Honorees

For thousands of years since the poetry of Deborah, virtually no Hebrew poetry was composed by women until the twentieth century. Rachel Bluwstein is considered the “founding mother” of modern Hebrew poetry by women. Known by her first name, Rachel achieved the status of a beloved national poet of Israel. Her poetry often captured the

Sophie Tucker was one of the most popular singers and comedians in America in the early 20th century. She was born as Sophie Kalish in Russiain 1884. Her parents immigrated to the United States when she was three months old, and her father changed the family name to “Abuza” because he feared being caught for

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