Happening

Our Bodies… in Hebrew & Arabic

Women and Their Bodies set out in 2005 to develop Our Bodies, Ourselves in Hebrew (Nashim Le’Gufan) and Arabic (Al Mara wa Kayanaha). WTB runs workshops for girls and women and for health care professionals, and advocates with policymakers on issues affecting women’s health in Israel. More than 350 volunteers helped prepare the health guides, slated for publication in June 2011. WTB has also established an online information center with materials in Hebrew and Arabic that makes it easy for women and girls to access information privately and anonymously. wtb.org.il

Beyond Facebook — Dot Diva Draws Girls to Computer Science

A new website with a name meant to evoke the glitzy aspects of computer science wants to increase the number of college-bound girls drawn to this field. One of the developers of this site is the National Center for Women & Information Technology. Dot Diva features “Kate and Ali” — a web series about two young Dot Divas working in a hip startup gaming company; a virtual meet-and-greet with real-life Dot Divas working in robot design, healthcare, digital media, and fashion; and resources for educators, computer science professionals and parents. dotdiva.org

The Wake-Up Call

“In the chaos of conflict and disaster, women and girls are at even greater risk as their bodies and spirits become the forgotten front line. Sexual violence is not just a by-product of war; it is also a strategy of combat used to terrorize and humiliate.” An interactive multimedia campaign from the International Rescue Committee offers examples of women and men who are working each day for a world where a girl can go to school, where a woman is empowered to choose who and when she will marry, and where gender is not an obstacle to reaching one’s full potential. wakeup.theirc.org

Seder for a Better World

“Long before anyone dreamed of a feminist seder, a peace seder, sustainable food or ecumenical seders, the Workmen’s Circle celebrated Passover advocating its cultural/ political causes in a communal gathering of progressive Jews. In 1933, thirty Workmen’s Circle students and their families gathered in Crown Heights celebrating Passover in Yiddish poetry, song and social justice debate. And it’s been going on ever since. ” So writes Adrienne Cooper in her introduction to this Activist’s Hagodeh. circle.org

Seeing Gertrude Stein

Here’s the first major museum show about the fascinating visual legacy and life of Gertrude Stein (1874 – 1946). She had multiple identities as a literary pioneer, transatlantic modernist, Jewish-American expatriate, American celebrity, art collector, and muse to artists of several generations. The exhibition also features Alice B. Toklas (1877 – 1967), Stein’s life-long partner, and explores the aesthetics of dress, home décor, entertainment, and food that the two women created together. Curated by Wanda M. Corn and Tirza Latimer, the exhibit is at the Contemporary Jewish Museum of San Francisco May 12 –September 6, 2011, and the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC, October 14, 2011 – January 22, 2012.

This exhibition does not repeat what is well known about Stein’s years as a salonière and collector of Picasso and Matisse in the years before World War I. Instead, it focuses on Stein from 1915 – 46, when she became recognized as a major writer, collected the works of the Neo-Romantics, and formed a new international circle of young friends she called her second family. The show, “Seeing Gertrude Stein: Five Stories,” will be on view at the CJM at the same time as “The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian Avant-Garde,” is up at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (May 21 – September 6, 2011). “The Steins Collect” will travel to Paris and then New York after its SFMOMA premiere. thecjm.org

Hollaback!

Sexual harassment is a gateway crime that creates a cultural environment that tolerates gender-based violence. There exists a legal framework to address sexual harassment and abuse in the home and at work, but when it comes to the streets — all bets are off. This gap isn’t because street harassment hurts any less, it’s because there hasn’t been a solution. Find out about a growing international movement dedicated to ending street harassment using mobile technology, apps and maps, surveys and blogs, in a new frontier for women’s rights. ihollaback.org

Cooks & Books

Many things divide Jews, but good food always seems to bring them together. Exploring this delicious topic, writer Ruth Andrew Ellenson (editor of The Modern Jewish Girl’s Guide to Guilt) is working with the Jewish Book Council to collect recipes and their stories from Jewish tables across the country. For this compendium — part cookbook, part history and part essays — send your recipes and the stories behind them by May 1, 2011 to Jewish Book Council Food Project, 520 Eighth Ave, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or food@jewishbooks.org.

Walk About Love Festival

Over the course of 100 days, through June 2011, participants in this third annual event will hike through 620 miles of Israel’s diverse landscape of deserts, forests, rivers, lakes, beaches and mountains, meeting local residents along the way. Walkers and volunteers of all ages and backgrounds can join this nonpolitical, peace-inspired eco-friendly festival for short periods of time as well. walkaboutlove.org.il

Sarah Bernhardt — in Your Nabe

The most famous actress of the 19th century could be coming soon to a venue near you, in a one-woman musical created and performed by Carol Dunitz. Sarah Bernhardt (1844 – 1923), a French Jew, reached legendary heights in Europe in the 1860s and 1870s, and toured the U. S., Canada, Brazil, Australia, and Russia. The world’s first superstar, she was the first woman to star in a full-length silent film, “Queen Elizabeth” (1912). Sarah Bernhardt’s maternal grandparents were Orthodox Jews from the Netherlands, and her mother was a Jewish courtesan in Paris. It was said that Sarah Bernhardt (pictured here) never allowed anti-Semitic remarks to be made in her presence. During the hysteria of the Dreyfus Affair she courageously took a pro-Dreyfus stand, encouraging Emile Zola to write the pamphlet that proclaimed Alfred Dreyfus’ innocence. Antisemitic attacks became more common once she declared herself a supporter of Dreyfus. However, her remarkable talent tended to neutralize the prejudice against her. While she was not religiously observant, she always claimed, “I am a daughter of the great Jewish race.” bernhardtonbroadway.com

The Importance of Being Auntie

Total appreciation for the more than 50% of women who treasure the children in their lives but are not mothers! Long distance aunts, knitting aunts, aunts in Oregon, and all kinds of other kid-friendly women, aunts-by-relation and aunts-by-choice can find each other, share their stories, ask for advice, blog, brag, get ideas for activities and gifts on Melanie Notkin’s new website. savvyaunts.com

Lilith Spring 2011 Online Auction will open on Monday, May 9 and close on Sunday, May 22. Don’t miss out on this wonderful fundraiser — and friendraiser — for your favorite magazine. Sign up now at Lilith.org for advance news of auction items. You can participate by bidding, by telling your friends, and by donating a special item or experience. Our last auction featured tea in a private Jerusalem garden, a week in San Miguel de Allende, art, ritual objects, and exclusive-to-Lilith experiences. biddingforgood.com/lilithmagazine

Meet Lilith in Brooklyn

Join us at the Brooklyn Book Festival on September 18, 2011, to greet Lilith authors, editors and readers. This mammoth festival unites authors, book lovers, bookstores, literary organizations, and publishers from around the country in a celebration of books and ideas. brooklynbookfestival.org