Blog

Why I Give

Giving to NIF lets me know that I am supporting individuals and communities in Israel who truly need my help.

Spread the word! 2014-2015 Social Justice Fellowships

Last year, I had the immense privilege to spend a year in Israel as a NIF/Shatil Social Justice Fellow.

We Know, We Know

“We who are active in the American Jewish community know that the conversation has moved on from ‘Israel-right-or-wrong’ to asking a deeper question: How can we help our Israeli cousins build an Israel that is right?”

Thinking Locally

An initial analysis of the results from last week’s local elections in Israel shows grounds for optimism, but also cause for concern.

Bigger than Feminism, Better with Feminism

By Susan Silverman, October 2013 When I became a Woman of the Wall, I became more fully Jewish. I had been a rabbi for almost 20 years the day I was rounded up, with nine other women – including my seventeen-year-old daughter – by police for wearing a tallis and praying out loud at the…

“He’s not a rabbi. He’s a boy!”

By Allison Sherwat Cooper, October 2013 I was given a gift by the Jewish female pioneers (and their equally important male supporters) before me. As a child raised in the 1980s in an egalitarian, progressive, reform temple in Washington, DC, it was a given that I would become a bat mitzvah, stand on the bimah…

Out of the Depths

By Rabbi Neil Blumofe, October 2013 As one who came of age while walking the warrens of Jerusalem’s Old City, I could easily disappear into the miracle of a vibrant and exciting Jewish life that has been fought for and established in this place of miracle. And yet — our sages of old are still…

Taking Our Place: Elaine Reuben

By Elaine Reuben, October 2013 Bat Mitzvah, present, absent or partial, seems to be significant in many of the stories here. Unusual as it still was then. I did have a Bat Mitzvah, “just like the Bar Mitzvah boys,” in 1954: my then rabbi, in a Conservative congregation in the Midwest, thought himself a Reconstructionist,…

Judaism belongs to every Jew

By Hallel Abramowitz-Silverman, October 2013 My connection to God was strengthened at a Women of the Wall support service in NY last March. There were over 300 people. Some didn’t even personally understand women who chose to wear tallitot, but believed in religious freedom for all – not just those who agreed with them. Seeing…

The fight for equality is far from over

By Susi Brieger OAM, October 2013 Australian Jewish women face challenges common to all women in society. Their responsibility as primary caregivers for children, the elderly and the sick hampers their development as spiritual, political and cultural leaders. Nevertheless since 1988 increasing gains have been made in the fight for gender equality. In my own…