Amplifying Young Women's voices: jGirls

321 Jewish girls from nine countries and 34 US states have their voices heard and matter.

Women only account for 30 percent of the leadership of Jewish communal organizations and produce less than one-third of the news media. To help change these statistics, space had to be made to create a new type of community.

The Hadassah Foundation grantee organization jGirls Magazine is the first online magazine written by and for Jewish teen girls. Increasing their readership by 25 percent in the past year, jGirls reaches 20,000 readers from 60 countries.

jGirls Magazine Editorial Board Alumnae Alyx Bernstein (left) and Sasha Hochman (right) participate in an editorial board retreat. (Photo Credit: Shulamit Photo + Video)

Participants explore their ideas and voices through their contributions, build self-esteem, and increase their engagement in the Jewish community. Their distinctive editorial board provides 28 teens with board leadership and online curating experience.

“I felt like my voice was worthless, but now I know that I have a space where my voice can be heard. Where I can be powerful and loud without feeling like I am being judged or mocked. I want all girls to know what that feels like.”                                                                

-Alyx Bernstein, jGirls Editorial Board Alumna and college student

Influencing National Policy: Itach Maaki

A Haredi political party in Israel removes restrictions to women running for office.

Itach Maaki members celebrate the landmark decision.

The Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) political party Agudat Yisrael, had a clause in their party’s charter that prevented women from joining the party and running for political office. Itach Maaki: Women Lawyers for Social Justice, a Hadassah Foundation grantee, managed ten women’s groups in their suit—lasting more than two years—against Agudat Yisrael. The women’s groups declared that the party promoted gender discrimination by using the word “men” when listing membership requirements.

As a result, in January 2019, the Israel High Court mandated that the party’s charter be amended to include women. The Court sent a clear message – excluding women in any political party is forbidden. 

Supreme Court President Justice Esther Hayut states women must be able to obtain political party membership.

“There will not be any rules preventing acceptance of a woman as a party member… If the rules are not amended and any woman is barred from joining the party, she may petition the High Court.”

--Supreme Court President Esther Hayut

Creating Cross Cultural Connections: SHIN: The Israeli Movement for Equal Representation of Women

250 Israeli Jewish and Arab teens come together to discuss pressing issues impacting their lives. 

Jewish and Arab high school girls in Israel often live in close proximity, yet they are not afforded the opportunity to get to know one another. Thanks to grantee partner SHIN:The Israeli Movement for Equal Representation of Women, teen girls of diverse backgrounds participate in facilitated conversations about women’s rights, partake in leadership development programming, and meet members of the Knesset.

In turn, the teens increase their involvement in their local municipalities and become stronger advocates for gender equality. The connections they make lead to reduced hostility, foster respect, and create new friendships.

”When we just started the activity, I thought that it will be nice to meet the Jewish girls. It was also a chance to practice Hebrew as in my circles in the village we speak only Arabic. With time I have come to appreciate the seminars and the meetings…I became more aware of gender unjust situations and it made me determined to do something about it. Our wonderful facilitator helped me decide my future as a young woman.”         

-Nazima Amash, SHIN program participant and high school student

Judaism and Gender: A Discussion with Abby Stein

Post by Rebecca Barabas

On December 10, 2019, Hadassah Foundation Board Members and guests were privileged to speak with Abby Stein, author of the recently published memoir Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman. Abby spoke with the board about the Hasidic community, her own experiences, and what it means to be a women’s foundation in 2020, as the definition of “woman” is ever-changing.

Abby Stein and the 2019 Hadassah Foundation Board of Directors

Abby began her presentation by introducing her personal background, then showing the Alma video “From Hasidic Rabbi to Transgender Activist, Abby Stein is Paving Her Own Way.”  In this video, she walks around Williamsburg, where she grew up, speaking about her childhood.  We then discussed the Hasidic community, the homogeneity within it, and how foreign it is from the Judaism that we know and practice.

Then, Abby described the Hasidic communities lack of acknowledgement of the transgender experience, reading the final chapter of Becoming Eve to the board.  “The first thing I ever Googled was the phrase ‘boy turn into girl,’” she read.  “I wasn’t expecting any results…. I thought I am not going to find anything.  I am the only person in the world who would ask this question.  I still have to try.” Later, she admitted that her  goal, during the beginning of her advocacy, was to make the Hasidic community transphobic—at least then they would admit that there were transgender people, and transgender people living in Hasidic communities would know why they felt this way, and that they are not alone.

