Marcia Freedman was a women’s rights and LGBTQ+ activist, as well as an advocate for peace. She was a leading figure in the 1970s feminist movement in Israel and served in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, from 1974 to 1977—the first American woman, and the first out lesbian, Member of Knesset (MK).

Freedman was born in Newark, New Jersey, on May 17, 1938. She was an active participant in the American civil rights movement from 1960 to 1967. In 1969, she moved to Israel, where she continued her activism. She was a strong proponent of reforming abortion laws, which made her well-known in the public eye. She joined Shulamit Aloni’s Ratz party, committed to civil rights and peace. In 1974, she was elected to the Knesset for Ratz. While in the Knesset, she divorced her husband and came out as lesbian.  

During her three years in the Knesset, Freedman opened important conversations about such issues as violence against women, breast cancer, rape, incest, and teenage prostitution. Often, she was dismissed, laughed at, or ridiculed by other members for doing so. “She was this little woman” — no more than 4 feet, 8 inches tall — “and she would stand up in the Knesset and say this stuff, and they just ripped her apart,” Terry Greenblatt, former director of Bat Shalom, an Israeli women’s peace organization, said. “They called her crazy and a pervert, and they said she was a traitor against the Jewish people.” 

Freedman was a strong advocate for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. She was a supporter of what is known as the two-state solution. In 2002, she founded Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, a pro-Israel and pro-peace organization. 

Freedman was also a prominent figure in the gay rights movement. Later in her life, she established the Lesbian and Gay Aging Issues Network at the American Society on Aging to help elderly members of the LGBTQ+ community. She was also an early member of the Ashby village, a nonprofit organization in Berkley, California, that helps elderly people remain in their own homes and towns.  

Freedman passed away on September 21, 2021, in Berkley, California from renal and heart disease.  

Sources: 

Bachner, Michael. “US-Born Ex-MK Marcia Freedman, a Pioneer of Israeli Women's Rights, Dies at 83.” The Times of Israel, September 23, 2021. https://www.timesofisrael.com/former-mk-marcia-freedman-early-pioneer-of-womens-rights-in-israel-dies-at-83/.  

“Marcia Freedman, First Out Knesset Member, Dies.” Bay Area Reporter, October 7, 2021. Accessed March 31, 2023. https://www.ebar.com/story.php?309515.  

“Marcia Freedman.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, January 15, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcia_Freedman.  

Seelye, Katharine Q. “Marcia Freedman, First American Woman in Knesset, Dies at 83.” New York Times, October 2, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/02/us/marcia-freedman-dead.html.  

“Terry Greenblatt (United States of America).” PeaceWomen Across the Globe. Accessed March 31, 2023. https://wikipeacewomen.org/wpworg/en/?page_id=3778.