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Military

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Selma Cronan

Selma Kantor Cronan flew as a pilot both running transport missions during WWII and later as a civilian, winning competitive aerial races.

Charlotte Chaney

Lieutenant Charlotte Ellner Chaney was permanently changed by her work as one of the first army nurses to help survivors of Dachau recover from their ordeal.

Miranda Bloch

Miranda “Randy” Bloch not only served as a Marine during World War II, she was one of the rare women Marines to be issued flight orders, helping pilots and air crew train for radar bombing runs.

Matilda and Bernice Blaustein

While 150,000 women eventually served in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps in World War II, Matilda Blaustein was remarkable both as one of the first to volunteer and because she was joined in the service by her daughter, Bernice.

Belda Lindenbaum

Belda Lindenbaum was driven by the birth of her daughters to create new opportunities for Jewish women and girls.

An American Jew in Israel

Teach about Israeli Independence Day (Yom Ha’Atzmaut) through the lively and engaging letters of Zipporah “Zippy” Porath. Through the letters of this young American woman who was studying at Hebrew University in 1947, we will explore the joy and the heartbreak that led up to Israel’s statehood and examine the role that gender played in one woman’s Zionist experience.

Hanukkah: Ignite and Inspire - Online Learning Program for Jewish Educators

Build connections among Jewish values, trailblazing Jewish women, and the Hanukkah story. This program will provide a new lens for teaching your students about Hanukkah that goes beyond the Maccabees and the candle lighting blessings. JWA staff will model resources and activities that can be put to use as you celebrate the festival of lights.
Sophie Rabinoff, 1918

Meet Sophie Rabinoff as the Camera Saw Her

Stephen Benson

Sometimes at JWA a story insists on coming to life. 

The article on Sophie Rabinoff  in our online Encyclopedia was a good scholarly representation of the pioneering physician's life and work. But no photos accompanied it; nothing helped lift it off the page. A few weeks ago, her great niece Jennifer Arnold contacted us to say that she had some photos of her aunt and wondered if we could add them to the article.  I told her that we would be happy to, and she kindly scanned and sent them to me.

Mollie Weinstein Schaffer, 1916 - 2012

We are finally in Paris and you can see that the Americans took over the situation. Can you imagine—ME—with the “handle” that I’ve got using Hitler’s stationery?

Veteran's Day: Discover stories of Jewish women in the military

Leah Berkenwald

Today we honor our all the veterans who served their country, past, present, and future.

Honoring our Jewish service members on Memorial Day

Kate Bigam

Time for a quick Jewish-American history lesson: In 1655, New Amsterdam colonist Asser Levy rallied against a colonial ordinance that forbade Jews from joining the colonial militia.

Topics: Military

Parshat Emor: What it means to leave a legacy

Elyssa Cohen

In our lives:
This past week we have seen a “modern” example of sacrifice upon hearing the news of American troops killing Osama Bin Laden. All week I reflected on what Osama’s life meant and the legacy he would be remembered by. Reading countless news articles caused me to question, was Osama happy? And, although the US spent a decade hunting him, did our country do the right thing by killing him? These are not easy questions, and there may not be easy answers.

Netiva Ben-Yehuda

Remembering Netiva Ben-Yehuda

Ari Davidow

Many years ago I was sitting in a kibbutz dining hall in the north of Israel. One of the older members, a woman, was reminiscing about the equality of the sexes that supposedly existed when the kibbutz was founded.

"Top Secret Rosies": How female computers helped win WWII

Leah Berkenwald

Back before Microsoft, IBM, and Apple, the word "computer" referred to a person who computes.

Eleanor Pearlson, 1921 - 2010

She was known equally for her generosity and her strong will, her enthusiasm and her temper, her warmth and her keen business sense. She might greet you or grill you, but chances were if you needed help with something on Martha’s Vineyard, she had the answer.

Remembering Jewish Women's Stories on Veteran's Day

Leah Berkenwald

Today is Veteran's Day and each year we at the Jewish Women's Archive look back on the long history of Jewish women trailblazers in the military. Last year I wrote a blog post about this legacy, highlighting the launch of our "Jewish American Women and WWII" collection on Flickr Commons.

Amy in the sky

Leah Berkenwald

Last week we got an unexpected call from a woman named Amy Sheridan, the first American Jewish woman pilot in the U.S. Army.

Topics: Military

Amy Sheridan earns her wings

December 18, 1979

Amy Sheridan earned her bars as a Warrant Officer One at the United States Army Aviation Center in Fort Rucker, Alabama, on December 18, 1979. Staying true to the stringent requirements of the U.S.

Taking stock on Veteran's Day

Leah Berkenwald

During World War II, more than a half-million Jews served in the American military.  The story of the Jewish American military experience begins there, but World War II also marks the beginning of a second story -- the story of Jewish women in the American military. In honor of Veteran's Day, I have been thinking about this story, its beginnings, and how far we have come since then.

Topics: Military

The "Pride, Honor & Courage" of Hartford Jewish women during WWII

Leah Berkenwald

Pride, Honor and Courage: Jewish Women Remember World War II, the documentary film produced by the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford (JHSGH), premiered Thursday at the Mandell Jewish Community Center.

Phoebe Yates Levy Pember given charge of Confederate military hospital

November 29, 1862

On November 29, 1862, Phoebe Yates Levy Pember wrote a letter to her sister indicating that she was about “to take charge of one o

Anna Rosenberg, first woman to receive Medal of Freedom

October 29, 1945

Acclaimed for her talents as a labor mediator, diplomat, adviser, troubleshooter, and administrator, Anna Rosenberg became the first

Rabbi and military chaplain Bonnie Koppell profiled

August 31, 1990
On August 31, 1990, in the midst of the build-up to the first Persian Gulf War, the Omaha, Nebraska, Jewish Press profiled Rabbi Bonnie Koppell, the first female rabbi to serve in the U.S. military.

Union troops arrest Confederate spy Eugenia Levy Phillips

August 24, 1861

Born into an assimilated Jewish family in Charleston, SC, in 1819 or 1820 [sources differ], Eugenia Levy Phillips was raised by prominent and successful parents who mingled easily with Charleston's

Miriam Miller joins the WAVES

July 30, 1942

On July 30, 1942, the U.S. government established the Navy WAVES, or Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service, program.

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