Israel

Content type
Collection

Marillyn Tallman

Project
Women Who Dared

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Marillyn Tallman on February 2, 2005, in Chicago, Illinois for the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Tallman talks about her childhood, activism work, involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, and her Jewish life and Zionist beliefs.

Episode 88: Jewish Women Behind the Mic

Here at Can We Talk?, we’re podcast fanatics. And we especially like shows that feature Jewish women’s voices. So we decided to bring together some of our favorite Jewish women podcasters to talk shop. In this episode of Can We Talk?, Judith Rosenbaum takes us behind the scenes with Stephanie Butnick from Unorthodox, Judy Gold from Kill Me Now, and Emily Bazelon from Slate's Political Gabfest, to talk about what makes their shows Jewish, sharing the mic with men, and answering to their listeners.

Batya Gur

Israeli author Batya Gur is best known for her mystery novels centering on the investigations of detective Michael Ohayon. Her work brought literary complexity to the Hebrew mystery novel.

Woman talking and standing in front of slide presentation

I Will Not Hide my Judaism in Progressive Spaces

Adriana Leigh

In naming the nuances of my Jewish experience, I hope that other progressive and feminist Jews feel seen, supported, and empowered.

Dvorah Hacohen wins the National Jewish Book Award for "To Repair a Bro­ken World "

January 20, 2021

On January 20, 2021, distinguished Israeli historian Dvorah Hacohen won the National Jewish Book Award for To Repair a Bro­ken World, a biography of Hadassah founder Hen­ri­et­ta Szold. The multitude of strong female Jewish voices present in the construction and content of Hacohen’s book speaks to an intergenerational admiration for Jewish women leaders.  

Roz Garber

Project
Women Who Dared

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Roz Garber on July 26th, 2000, in Brookline, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Who Dared project. Garber, a Canadian, shares her journey from choosing to study in the United States and embracing Conservative Judaism, to her work in the Soviet Union, educating and supporting Refuseniks, and her subsequent activism within the Jewish community, recognizing the importance of fighting injustice both at home and abroad.

Barbara Gaffin

Project
Women Who Dared

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Barbara Gaffin in Boston, Massachusetts on July 11, 2000, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Gaffin, raised in a Jewish community, recounts her career in Jewish organizations, her perspective on the relationship between American Jews and Israel, her work in Ethiopia, and the prejudice and contradictions she encountered while helping others.

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. 

Dr. Nigist Mengesha awarded prestigious Rothberg Prize for Jewish Education

June 6, 2010

On June 6, 2010, Ethiopian-Israeli social activist Dr. Nigist Mengesha was awarded the Samuel Rothberg Prize for Jewish Education by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She was selected in recognition of her broad contributions in the field of education in Israel. Dr. Mengesha said that she was “honored to receive the Rothberg Prize,” asserting, “Education is the key to success. But our work is far from over."

Molly Cone

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Roz Bornstein interviewed Molly Cone on May 22, 2001, in Seattle, Washington, as part of the Weaving Women’s Words Oral History Project. Cone recounts her family's immigration history, childhood in Tacoma, Washington, feeling different as a minority, education, writing career, marriage, raising children, Jewish holidays, and her passion for travel, including visits to Israel.

Randi Abramson

Project
Washington D.C. Stories

Deborah Ross interviewed Randi Abramson on January 22, 2011, in Bethesda, Maryland, as part of the Washington D.C. Stories Oral History Project. Abramson, a doctor at Bread for the City in Washington, D.C., discusses her experience as a minority Jew, challenges in the medical field, commitment to community service, and imparting Jewish values to her children.

The founders of Call.Activit

Using Their Voices to Share Experiences and Combat Racism in Israel

Mirushe "Mira" Zylali

Call.Activit’s founders hope the movement will help Ethiopian Israelis name their feelings and take control of their narratives.

Collage with Outline of Western Wall and Illustrated Woman Facing Away From It

In the Streets of Jerusalem: Discovering What Jewish Space Means to Me

Maddie Nowack

Throughout my many years of Hebrew school, I was taught that Israel was supposed to be my second home. After I traveled there, I realized this couldn’t be further from the truth for me.

Vera Frances Salomons

An elusive figure, Vera Salomon, who belonged to the interconnected network of Anglo-Jewish families known as “the Cousinhood,” is best remembered for founding and funding the L.A. Mayer Museum of Islamic Art in Jerusalem. This was the culmination of a longstanding philanthropic commitment to Jewish life in what would become the State of Israel.

Shulamit Aloni elected to Israel’s 6th Knesset

November 2, 1965

Shulamit Aloni fought tirelessly for individual rights, women's rights, and religious freedom. She served as an Israeli minister and Member of Knesset for 28 years.

Titi Aynaw becomes First Ethiopian Immigrant Selected as Miss Israel

February 27, 2013

Yityish (Titi) Aynaw was the first Ethiopian immigrant to become Miss Israel, on February 27, 2013.

Pnina Tamanu-Shata sworn into office as Israeli Minister of Aliyah and Integration

May 17, 2020

Pnina Tamanu-Shata’s anti-racism activism in Israel and her dedication to equality for all those who wish to live in Israel resulted in her selection as the Minister of Aliyah and Integration in 2020. She was officially sworn into office on May 17, 2020.

Collage of Illustrated Women Facing the Western Wall

"We Hear Us": Finding My Voice in Response to Sexism at the Western Wall

Mallie Lifsitz

The woman who helped me onto the benches that day at the Western Wall helped me to begin to find my voice.

Lynn Schusterman

Billionaire philanthropist Lynn Schusterman changed the landscape of the American Jewish community through her advocacy for Israel, engagement with young Jews, and pioneering funding of inclusion and equality. As Chair of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, her bold vision and commitment to repairing the world extended from Tulsa, OK, across the American Jewish community, to Israel and the Former Soviet Union.

Israelis  protest rising housing prices in 2011

This Digital Archive Will Be a Road Map for Activists

Mirushe "Mira" Zylali

As they scour the archive, activists will see they’re not alone.

Topics: Protests, Israel
Photo Collage of Amelia Posner-Hess reading Torah at her Bat Mitzvah

Wrapped in the Tallit of Jewish Matriarchs

Amelia Posner-Hess

My prayer shawl, which is titled “The Garden of Eden,” was designed specifically for Women of the Wall.

Collage of teenage girl, background of Jewish stars and backpacks, pencils, computers

Jewish Schools Aren't Making the Grade

Rose Clubok

If we want to engage young Jews, we need to rethink how we educate them.

Zoya Cherkassky

Zoya Cherkassky (b. 1976 in Kyiv, Ukraine) is a prominent Israeli artist. She works in a range of media and styles, synthesizing traditional painting techniques with vernacular tools and moving freely between allusions to the European canon and contemporary art. Her work is marked by humor, irony, and satire and at times has been controversial.

Lori Banov Kaufmann and book cover

Interview with Lori Banov Kaufmann, author of "Rebel Daughter"

Judith Rosenbaum

Author Lori Banov Kaufmann speaks with JWA about her new debut novel Rebel Daughter

Topics: Israel, Fiction

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