Oral History Collection

The Nicki Newman Tanner

Oral History Collection

As part of JWA’s mission to expand the narrative of Jewish history, we have collected and recorded hundreds of interviews with leaders, activists, and community members across the United States, documenting their encounters with major events and movements of the 20th and 21st centuries and the many ways that gender, class, place, and religious and ethnic identities have shaped women’s lives. With generous support from Nicki Newman Tanner,  Mass Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, we are proud to make these interviews and transcripts available to the public. All entries include transcripts; audio or video recordings are also available where narrator permissions allow. 

More about the collection

Miriam Hammerman

Project
Women Whose Lives Span the Century

Miriam Hammerman talks about a life shaped by music, Jewish identity, family, and community service, recounting her upbringing in Waltham, her career as a pianist and teacher, her marriage to a cantor, her advocacy for individuals with intellectual disabilities, and the enduring role of faith, resilience, and education across generations.

Julie Harris

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Julie Schwam Harris on October 14, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Harris shares her family background, her work in the Mayor's office during Hurricane Katrina, witnessing the impact on vulnerable populations, her identity as an agnostic Jew, her involvement in grassroots politics, and her hopes for a more equitable future for New Orleans.

Rosalie Harris

Project
DAVAR: Vermont Jewish Women's History Project

Ann Buffum and Sandy Gartner interviewed Rosalie Harris on April 10, 2007, in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, as part of the DAVAR: Vermont Jewish Women's Oral History Project. Harris discusses her childhood in Montreal, her nursing career, her marriage, their experiences during World War II, running a clothing store, their involvement in the Jewish community, her volunteer work, and reflections on family and interfaith connections.

Sarah Kappelman Harris

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Jean Freedman interviewed Sarah Kappelman Harris on May 24, 2002, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Harris shares her experiences growing up in Washington, DC, her relationship with Judaism, the influence of her foreign-born parents, her career in the retail industry, meeting Eleanor Roosevelt, her marriages, involvement in Hadassah, and reflections on customs, women's roles, and Judaism.

Susan Hess

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Susan Hess on November 16, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Hess talks about her family background, experiences during Hurricane Betsy and Hurricane Katrina, her journey towards more observant Judaism, and her involvement in raising funds for the Louisiana SPCA and City Park after Katrina.

Les Hirsch

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Les Hirsch on November 13, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Hirsch reflects on growing up as a Jew in a Newark suburb, his role in medical administration, his experiences during Hurricane Katrina at Touro Infirmary, the subsequent evacuation and recovery efforts, and his determination to stay in New Orleans and contribute to the community's future.

Helen Hirsch

Project
Women Whose Lives Span the Century

Betsy Friedman Abrams interviewed Helen Hirsch on August 8, 1997, in Falmouth, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Whose Lives Spanned The Century Oral History Project. Hirsch discusses her childhood in Boston, her father's involvement in founding a synagogue and tailoring business, her education, her work during the Great Depression, her participation in religious and community organizations, and her love for music and family.

Judith Hirschfield-Bartek

Project
Women Who Dared

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Judi Hirshfield-Bartek in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Hirshfeld-Bartek, an oncology nurse, discusses her activism in breast cancer research funding, influenced by her Jewish upbringing and family's philanthropic values, as well as her lobbying efforts for increased funding.

Lee Isaacson

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Lee Isaacson on August 30, 2007, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Isaacson talks about his family background, education, experiences during Hurricane Katrina, and his current work at the Jewish Community Center, expressing his disaffiliation with organized religion and frustration with government negligence.

Phyllis Isaacson

Project
DAVAR: Vermont Jewish Women's History Project

Sandra Stillman Gartner and Ann Buffum interviewed Phyllis Wolfson Isaacson on January 24, 2008, in Brattleboro, Vermont, as part of the DAVAR: Vermont Jewish Women's History Project, Isaacson shares her family history, musical journey, experiences as a music teacher and conductor, and her involvement with Jewish communities, highlighting the challenges she faced as a woman in a male-dominated field.

Ventura Franco Israel

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Roz Bornstein interviewed Ventura Franco Israel on May 31, 2001, in Seattle, Washington, as part of the Weaving Women's Words project. Israel reflects upon her family history, the challenges they faced after the death of her father, her marriage, her experiences as a working mother, and her thoughts on Jewish values, intermarriage, and the Seattle Sephardic community.

Shulamit Izen

Project
Women Who Dared

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Shulamit Izen on January 14, 2002, in Waltham, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Shulamit shares her journey of self-discovery as a lesbian, her exploration of different Jewish practices, her experiences in starting a GSA at her Jewish high school, and her activism in creating a supportive community for GLBTQ Jewish youth.

