JEWISH YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS WANTED FOR HARD LABOR AND THE SUMMER OF A LIFETIME

Jewish students and young adults from 16 to 25 are invited to apply for the Volunteer Summer program of American Jewish World Service, a seven-week overseas experience that puts young peoples' hands and hearts to work in the developing world. The program promises intense physical labor in a rural site with few amenities, a real-life exercise in tikkun olam ("repairing the world"), the ideal at the core of AJWS' mission of grassroots sustainable development. Volunteers work with AJWS partner organizations to help achieve their goals and improve their communities. They live, work, travel and learn with each other in an intensive group experience designed to challenge their ideas about the developing world as well as each other. Four projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America are being offered this year. Three projects are for young adults 18-25, and one is for high school juniors and seniors. Projects are hosted by AJWS-supported community-based organizations. This year's projects are building a new school for a village in Ghana; constructing new homes in an area hit by Hurricane Stan last fall in Guatemala; working on a sustainable agriculture project in Thailand; and the high school group will dig a potable water system in Honduras. The physical work is also enriched by the spiritual work of the program. Group leaders hold daily educational sessions that draw from the Torah, the Talmud and other Jewish texts, and put them into a social justice context. Jews from the secular to the Orthodox are welcomed and accommodated. Participants do not work on the Sabbath, and participants' "Shabbat committees" are put in charge of designing each week's service to reflect the different traditions among the group, and even the host country. After returning home, volunteers participate in a domestic yearlong program, which connects them as a virtual community online, and brings them together for occasional retreats to discuss their experiences, receive advocacy training, and plan how they can apply the lessons they learned abroad to their lives at home. Many Volunteer Summer alumni have gone on to  spearhead independent activism in their communities, for which AJWS sometimes provides microgrants. "This is a unique  student volunteer program," says Leni Silverstein, director of AJWS' service programs. "Not only does it give young Jews an extensive experience overseas, it also inspires them to serve their own communities when they come back." The application deadline is March 31. For more information, contact Sonia Gordon-Walinsky at 1-800-889-7146 x 651, or sgw@ajws.org. American Jewish World Service 45 West 36th Street, 10th Floor, New York, NY  10018.  Contact: Ronni Strongin, 212-273-1657 or rstrongin@ajws.org   American Jewish World Service (AJWS) helps people in Africa, Asia, and the Americas move beyond poverty, illiteracy, disaster, and war. An international development organization engaged in strategic grant making, volunteer service, and educational and advocacy programs, AJWS supports over 200 development projects in 36 countries and provides emergency assistance  when disasters strike.
 

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YOUNG JUDAEA TO OFFER NEW THREE-WEEK SUMMER PROGRAM IN ISRAEL

Also reinstitutes popular program that begins in Italy and ends in Israel.

 In response to the demanding pace of modern life, Young Judaea, the Zionist youth movement of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, will offer a shorter, more intensive summer program beginning in 2006. Nofim, the three-week program designed for young people who have a shorter period of time to spend in Israel, will offer complete immersion in Israeli society and culture. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the Middle East by meeting Israeli youth, delving into the culture and exploring the sights. In addition, they will also be able to enjoy the outdoors by taking scenic hikes or going on kayaking excursions. Also, due to the great popularity of Young Judaea summer programs, a program is being offered for the first time in five years that incorporates a once-in-a-lifetime experience of arriving in Israel by boat, recreating the journey of the ma’apilim, the thousands of immigrants that came to the land of Israel following the Holocaust. The Ma’apilim program begins in Italy, where participants explore the rich history of Italian Jewry through a three-day stay in historic Rome. Participants then sail the Mediterranean on the ship, Exodus, playing games, attending workshops, socializing, relaxing, and even meeting a survivor from the original historic voyage. The program concludes with a dramatic landing in the port of Haifa followed by a comprehensive five-week program in Israel. As further incentive to travel to Israel this summer with Young Judaea, participants can even earn college credits. By special arrangement with the Jewish Community High School, a division of Gratz College of Philadelphia, students entering their junior or senior year in Fall 2006 are eligible to receive three college credits. For more information about Hadassah-sponsored Young Judaea programs in Israel, call 800-725-0612.