We also discussed gender in general.  To contradict what we might assume about Judaism’s traditional reaction to gender, as well as what she had been taught in Hasidic yeshiva, Abby asked us how many genders we thought were recognized in traditional Judaism.  Not one, she told us, not two, not even three, but at least six!  And, she said, up to ten, depending on whose commentary you read.

To depict this diversity of gender, Abby read Mishnah Bikkurim 4:1-5 to the group:

(א) אנדוגינוס יש בו דרכים שוה לאנשים ויש בו דרכים שוה לנשים ויש בו דרכים שוה לאנשים ונשים ויש בו דרכים אינו שוה לא לאנשים ולא לנשים: (ה) רבי מאיר אומר אנדרוגינוס בריה בפני עצמה הוא ולא יכלו חכמים להכריע עליו אם הוא איש או אשה אבל טומטום אינו כן פעמים שהוא איש פעמים שהוא אשה:

(1) An Androginus (most likely - someone who has both male and female reproductive organs) is similar to men in some ways, and to women in other ways, in some ways to both, and in some ways to neither. (5) Rabbi Meir Says: Androginus is a (gender) category of its own, (because) the rabbis could not decipher whatever s/he/they is a man or a women. However a Tumtum is not so, as at times s/he/they is fully male, and at times s/he/they is fully female (but we can't tell which).

(Literal translation by Abby Stein)

This passage makes it clear—gender is not simply male and female, but requires a more nuanced view within halakha.  Abby recalled her first day in her college “Intro to Gender Studies” class. The professor made it clear that gender was complex and non-binary—a common view in for 21st century scholars. But “you don’t expect it from a traditional Jewish text, and forget about Jewish for a second, people don’t expect it from a second-century text. One thing is very clear: that when it comes to gender, both within Judaism and historically, it’s a lot more complex than just male and female.”

In conversation with the group, Abby was asked how she sees the role of a women’s foundation in 2020.  She stressed that it is important to “make sure, very consciously, that women who are not cis-gender are very consciously included.  If you think about what is our mission, how do we not just stay relevant, but make sure that we are in front of everything and how do we stay engaging in the 21st century and in 2020, that is usually a good start.”

D'var Torah on The Book of Ruth

By Sue Beller, Boar Chair

The below post is the D'var Torah given by Board Chair Sue Beller at the recent Board of Directors Meeting on June 3-4,2019. 

One of the special things about the Hadassah Foundation is that we work within a Jewish framework deriving from Jewish values.  Shavuot is coming up soon  – Sunday June 9 and Monday June 10 – and I found some inspiration surrounding one of the holiday’s traditional readings – the Book of Ruth.

The fact that the Book of Ruth exists to begin with is special because there are only two books in the Bible named after women – the Book of Ruth and the Book of Esther.  In both cases, the women are truly the heroes of those stories.

A quick overview of the Story of Ruth
There is famine in Israel.  Naomi, along with her husband Elimelekh and their 2 sons, migrate to the land of the Moabites to escape starvation.  They are there for 10 years and during that time, the 2 sons marry Moabite women – Ruth and Orpah – who happen to be the daughters of the king.  Towards the end of the 10 years, tragedy befalls the family, and all 3 men die.

Naomi is devastated, and she decides that she needs to go back to the land where her family is from in Bethlehem.  Naomi knows it is going to be a hard life and she urges her 2 daughter-in-laws to stay in the land of the Moabites where they are from.  Orpah complies. However Ruth refuses with the famous verse of devotion:

Photo credit: Kveller.com. 

"Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me." 

Together, Naomi and Ruth go back to Bethlehem, and it is a hard life. One day when Ruth is out in the fields working, she happens to meet Boaz, who is related to Naomi’s deceased husband.  He is the owner of the fields and wealthy, and takes a liking to Ruth.  With Naomi’s coaching and help, Boaz ends up marrying Ruth.  Together Ruth and Boaz have a son, which is significant because this son will become the grandfather of King David.  This union starts the line of David – a time in Jewish history, of great peace and prosperity.

What can we learn as a Foundation
The story of Ruth is an amazing example of women supporting women! Ruth’s devotion to Naomi is legendary.  In the Bible, which is filled with stories of jealousy and betrayal, this story about women’s support for each other, really stands out.

