Honorees

In September, 2006, the president of Sudan (Omar Hassan al-Bashir) appeared before the United Nations General Assembly and claimed that “Zionist organizations” were responsible for cooking up an international outcry against his government for alleged massacres. He probably was referring to Ruth Messinger, a Jewish woman who has been the central figure in mobilizing public […]

Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the first Jewish woman (and only the second woman) appointed to the United States Supreme Court. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born as Joan Ruth Bader in 1933 to Nathan Bader and Celia Amster Bader. She grew up in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, where her Russian immigrant father worked as a

On Sept 12, 2004, we celebrated 350 years of Jews in America. They arrived in 1654, fleeing Portuguese persecution in Brazil, and settled in New Amsterdam, which became New York City. The early immigrants were Sephardic Jews, followed in the mid-nineteenth century by a large German Jewish migration. A huge third wave of Jewish immigration

Bella Savitzky Abzug was born in the Bronx on July 24, 1920 to Esther Tanklefsky and Emanuel Savitzky, immigrants from Russia, just one month before women in the United States were given the right to vote. She became a passionate crusader for women’s rights, world peace, environmental integrity, and social justice. Her idealism and activism

Golda Meir may be the world’s most famous grandmother. She served as the first Israeli ambassador to the Soviet Union in the late 1940’s, as foreign minister for nine years, then finally at the age of 71, as prime minister of Israel from 1969-1974. Golda Meir was one of the founders of Israel and the

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,With conquering limbs astride from land to land,Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall standA mighty woman with a torch, whose flameIs the imprisoned lightening, and her nameMother of Exiles. From her beacon-handGloves world-wide welcome; her mild eyes commandThe air-bridged harbor that twin-cities frame. “Keep, ancient lands, your