For Yom Ha’Atzmaut -- Israel’s 67th Independence Day – I decided to create a list of 67 inspiring women in Israel. To do this, I crowdsourced this assignment, with a simple Facebook status update, “Who are the most amazing Israel women that you know? The ones changing the world for good?” Well, the answers came fast, with the most beautiful, loving energy. I was so moved. And once I started collecting them into a list, the numbers far surpassed 67. In fact, the list became closer to TWICE 67. So actually, here is a list of 134 amazing Israeli women for you to get to know this Yom Ha’atzmaut – and at a certain point I really just had to stop (apologies in advance to those I left out who deserve a place here. There are many of you….).
The women on this list are activists, educators, artists, scientists, rabbis, writers, and “firsts”, and leaders in a whole range of fields. Some of the women I know well and love, and some I am meeting myself for the first time in this list. They are all worth getting to know. Get ready to be inspired.
[PS Feel free to leave comments with names of other women who should be on the list!]
What do you think?
Have anyone to add? Write about them in the comments!
Happy Yom Ha'atzmaut!
The JewFem blog is written by the award-winning writer Dr. Elana Maryles Sztokman, former Executive Director of JOFA, the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance. Elana's books include The Men’s Section: Orthodox Jewish Men in an Egalitarian World, which won the 2012 National Jewish Book Council Award for Women's Studies, Educating in the Divine Image: Gender Issues in Orthodox Jewish Day Schools, which won the 2013 National Jewish Book Council Award for Education (co-authored with Chaya Gorsetman), and the forthcoming The War on Women in Israel: How Religious Radicalism is Stifling the Voice of a Nation Elana writes frequently at The Forward, Haaretz, The Jerusalem Post, Lilith, and more.
Okay, so far, in the 30 minutes since I posted this, here are some of the names of women who DEFINITELY could have been on this list (shooting for 68 for next year)
* Ilana Dayan
* Prof Ruth Halperin Kadari
* Dr Beverly Gribetz
* Miriam Peretz
* Orit Elgavy
* Yael Dayan
* Ophir ben Shitrit
BTW, as I read this, i realize i have entire categories not mentioned:
* Women in business/entrepreneurs
* Women in finance
* Women in the army
* Muslim religious leaders (I heard a few amazing Arab women speak at the Women Wage Peace rally last month.... need to find out who they were!)
* Women athletes (well, there is Naama Shafir up there, but she's alone)
* Actresses
* Filmmakers (Avigail Sperber is up there, but also alone in this category)
Other thoughts?
More names coming in from everywhere:
* Ruth Calderon (of COURSE... .OMG how did i miss that???)
* Orna Sasson Levy
* Dorit Abramowitz
* Irit Koren
* Eeta Prince Gibson
* Renee Ghert Zand
* Josie Glausiusz-Kluger
* Janice Segal Wiezman
* Yael Unterman
* Ruti Freuchtwanger
* Haviva Ner David
* Malka (Melanie) Landau
Miriam Avraham is the Co-founder of Shutaf with Beth Steinberg, #3. She should have been included.
Filmmakers: Keren Shayo ("Sound of Torture") and Ibtisam Mara'ana Menuhin (“Write Down, I Am an Arab”) award winning documentaries, DocAviv 2014. Also, Laura Bialis ("Rock in the Red Zone") 2014
Caroline Glick
Orly Levy
Dvora Ross
I'm going to use this list in my work with schools, trainee teachers and family education. Thank you
You are brave Elana...you know that the State of Israel was built by many strong and compassionate women whose influence has made it was it is today. To add a few more...
Along with Beth Steinberg and Shutaf's ground-breaking work in inclusionary program should be Miriam Avraham...the ying to Beth's yang. Both women who were faced with personal challenges and rose to the challenge of addressing those challenges on behalf of everyone Also missed and understandably so was you, yourself Elana, a passionate and accomplished women who has also challenged the status quo and brought important issues to the forefront.
And finally, though no longer among the living, the late and great Rabbanit Bracha Kapach, z"l, who single-handedly saved more than one generation of Jerusalem's poor and lonely residents with her love, her wisdom and her strength.
I like your choices and agree with them. They reflect my own political leanings, but I have to comment that unless I missed something your list has a clear political bias. I didn't find Miri Regev or Caroline Glick on it. I disagree quite violently with everything they stand for, but if you want to compile a list of important and influential women in Israel they deserve a place even if you might not like their politics.
Other women to include next year:
Fern Reiss
Peggy Cidor
Haviva Pedaya, scholar, poet, writer
Hava -Pinhas-Cohen, poet.
Lesley Sachs
Henriette Dahan Calev
Lilly Ben Ami
Prof. Marta Weinstock-Rosin, who discovered Exelon as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease and continues to conduct the research and trials to develop a new drug that will work even better;
Leah Abramowitz, MSW, who along with Prof. Marta Rosin's husband, Prof. Arnold Rosin, created, established and for decades administered Melabev, center for Alzheimer's care in Israel;
Judy Labensohn, writer, blogger, teacher of creative non-fiction - even when I disagree with Judy, I like the way she states it.
Col. Yael Hess
Prof. Gabriela Shalev (former UN ambassador)
Sheikha Ibtisam Maḥameed
Avital Campbell Hochstein
Dr. Shlomit Yanisky-Ravid (intellectual property and labor law)
Attorney Dikla Tutian (expert on victim's rights in criminal cases)
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