Women's Rights

Content type
Collection

Judy Somberg

Project
Women Who Dared

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Judy Somberg on July 18, 2000, in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Somberg recounts her activism through the years, reflecting on her involvement in anti-war movements, women's rights, and the Cambridge Sister City Project, advocating for human rights and supporting affected communities.

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.

Rita Arditti

Project
Women Who Dared

Julie Johnson interviewed Rita Arditti on March 14, 2005, in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Arditti, a Jewish activist from Argentina, discusses her upbringing, academic journey, involvement in the women's movement and Science for the People, her battle with breast cancer, and her impactful work with the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo.

Ruth Abrams

Project
Women Who Dared

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Judge Ruth Abrams on July 25, 2001, in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Judge Abrams explores her family, education, career path, focus on gender issues, and notable legal cases in an interview.

Noa Karidi at her bat mitzvah collaged on a blue watercolor background

Honoring the Women of the Wall With My Tallit

Noa Karidi

By choosing this tallit, I am honoring the hard work of other women that allowed me to go through this process.

Episode 83: Fighting for Israel's "Chained Women"

In Israel, marriage and divorce are governed by Jewish law and controlled by the ultra-Orthodox rabbinical courts. If a Jewish woman wants a divorce, she has to get permission from her husband—and he can refuse. That's exactly what happens to about 1 in 5 Jewish women in Israel who want a divorce, according to a recent survey. In this episode of 'Can We Talk?,' we speak with Kylie Eisman-Lifschitz, board chair of Mavoi Satum, about how rabbinical control over the divorce process in Israel harms Jewish women, and about how organizations like Mavoi Satum are taking on the problem, by working with women one-on-one, but also by fighting for systemic change. 

Collage of candlesticks on a stack of books with a light purple background

Setting My Feminist Intentions with Shabbat

Olivia Gnad

When I unfold my little silver candle holder and light the flames, I bring in the light of a commitment to practicing my Judaism alongside my feminism.

Mindy Portnoy

Project
Washington D.C. Stories

Deborah Ross interviewed Rabbi Mindy Portnoy on November 9, 2010, in Washington, DC, as part of the Washington D.C. Stories Oral History Project. Rabbi Portnoy shares her personal journey and observations as a female rabbi, her motivations for entering the rabbinate, her perceptions of women in this new position, and her responses to challenges during a transformative period in Jewish life.

Beatrice Levi

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Marcie Cohen Ferris and Brenda Rever interviewed Beatrice Levi on February 4 and November 8, 2002, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women’s Words Oral History Project. Levi reflects on her childhood, family life, involvement with the League of Women Voters, experiences during the Great Depression, academic pursuits, marriage, volunteer work, and pride in her daughters' achievements.

Margaret Lazarus

Project
Women Who Dared

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Margaret Lazarus on July 11, 2001, in Belmont, Massachusetts, for the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Lazarus speaks about her upbringing in Queens, her activist parents, her perception of Judaism as a platform for questioning and civil rights, her career in documentary filmmaking, and her advocacy for women's issues and social justice.

Florence Schornstein

Project
Women Who Dared

Abe Louise Young interviewed Florence Schornstein on January 11, 2005, in New Orleans, Louisiana as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Schornstein recounts her upbringing and journey with Judaism, highlighting her involvement in various organizations, including her role in the Civil Rights Movement, and reflects on the importance of humanitarian causes and encouraging young Jewish women to be active in their communities.

Marcia Greenberger

Project
Washington D.C. Stories

Deborah Ross interviewed Marcia Greenberger on June 27, 2011, in Washington, DC, as part of the Washington D.C. Stories Oral History Project. Greenberger reflects on her experiences of encountering discrimination against women and Jews, her commitment to social change during the turbulent '60s, and her admiration for her mentor, Justice Arthur Goldberg, as she pursued a legal career.

Phyllis Greenberger

Project
Washington D.C. Stories

Deborah Ross interviewed Phyllis Greenberger on March 14, 2011, in Washington, DC, as part of the Washington D.C. Stories Oral History Project. Greenberger looks back at her career from social worker to policy expert, the founding of the Society, the difficulties women encounter in the field of medical research and funding, and addresses the challenges of combining family and professional life.

Miriam Waltzer

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Miriam Waltzer on September 28, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Waltzer details her childhood during World War II, her career as the first woman elected to the New Orleans Criminal District Court, her experiences during Hurricane Katrina, and her current volunteering activities in Dallas.

Miriam Waltzer

Project
Women Who Dared

Abrielle Louise Young interviewed Miriam Waltzer on January 12, 2005, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Waltzer shares the story of her childhood in Germany during World War II, her marriage to an American, their involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, her career as a judge, and her contributions to humanitarian organizations.

Rosalie Silber Abrams

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Marcie Cohen Ferris interviewed Senator Rosalie Silber Abrams on May 24, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women’s Words Oral History Project. Abrams, a progressive health advocate, and former Maryland Senator, reflects on her life and career in an interview, highlighting her nursing background, political engagement, and contributions to healthcare and senior services.

Fania Mindell

Fania Mindell was a feminist activist and co-founder of a birth control clinic. She was arrested and fined for her work, which helped bring America’s attention to women’s health. She also worked on Broadway as a translator and costume and set designer.

Carly Manes and the cover of her book What's An Abortion, Anyway?

Interview with Carly Manes, author of "What’s An Abortion, Anyway?"

Chanel Dubofsky

We spoke with Carly Manes about Jewish faith and abortion, the obstacles in getting the book into the world, and how Jewish communities can support the fight for reproductive justice.

Episode 72: Ezrat Nashim Confronts the Rabbis

Fifty years ago, a group of young Jewish women piled into two cars and drove to upstate New York to crash the annual meeting of the all-male Rabbinical Assembly of the Conservative movement. They called themselves Ezrat Nashim and they had a set of demands that included the right to be counted in a minyan, lead religious services, and attend rabbinical school. Their brief but brave action had ripple effects across American Jewish communities.

Miriam Anzovin posing with ring light.

Interview With Talmudic TikToker Miriam Anzovin

Dina Adelsky

JWA talks to Miriam Anzovin about leaving behind Orthodox practice, misogyny on social media and IRL, and of course, her viral Daf Reactions TikTok videos.

Ronit Elkabetz

Ronit Elkabetz (1963-2016) was one of Israeli cinema's leading actors. Coming from the northern periphery, she played in some of the major Israeli films of the last decades. She is particularly remembered for the trilogy she directed with her brother Shlomi Elkabetz: To Take a Wife (2004), The Seven Days (2009), and Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem (2013), all addressing the issue of the oppression of Mizrahi women in the name of the Jewish religion.

Helène Aylon

Helene Aylon was an American, New York-based, multimedia visual artist who began by creating process art in the 1970s, focused on anti-nuclear and eco-activist art by the 1980s, and subsequently devoted more than 35 years to the multi-partite installation The G-d Project. This last body of work’s often direct or indirect textuality resonates from and responds to Judaism’s traditionally male-dominated textuality as part of a larger commentary on women in Judaism.

Collage with Image of Georgia Fried and Her Siblings Holding Volunteer Certificates for 2020 Polls in Columbus, OH

I Worked the Polls During the 2021 "Off-Year" Election: Here's Why It Matters

Georgia Fried

As last year's election came and went and my disillusionment peaked, I recalled all of the Jewish women who fought to get the right to vote.

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