Hanna Weinberg
Called the Harriet Tubman of the Jewish domestic violence movement, Hanna Ruderman Weinberg both helped individuals escape their abusers and consulted on national domestic violence organizations. Weinberg’s position as a rebbetizin in the Orthodox community enabled her to create safe houses for battered women, match them with families who could provide logistic and emotional support, and mobilize a network of volunteers to take women to hospitals, pick children up from schools, subsidize legal expenses, and provide career advice. She discussed domestic violence with rabbis across the country, joined the Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence as an advisor on the Orthodox Jewish approach to domestic violence, and consulted on the formation of CHANA (Counseling Helpline and Aid Network for Abused Women). Weinberg’s work in the community also led her to become director of volunteer services at the Jewish Convalescent and Nursing home, as well as creating Bikur Holim (visiting the sick), a group of over 90 volunteers who provide transportation for medical appointments, visit the sick in hospitals, and give financial aid for operations.
Hanna Ruderman Weinberg was honored at the 2002 Women Who Dared event in Baltimore.