Over the years, when Ruth was Naomi’s daughter-in-law, Ruth must have developed a real respect and a bond with Naomi.  So when Naomi loses her husband and her sons – and in a male-dominated culture this is everything – she just wants to return to her people and she is willing to do this alone.  It’s unclear whether she would even survive the journey by herself.  Ruth is unflinching; she pledges to stay by Naomi’s side, giving up everything, even when Naomi urges her not to go.  In turn, when they return to Israel, Naomi seeks out the best for Ruth.  This is truly a remarkable story of sisterhood – a powerful example of women lifting up women.

The Story of Ruth also gives us a great example of social change and it far reaching impact, in the way it raises the status and the respect of the convert.  Up until this point in the timeline of the Bible, we hear about different biblical figures who marry spouses from foreign lands.  But in general, these partners are side-lined.  We hear very little about them.  This is the first time when the convert becomes the star of the story.

When I think about some of the social change indicators that our Foundation uses, this hits squarely on a several of them.  The Story of Ruth redefines the meaning of a convert from one who is a follower to one who is an equal and in fact, even a leader.  This story also serves to change community behavior.  Rather than treating the convert as a marginalized outsider, this story exemplifies the need to embrace the convert in the way that Naomi embraces Ruth.  If Naomi had not embraced Ruth, the implication is that the line of David never would have happened.  And we still hear the story of Ruth referenced today, as the model for how to treat the convert.

There are multiple interpretations of the story of Ruth that draw strong parallels between Abraham and Ruth, and their common leadership traits.  I believe these comparisons are particularly important because they highlight a different kind of leader.   Both Ruth and Abraham are characterized by their tremendous chesed or kindness.  They also are both portrayed as courageous migrants who left the land of their fathers, casting away their religious and national bonds, to embark on unknown and very dangerous journeys.  In Abraham’s case, he is propelled by faith.  And in Ruth’s case, she is propelled by love and loyalty.  Ultimately, both Abraham and Ruth are portrayed as important leaders, and instrumental in establishing the future course of the Jewish people.  As a Foundation, as we focus on broadening the definition of leadership, I love the fact that the Bible makes this association.

Excluding and Segregating Women: Israel Women’s Network Fights Back

By Lonye Rasch, Board Alumna

Segregated driving school classes, separate seating for men and women at public ceremonies, inspection of the length of high-schoolers’ shorts, and exclusion of women from opportunities in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have all become part of a modern phenomenon of women’s exclusion in Israel, reports Michal Gera Margaliot, Executive Director of the Israel Women’s Network (IWN), a Hadassah Foundation grantee and the country’s largest advocacy organization for women’s rights and gender equality.

Ultra-Orthodox communities call for gender segregation 
 in public spaces in Israel. (Photo: Fathom Journal)

Women’s exclusion began 22 years ago, she explains, when public buses mandated that the front of the bus would be reserved for men, and women would sit in the back.

Reactionist forces in Israel, she told the Hadassah Foundation board on June 3rd, are responsible for this development and its escalation, but IWN is fighting back. With the support of the Hadassah Foundation, IWN is advocating to eradicate women’s exclusion in both the public sphere and the army. Its advocacy efforts involve writing letters to the men in charge of promulgating gender inequality, media campaigns to raise public awareness about women’s exclusion and gender bias, as well as bringing cases to court to challenge policies that don’t have the support of Israeli law.

For example, in July 2018, IWN gathered the testimonies of 20 women soldiers regarding their experience of gender bias in the Israeli army and issued a publication highlighting the inequities. In addition, IWN met with the “top brass” of the army to discuss the problem and to advocate for the appointment of a special person women soldiers could go to when they experience gender bias or harassment.  At the same time, IWN initiated a “Know Your Rights” campaign to educate women soldiers as to what they can and cannot do, as soldiers in the IDF. 

Ironically, Ms. Margaliot reports, although there are many more opportunities for women in the IDF now—a rise of 400 percent in five years—women soldiers are being pushed out of these new positions, with the excuse that the proper infrastructure is not in place. As she relates, however, the Supreme Court has said that “this is not a valid excuse.”

Examples of gender segregation abound, with countless consequences. Ms. Margaliot cites the case of a woman who was forbidden from taking her son to the library and of the husband who was not allowed to attend a parenting course with his wife. 

