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

Arlene Barron

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Arlene Barron on December 14, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Arlene Barron discusses her childhood, involvement with the Jewish Community Center (JCC), experiences during Hurricane Katrina, and the emotional impact of the storm on herself and her family.

Andy Busch

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Andy Busch on August 2, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Rabbi Bush discusses his childhood, rabbinical training, serving as the rabbi of Touro Synagogue in New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina, their evacuation and exile experience, rebuilding the community in Houston, and reflecting on the impact of the storm and the efforts of the Jewish Reform Movement.

Pamela Goldman

Project
Barnard: Jewish Women Changing America

Jayne Guberman interviewed Pamela Goldman on October 30, 2005, in New York, New York, as part of the Barnard: Jewish Women Changing America Oral History Project. Goldman, a Jewish artist and sculptor, discusses her upbringing in Maplewood, New Jersey, her exploration of Jewish identity, her passion for promoting equality, and her involvement in the Rosa Parks Wall of Tolerance project.

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.

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.

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.

Judy Patkin

Project
Soviet Jewry

Judy Patkin was interviewed in Waltham, Massachusetts, as part of the Soviet Jewry Oral History Project. Patkin shares her experiences meeting refuseniks, visits to the former Soviet Union, involvement in the Soviet Jewry movement, the birth of Action for Post-Soviet Jewry, her Jewish identity, organizational work, interactions with the American government, personal growth, and the impact of her children on her trajectory.

Karen Weissbecker Remer

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Karen Weissbecker Remer on September 27, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Remer discusses her transition from Conservative Judaism to modern Orthodox Judaism, her experience during Hurricane Katrina, and the impact it had on her life and community.

Stephen Richer

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Stephen Richer on November 27, 2006, in Gulfport, Mississippi, as part of Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Richer discusses his Jewish upbringing, his move to Biloxi, Mississippi, his experiences as a Jewish community leader during Hurricane Katrina, and how the storm changed his perspective on spirituality and material possessions.

Bluma Rivkin

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Bluma Rivkin on October 12, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Rivkin shares her Chabad upbringing, involvement in the New Orleans Jewish community, experiences during Hurricane Katrina, evacuation to Houston, spiritual guidance, return home to devastation, and joyful celebrations of Sukkot and Simchat Torah.

Sara Schlosser

Project
DAVAR: Vermont Jewish Women's History Project

Sandy Gartner and Ann Buffum interviewed Sara Schlosser on January 19, 2008, in Wolcott, Vermont, as part of DAVAR's Vermont Jewish Women's Oral History Project. Schlosser discusses her family history, childhood, and journey to becoming a vegetarian, her experiences growing up in New Jersey, eventually starting her own family farm, and celebrating Jewish traditions with the local community.

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.

Susan Stamberg

Project
Washington D.C. Stories

Deborah Ross interviewed Susan Stamberg on March 28, 2011, in Washington DC, as part of the Washington D.C. Stories Oral History Project. Stamberg shares her groundbreaking experience as the first female national news anchor, highlighting her successful career in interviewing and her passion for the future of radio.

Tobie Weisman

Project
DAVAR: Vermont Jewish Women's History Project

Sandy Gartner and Ann Buffum interviewed Tobie Weisman on August 15, 2005, in Montpelier, Vermont, as part of the Vermont Jewish Women's Oral History Project. Weisman shares her family's immigration history, her upbringing, early experiences in Israel, her rabbinical training, and ultimately finding fulfillment in marriage and joining her husband's organic fruit tree farm in Vermont.

Birth Country

Type

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How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "Oral History Collection." (Viewed on May 14, 2024) <http://jwa.org/oralhistories>.