Weekly Wrap-Up

February 4, 2011

February is Black History Month. Feministing recognizes the contributions of women to the Civil Rights Movement in this blog post (with a tribute video). Jewish women played an important role in the Movement. Learn the stories of 16 extraordinary Jewish women who dedicated their lives to fighting for civil rights in a special feature on jwa.org.

Earlier this week we blogged about the HR3 "No Taypayer Funding for Abortion" Act and the inclusion of language that would seek to redefine rape. We weren't alone. Feminist bloggers, including those at the Sisterhood, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Jon Stewart took up the cause. Yesterday the House announced that the "forcible rape" language would be removed from the bill. Unfortunately, the bill still presents a serious threat to abortion access. The fight isn't over.

Rabbi David Ellenson, president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion announced Monday that their cantorial school will be renamed The Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music in her honor.

The Ms. Magazine blog recognizes the women Oscar nominees, while the Forward takes a closer look at the star of the season, Natalie Portman.

At Jewlicious, Ilanadonna has some "straight talk" for curly-haired Jewish women. She says, "We didn’t wander the desert for 40 years so that you could hide your hot Semitic look beneath all those hair-straightening treatments." If you're looking for some great photos of Jewish hair in all it's fabulous forms, check out our Flickr photo pool.