Founded in 1909, Young Judaea was the first Zionist youth movement in the US, and since 1968 has been exclusively sponsored by Hadassah.  Young Judaea seeks to impart a strong Jewish and Zionist identity to American Jewish youth of all affiliations through its network of social, cultural, and educational programs, camps and conventions.  Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, is the largest Jewish, largest women’s and largest Zionist organization in the US, and supports the Hadassah Medical Organization and education and youth institutions in Israel.  Hadassah’s domestic programs include health education, volunteerism, social action and advocacy, Jewish education and research, and forging partnerships with Israel. For more information, please visit: www.youngjudaea.org

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Diaspora Female Students Unite in Song for Disadvantaged Brides in Israel

Photo: Students singing at the 6th Annual Kol Chatan V'Kol Kallah Choir Competition in Jerusalem.

A sellout crowd of more than 2000 female students attended the sixth annual "Kol Chatan V'kol Kallah" Choir Competition in Jerusalem on Saturday night, January 14th, 2006. Thirteen choirs participated this year, representing Midreshet Moriah, Midreshet Lindenbaum, Darchei Bina, Machon Gold, Michlala, Afikei Torah, Ba’er Miriam, Midreshet Harovah, Midreshet Yeud, Tiferet, Orot Bat Tzion, Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim and Sha’alvim for Women. While officially a competition, there was a spirit of camaraderie as the women united in song in order to raise funds for needy Jerusalem brides, most of whom are orphans. Since the event began seven years ago, over $70,000 has been distributed to appreciative brides through Rabbanit Kapach, an Israel Prize winner recognized for her wonderful work with the underprivileged in Israeli society. The evening was filled with songs of hope for peace in Israel and amongst all people, as well as prayers reflecting the transcendent sense of harmony, both literally and figuratively, evident amongst the overflowing crowd.

Photo: Group of participants singing at Kol Chatan V'kol Kallah" Choir Competition in Jerusalem on Saturday night. It was a most delightful event.

First place was awarded to Michlala which performed the "Jerusalem Medley", second place went to Darchei Bina which dedicated one of their songs to the Gush Katif evacuees and third place to Sha’alvim for Women. The evening included a d’var Torah by Dr. Karen Bacon, Dean of Stern College for Women, and a presentation of various ethnic wedding dresses which were modeled by the college-age students. "The choir competition has developed into the largest, most powerful event for female students studying in Israel for the year. It sends a moving message of unity, encourages the students to express their talents and raises awareness of the importance of chesed and social justice.  In many communities, it is common to spend thousands of dollars on weddings, so helping those brides who can't afford a basic wedding will hopefully inspire our students to take steps to make our society a just and caring one," said Meital Bonchek, KEDMA's Executive Director. "It was truly memorable to hear the unified voices of over 2000 students singing Hatikva with such emotion at the end of the evening," she said. "Such experiences are probably more effective than any lectures on Judaism and Zionism in giving students a sense of the beauty of our religion and our country." The Choir competition was coordinated and sponsored by KEDMA, a student organization which empowers overseas students studying in Israel to run social action programs and campaigns, in conjunction with Yeshiva University and Partnership 2000 - UJA Federation of New York. Contact: Meital Bonchek, kedma2@netvision.net.il

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Online Exhibit Connects Jewish Feminism and American History in Landmark Project from Jewish Women’s Archive
 

At the Jewish Women’s Archive (JWA), losing history  means losing ground. That’s the impetus behind a pioneering initiative  called “Jewish Women and the Feminist Revolution” that examines the  phenomenon of Jewish women’s significant contributions to a movement  that has changed our world. JWA historians and educators worried that with the passage of time, vital information about Jewish women’s contributions to the movement called Second Wave feminism was being lost. “We needed to stem that tide,” says JWA Executive Director Gail Twersky Reimer, Ph.D. The result is a multi-vocal, inspirational, and egalitarian online  exhibit at www.jwa.org that is consistent with the Web itself as a medium. The exhibit marks a major stage in the evolution of JWA as a  virtual archive. Feminism of the late 1960s and 1970s was one of the most dramatic  social movements in American history, with many Jewish women among those who led the movement and worked to advance its ideals.