IWN often partners with local officials to publicize gender bias and inappropriate sanctioning.  For example, IWN used a Facebook post to highlight the problem of girls being lined up in high school so the length of their shorts could be measured.  Local officials posed in shorts to bring the point home that schools cannot dictate what girls can or cannot wear.

When there were protests against billboards that displayed photos of women candidates for election to public office, IWN approached members of the Central Election Committee to keep the billboards on display.  IWN was successful!

IWN also has had success in the courts in winning civil damages when women have been denied equal access.  For example, IWN defended a woman who was not able to enroll in a driving course in Ramat Gan because it was “for men only.”  Consequently, she had to take the course in another town, 50 kilometers away. The court awarded monetary damages to the woman.

It’s an uphill battle that Ms. Margaliot describes. There are now fewer feminists in the Knesset because fewer women won seats in this most recent election. “We saw that we women are not an electoral power,” she says. Nevertheless, Ms. Margaliot notes that there are many Knesset members who are willing to work with IWN on various issues, such as extending maternity leave and equal pay for women, “even though they don’t wear an ‘I am a feminist’ sign on their foreheads.”

At the same time, there are strong reactionary Knesset members such as Bezalel Smotrich, chair of Israel’s National Union party. He was cited in a recent Haaretz article as saying, “Israel, the state of the Jewish people, will with God’s help once again be run the way it was in the days of King David and King Solomon. The Jewish people is a special people, a people that received the Torah and must live a Torah life.”

IWN, however, is in gear to continue the fight for women’s inclusion and equality. In January 2019, the Hadassah Foundation awarded a $70,000 grant over two years to IWN for its project, “Fighting Exclusion, Increasing Equality,” which works to eliminate gender segregation and the exclusion of women in the public sphere and the IDF. 

At the conclusion of Ms. Margaliot’s presentation, Hadassah Foundation Chair Sue Beller thanked IWN’s executive director for her leadership in “pushing back on the erosion of women’s rights in Israeli society.”

Anti-Semitism in 2019: An interview with Dove Kent

By Stephanie Blumenkranz

Do you remember the first time you learned about anti-Semitism? If you are like me, you don’t, because as long as you can remember, it was always there. It was woven into my childhood Jewish education the way challah is rolled (or braided) into most Jewish holidays. Lessons, stories, and prayers remind us that long ago we were once slaves in Egypt. We have been fighting ever since.

Evidence that violence against Jews is on the rise is overwhelming. Anti-Semitic assaults in the US more than doubled in 2018, according to the Andi-Defamation League. Over the past six months, it appears as if it has been even more rampant. On a broad, non-violent level, we have heard anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist remarks in the women’s movement. On the other end, we have had two
fatal shootings at synagogues. As much as anti-Semitism has been a part of my life, we are in a place today that I never imagined I would witness.

Dove Kent (right) and me in conversation
at the 2019 JWFN conference.

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of attending the Jewish Women’s Funding Network (JWFN) conference in Chicago with Sue Beller, Board Chair, and Tracey Spiegelman, Board Member and Chair of the Women’s Amutot Initiative of the Greater Miami Federation. JWFN leverages the power of its member funds to act on behalf of gender justice in the Jewish and secular women’s funding movements.

The first night of the conference, I interviewed Dove Kent, Senior Strategy Officer at Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice. Dove is an advocacy and community organizing expert and a leading voice in the national fight against anti-Semitism. Dove shared with the Network how anti-Semitism takes many different forms. Out of the many forms we see, she explained that she sees the greatest threat to the Jewish people to be white nationalism.

White Nationalism is a social movement that emerged after the Civil Rights movement. White nationalist groups espouse white supremacist ideologies, often focusing on the alleged inferiority of nonwhites. They believe that white identity should be the organizing principle of the countries that make up Western civilization. The movement seeks to dismantle the current state, and replace it with a white only ethno-state that eliminates Jews and people of color. (Southern Poverty Law Center).

At this point in time, Dove explained, we don’t have the privilege of focusing on less threatening forms of anti-Semitism that we see in the women’s movement, the media, and in many aspects of our everyday lives. It is the severe extremism in the white nationalist movement that requires our immediate and complete attention.

Dove encouraged members of the JWFN to build relations with diverse communities, focus our efforts, and organize with the larger Jewish community. When we come together to combat hate, Dove explained, our voices reverberate. As a result of our conversation, I will build stronger alliances with individuals and organizations of different faiths, and increase my communication with leading organizers around anti-Semitism. I urge you to consider, what will you do?