at Temple Israel, and her experience raising two children. 

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How to cite this page

Oral History of Ann Abrams. Interviewed by Nicole Zador. 15 November 2022. Jewish Women's Archive. (Viewed on November 2, 2024) <https://jwa.org/oralhistories/abrams-ann>.

Oral History of Ann Abrams by the Jewish Women's Archive is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at https://jwa.org/contact/OralHistory.