Question Sets

Question Sets help narrow the focus of your interview by offering optional prompts to ask your narrator. Choose one of JWA’s original Question Sets, or create your own!

Elderly woman being interviewed with Story Aperture app

General Questions

Want to interview a Jewish woman in your life, but not sure where to begin? Choose from this list of general questions to help you get started.

About 30 lit yahrzeit candles on the ground

October 7 and the Israel/Gaza War

Use JWA’s questions about October 7, 2023, and the Israel/Gaza war to help us document and preserve the experiences of Jewish women and gender-expansive people during this unprecedented moment. The shocking attack on Israel by Hamas and the ensuing war represent an inflection point in Jewish history whose implications continue to unfold. We have seen rising antisemitism worldwide, divisions and solidarity within Jewish communities, an increase in Jews’ alienation from wider communities, and a restructuring of Israeli society. The conflict and its reverberations have been shaped by gender in multiple ways that have been underreported and underexplored. Share your story now.

BBG@80

Since its founding in 1944, the International Order of the B’nai B’rith Girls (BBG) has served as the preeminent leadership program for young Jewish women. Now celebrating its 80th Anniversary, BBG’s mission is to continue empowering women, friends, and allies of all generations through meaningful experiences that build community around the values of strengthening Jewish identity, forming lasting friendships, developing leadership skills, and advocating for equality. Share your BBG story and help celebrate the legacy of strong Jewish women everywhere!

Green sign reading "Jews for Abortion Justice"

Abortion Stories

Do you have an abortion story that you’d like to share? JWA, in partnership with National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), is collecting the following kinds of stories: a story about your own experience of having an abortion, a story of helping someone else secure an abortion, a story of advocating for abortion rights. (JWA reserves the right to share your submission and contact information with NCJW and with scholars for research purposes.)

Judaism, Race, and Ethnicity

The complete story of the Jewish people includes Jews of color, whose experiences are often overlooked. Use this question set to amplify the experiences of Jewish Women of Color, Indigenous, Mizrahi, and Sephardi women. (This question set was created in collaboration with the Jewish Multiracial Network and Repair the World.)

Archiving #MeToo

Add your #MeToo story to JWA’s archival collection to ensure that the breadth of Jewish voices and experiences is captured and preserved during this watershed movement. Together, our stories illustrate the systems and structures that shape women’s experiences—and our collective power to make change.

Women Rabbis

In the fewer than 50 years since the first woman became ordained as a rabbi on American soil, women have transformed the rabbinate, along with Jewish life and communities across the globe. Add your voice to the collection of stories about the challenges and blessings, trials and triumphs, of being a woman rabbi today. (Note: Submitting a story here does not ensure inclusion in JWA's Women Rabbis exhibit.)

Gertrude Weil and Other Suffragists in North Carolina circa 1910

Your Voting Story

2020 marked the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment’s ratification. It was also the year of a momentous presidential election in which gender and identity played a major role. Share your own voting story here and reflect on the significance of women’s voting in the past, present, and future!

Sharing Stories
Inspiring Change

Story Aperture