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Judith Wolf

b. 1932

Judith Wolf was born in 1932 in Boston, Massachusetts. Her career has centered on Jewish philanthropy in Boston and New York City. Over the years, she has worked for various organizations, including the Women's Plea for Soviet Jewry; the American Jewish Congress, Women's Division; the Jewish Relations Council; and the International Relations Committee. Her initial involvement in the Movement for Soviet Jewry centered on public relations and efforts to lobby government officials in both Washington and Boston. By the 1990s, she was working with Action for Post-Soviet Jewry. As chair of the Cultural Commission of the International Relations Committee, she helped with the Kehillah project in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. She has been mainly involved in efforts to aid children with disabilities who are unable to integrate into society because of cultural norms in the Former Soviet Union.

Scope and Content Note

Judy discusses her Jewish identity and values, marriage, and initial involvement in the Soviet Jewry movement. She was very active in the Women's Division of the American Jewish Congress and became the first chair of the Women's Plea for Soviet Jewry in Boston when it was formed. Judy describes the role of women in the Soviet Jewry Movement and her own advocacy work and activities, particularly in Dnepropetrovsk, as part of the Kehillah Project, a nonprofit to support children with special needs. Judy also details her involvement and support for other social and cultural movements, such as the Women's Movement, the Civil Rights Movement, and support for Israel. Finally, Judy reflects on the current election, her concerns for the future state of politics, and the importance of public discourse.

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How to cite this page

Oral History of Judith Wolf. Interviewed by Alexandra Kiosse . 25 July 2016. Jewish Women's Archive. (Viewed on October 5, 2024) <https://jwa.org/oralhistories/wolf-judy>.

Oral History of Judith Wolf 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.