“Jewish Women and the Feminist Revolution brings the story of Jewish feminism into the story of American feminism for the first time, connecting their histories in a landmark project,” explains curator Judith Rosenbaum, Ph.D. “Our goal has been to create an interactive exhibit that is multi-layered and rich in content–one that vividly exploits the potential of the Internet to educate and inspire young people today.” Visitors to www.jwa.org/feminism will experience the web in a new way. In a single site JWA has preserved for future generations artifacts, documents, video clips, radio news reports, images, art, sounds, and fragments of memories that convey Jewish women’s roles as activists and the impact of feminism on the Jewish community.  “With it we’ve begun to invite women to become their own historians and help build a virtual collection out of privately-owned materials that document an important chapter in Jewish women’s history. This represents the crux of JWA’s identity and growth as an organization,” Reimer notes. Jewish women whose lives were transformed in that era, and who themselves transformed society, are aging – some gloriously so. Sadly, some are also dying. Along with the loss of these vibrant, brave women, material letters, notes, papers and other items that documented their experiences are also disappearing or in danger of disappearing. The artifacts come from 74 Jewish women who have played significant roles in American and Jewish feminism. Curated by Rosenbaum, JWA Director of Education, with exhibit designer Cindy Miller, the exhibit delves into the meanings of feminism and its legacies to contemporary and future generations of Jewish women. They have been working together on the project since May 2004. With funding from Dorot Foundation and the Charles H. Revson Foundation , the exhibit now serves as the foundation upon which additional project components will be built to educate the public, and promote participation and dialogue concerning American feminism and feminism in the Jewish community past, present, and future. The JWA is a national, nonprofit organization with headquarters in Brookline, MA. Its mission is to uncover, chronicle, and transmit the rich legacy of Jewish women and their contributions to the world. Since 1995, JWA has been an innovator in its use of the virtual world for academic, cultural, archival, and educational purposes. Among the women featured in the exhibit are Reform Rabbi Sally Priesand and Conservative Rabbi Amy Eilberg, the first American women to be ordained rabbis in their respective movements. Among others included are:  Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the first Jewish woman to be named a Supreme Court Justice; Gloria Steinem, pioneering feminist activist and founder of Ms. Magazine: Blu Greenberg, pioneer in Orthodox Jewish feminism and a founder of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA); Judy Chicago, feminist artist and creator of feminist art projects including The Dinner Party; and Gerda Lerner, a pioneer in the field of women’s history and founder of the first graduate program in women’s history at Sarah Lawrence College.

