Diane Balser
Diane Balser, professor of Women's Studies at Boston University and National Co-Chair for Advocacy of Brit Tzedek V'Shalom (of which she is also Executive Director Emeritus), speaking in the function room of the Columbia City Cinema, Columbia City neighborhood, Seattle, Washington.
Photo attributed to Joe Mabel.
Diane Balser worked to change how women relate to stereotypes and helped grow support for peaceful solutions to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Balser helped found one of the first feminist collectives in the US, Bread and Roses, which championed affordable housing and environmental responsibility. She has trained women worldwide in leadership skills and public policy, and led multiple delegations to the NGO International Conferences for Women. In her classes on gender and politics at Boston University, Balser encourages young women to confront the stereotype of the helpless and materialistic Jewish American Princess and commit instead to a tradition of powerful Jewish activism. Through her leadership of Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, she helped the grassroots organization (now part of J-Street) mobilize support for a peaceful, two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Diane Balser was honored at the 2005 Women Who Dared event in Boston.