Anne A. Jackson

Project
Women Who Dared

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Anne A. Jackson on July 10, 2000, in Brookline, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Jackson shares her upbringing in a community of Russian Jews, her involvement in education and activism, including the Civil Rights Movement, her advocacy for Holocaust education, and her reflections on her career as an educator.

Anne A. Jackson

Project
Women Whose Lives Span the Century

Pam Goodman and Fran Putnoi interviewed Anne A. Jackson on February 4 and May 19, 1997, in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Whose Lives Spanned The Century Oral History Project. Jackson recounts her personal journey, including her close relationship with her sister and the impact of her death, her experiences during the war years, raising her children, and her lifelong passion for art.

Eliana Jacobowitz

Project
Boston Women Rabbis

Lynne Himelstein interviewed Rabbi Eliana Jacobowitz on February 25, 2014, in Sommerville, Massachusetts, as part of the Boston Women Rabbis Oral History Project. Rabbi Jacobowitz reflects on her spiritual path in Jewish mysticism and becoming a rabbi, aiming to create an inclusive environment at Temple B’nai B’rith, and navigating the challenges of being a woman rabbi in Israel, sharing her complex feelings towards her homeland.

Barbara Jacobs

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Barbara Jacobs on November 5, 2006, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Jacobs recounts her Reform upbringing in Indiana, her experiences in New Orleans, including Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, her love for music, the loss of her home and piano, and her strong connection to New Orleans, Judaism, and her family.

Ben Jaffe

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Ben Jaffe on September 6, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina’s Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Jaffe talks about his upbringing in the French Quarter of New Orleans, his family's contribution to the revival of traditional jazz through Preservation Hall, his experiences during Hurricane Katrina, and his efforts to rebuild and preserve the city's music culture.

Anne Kahan

Project
Adult Bat Mitzvahs

Shayna Rhodes interviewed Anne Kahan on February 2, 2005, in Brookline, Massachusetts, as part of the Adult Bat Mitzvahs Oral History Project. Kahan discusses her family's immigration, Jewish education, synagogue involvement, marriage, disillusionment with traditional roles for women, involvement with Minyan Shaleym, and personal growth through her Bat Mitzvah and engagement with Torah and prayer.

Catherine Kahn

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Catherine Kahn on October 17, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Kahn reflects on her family history, experiences growing up in New Orleans, her husband's illness, the evacuation during Hurricane Katrina, the impact of the storm on her and her community, and her return to New Orleans and her work.

Lis Kahn

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Lis Kahn on August 16, 2007, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Kahn shares her Jewish education, conversion to Judaism, Hurricane Katrina evacuation, and the challenges and significance of the New Orleans Jewish community.

Ida Mae Kahn

Project
Women Whose Lives Span the Century

Betsy Abrams and Bobbie Burstein interviewed Ida Mae Kahn on July 11, 1997, in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, as a part of the Women Whose Lives Spanned The Century Oral History Project. Kahn talks about her Jewish upbringing, meeting her husband, starting a family, and her extensive involvement in volunteer work, including leadership roles in various organizations and serving on the board of Public Welfare.

Jane Kanarek

Project
Boston Women Rabbis

Rashard Barrentine interviewed Rabbi Jane Kanarek on March 13, 2014 in Brookline, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Rabbis Oral History Project. Rabbi Kanarek talks about rediscovering Judaism, becoming a rabbi and scholar, and advocating for women's voices in texts while finding fulfillment in her family life and encouraging aspiring female rabbis to find their own Jewish voice and create inclusive communities.

Ellen Kanner

Project
Barnard: Jewish Women Changing America

Judith Rosenbaum and Jayne Guberman interviewed Ellen Kanner on October 12th, 2005 in Brookline, Massachusetts, as a part of the Jewish Women Changing America: Barnard Conference Oral History Project. Kanner reflects on her early life in New York, her involvement in the Jewish community, attending Jewish summer camps, her experience at Smith College, and her lifelong engagement in consciousness-raising groups.

Janna Kaplan

Project
Soviet Jewry

Alexandra Kiosse interviewed Janna Kaplan on July 8, 2016, in Waltham, Massachusetts, as part of the Societ Jewry Oral History Project. Kaplan recounts her experiences as a refusenik in Russia, her immigration to the United States, challenges as an immigrant, career struggles, Jewish identity, involvement in the Jewish community, interest in science, and reflections on the Six-Day War, Judaism, and feminism.

Janet Kaplan

Project
Women Whose Lives Span the Century

Rachel Alexander interviewed Janet Printz Kaplan on November 6, 1997, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Whose Lives Spanned The Century Oral History Project. Kaplan discusses her upbringing in Brookline, her experiences at Temple Israel, her love for art and dogs, her marriage and family life, community involvement, and her close relationship with a German exchange student who was born in a concentration camp.

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How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "Oral History Collection." (Viewed on July 17, 2026) <https://jwa.org/oralhistories>.