The participants are: Judith Rosenbaum, Ph.D, Exhibit Curator JEWISH WOMEN AND THE FEMINIST REVOLUTION. Judith Rosenbaum, Ph.D., is Director of Education at the Jewish Women’s Archive. Rosenbaum earned a B.A. summa cum laude in History from Yale University and a Ph.D. in American Civilization, with a specialty in women's history, from Brown University. The recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship, she has taught women's studies and Jewish studies at Brown, Boston University, Hebrew College and the Adult Learning Collaborative of Combined Jewish Philanthropies. Contributors to Jewish Women and the Feminist Revolution. Rachel Adler: feminist theologian of Judaism, author of Engendering Judaism: An Inclusive Theology and Ethics (1998), and Professor of Modern Jewish Thought and Judaism and Gender at Hebrew Union College-Los Angeles. Joyce Antler: abortion rights activist in 1970s, Professor of American Jewish History and Culture at Brandeis University, and the author of The Journey Home: How Jewish Women Shaped Modern America (1998) and the editor of America and I: Short Stories by American Jewish Women Writers (1991). A Founding Board member of the Jewish Women's Archive, Antler  also serves as Chair of the Jewish Women's Archive's Academic Advisory Council. Helene Aylon: eco-feminist artist and creator of Jewish-themed installations including “The Liberation of G-d” and “My Bridal Chamber.” Gay Block: feminist photographer, whose projects include an exhibit on girls at summer camps, portraits of women spiritual leaders, and portraits of Holocaust rescuers. Heather Booth: founder of the Jane underground abortion counseling service in Chicago and organizer of Women’s Radical Action Program, the first campus women’s group in the country. Booth was the founding Director and is now President of the Midwest Academy, a national center that trains leaders building citizen-based organizations. Marla Brettschneider: feminist theorist and activist for multicultural Jewish feminism, and Associate Professor of Political Philosophy and Feminist Theory at the University of New Hampshire. She is the author of The Narrow Bridge: Jewish Views on Multiculturalism (1996). Esther Broner: writer, lecturer, and Jewish feminist ceremonialist. Her books include A Weave of Women (1978) and The Telling (1993). Shifra Bronznick: founding president of Advancing Women Professionals and the Jewish Community (AWP), her work focuses on cracking the glass ceiling of Jewish communal and professional life. Susan Brownmiller: journalist and activist on issues of feminism and violence against women, and author of Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape (1975), Femininity (1984), and In Our Time: Memoir of a Revolution (1999). Aviva Cantor: early Jewish feminist activist, co-founder of Lilith magazine (1976), and author of Jewish Women/Jewish Men The Legacy of Patriarchy in Jewish Life (1995). Nina Beth Cardin: a Conservative rabbi and Director of Jewish Life at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore; the former editorial committee chairperson and former editor of Sh’ma: a Journal of Jewish Responsibility and author of books including Tears of Sadness, Seeds of Hope: a Jewish spiritual companion to infertility and pregnancy loss (1999). Kim Chernin: feminist writer and psychoanalyst, author of books including In My Mother’s House (1983) and The Flame Bearers (1986). Phyllis Chesler: feminist psychologist, co-founder of the Association for Women in Psychology and the National Women’s Health Network, and author of Women and Madness (1972), among other works.
Judy Chicago: feminist artist and creator of feminist art projects including Womanhouse, The Dinner Party, and the Birth Project. Tamara Cohen: community activist and an innovator of feminist rituals and liturgy. Dianne Cohler-Esses: first female rabbi from the Syrian community. She is currently senior educator of the Bronfman Youth Fellowship, a member of the Skirball Institute faculty, and a member of the think tank Common Judaism. Rachel Cowan: a Reform rabbi, former Director of the Jewish Life program at the Nathan Cummings Foundation, and a founder of the Jewish Healing Network. Barbara Dobkin: founder of Ma'yan, The Jewish Women's Project at the Jewish Community Center of the Upper West Side in New York City, and founding Chair of the Jewish Women’s Archive. Ellen DuBois: feminist scholar of 19th century women’s history and Professor of History at UCLA. Her books include Unequal Sisters: A Reader in Multicultural U.S. Women's History (1990). Ophira Edut: Third-wave feminist activist and co-founder of HUES (Hear Us Emerging Sisters), a national magazine for young women, and author of Body Outlaws: Rewriting the Rules of Beauty and Body Image (2000). Amy Eilberg: first woman ordained as a rabbi by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Rabbi Eilberg currently serves as Co-Director of the Yedidya Center for Jewish Spiritual Direction. She offers spiritual direction to individuals and groups in St. Paul, Minnesota. Sue Levi Elwell: a Reform rabbi, Director of the Pennsylvania Council of the UAHC, and the founding director of the American Jewish Congress Feminist Center in Los Angeles. Eve Ensler: playwright and author of The Vagina Monologues, and activist on issues of violence against women. Marcia Falk: Jewish feminist liturgist, poet, and translator. She is the author of The Book of Blessings (1996), a bilingual re-creation of Jewish prayer in poetic forms, written from a nonhierarchical, gender-inclusive perspective. Merle Feld: widely published Jewish feminist poet, award-winning playwright, activist, and educator who has pioneered teaching writing as a spiritual practice. Her memoir, A Spiritual Life: A Jewish Feminist Journey (2000), explores personal religious search, the life of the family, social justice work and heightening awareness in our everyday lives. She is founding director of the Rabbinic Writing Institute. Debbie Friedman: singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose music has deeply influenced Jewish song and liturgy. Sonia Pressman Fuentes: first female attorney in the Office of the General Counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and a founder of the National Organization for Women (NOW). Ruth Bader Ginsburg: first Jewish woman to serve as a United States Supreme Court Justice. Maralee Gordon: Rabbi of McHenry County Jewish Congregation in Illinois, founder and editor of Lilith's Rib and a founder of Chicago's radical Jewish collective Chutzpah. Sally Gottesman: founder of Kolot: The Center for Jewish Women’s and Gender Studies, and a management consultant to not-for-profit organizations. She now serves as the Founding Chair of Moving Traditions: The Jewish Gender and Lifecycle Initiative. Lynn Gottlieb: a Jewish Renewal rabbi, storyteller, and Jewish feminist activist. Blu Greenberg: pioneer in Orthodox Jewish feminism and a founder of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA). Her books include On Women and Judaism: A View from Tradition and How to Run a Traditional Jewish Household (1981). Gloria Greenfield: a founder of Persephone Press – a leading feminist publisher of the 1970s-80s – and coordinator of a national conference on women’s spirituality in 1976. Rivka Haut: founder of the International Committee for Women of the Wall, and director of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance’s Agunah Advocacy Project, she a co-edited Daughters of the King: Women and the Synagogue (1992). Nancy Miriam Hawley: a founder of the Boston Women’s