Happening
Where to Go for What if You're Jewish and Female
GIVING AND GETTING
Help provide emergency medical care and shelter to Rwandan refugees. A coalition of 35 Jewish organizations, working together with humanitiarian Abie Nathan, is seeking financial support for this effort from the American Jewish community. Tax deductible contributions to EFICRP-Rwanda Relief may be sent to Education Fund for Israeli Civil Rights and Peace— Rwanda Relief. 15E.26 St., #919. New York. NY 10010. (212) 447-6652.
Help develop new high-tech-industries in Israel. Contribute seed money to nurture the brain power and human resources of fledgling Israeli businesses now being “incubated” by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Four years ago Yvonne Liebel created a nonprofit organization that hopes to assist 50 new Israeli projects each year. Tax deductible contributions to Alliance Foundation. 54 Danbury Rd., Ridgefield. CT 06877. (800) 565-3223.
The Amy Adina Schulman Memorial Fund, established to honor the life of a vibrant young woman, gives small awards to young adults who work or study for a minimum of three months contributing to some aspect of Israeli life which involves building a just and egalitarian society or enhancing understanding among peoples in the Middle East; or working in areas such as feminist concerns, civil rights , peace or environmental activities, in the U.S. or Canada. Applicant must commit to educate peers and others upon return to her or his home or school community. Contributions or applications to Amy Adina Schulman Memorial Fund, 124 Snowden Lane, Princeton, NJ 08540.
1995 Hillel Guide to Financial Support for Jewish College Students contains advice and information on scholarships, loans, fellowships, internships, and contests. 72 pages. $ 12, plus $2 postage book rate, or $4 first class; bulk discounts: Hillel/FACETS, 1600 Campus Road, Box F-10, Los Angeles, CA 90041. Send information about additional resources for future updates to author Caty Konigberg at Occidental College Hillel (213) 259-2959; or fax (213) 341-4959.
SEND YOUR STUFF
A revision of our previous call to artists: Due to internal staff changes at UJA Federation-New York, the exhibition honoring LILITH Magazine’s 18th anniversary “Jewish Visions by Women Artists” will be postponed till early winter 1994-5. It will include works by artists in the New York metropolitan region only (New York City, Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk counties) however, artists outside this area are invited to inquire about submitting works for future exhibits. Robin Dennenberg, Building Art Committee, UJA Federation, 130 E. 59th St., New York, NY 10022.
Creating New Jewish Life Cycle Rituals? A fifth year rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion is searching for creative ceremonies and rituals. Unless otherwise requested, all resources will be filed in the Rabbinic Resource Center at the HUC-JIR campus. Send photocopies to Stephanie Wolfe, 3101 Clifton Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45220. (510) 569-0712.
Original stories and midrashim based on personalities and episodes in the Torah are sought for an anthology for adults and older children. 400-1500 words. Rabbi David A. Katz, 315 Forest Ave., Staten Island, NY 10301. (718) 727-2231, or Peter Lovenheim. 52 San Gabriel Dr., Rochester, NY 14610. (716) 381-6830, daytime.
Faith: from love not hate, a TV program, will explore the realities, spiritual searches and steadfastness of Jewish life. Send a brief written statement about the catalyst for your religious or cultural activities, including a phone number for possible follow-up. Bunie Veeder or Elly Schull Meeks, The New York Board of Rabbis 10 E. 73 St., New York, NY 10021-4194. (212) 772-3977. esmeeks@aol.com.
PRESERVE & CONSERVE
Endangered historic Jewish sites across the United States are being identified and local volunteers are needed to collect information about the architecture, history, current use, and condition of the sites. Jewish Heritage Council, World Monuments Fund, 174 E. 80 St.. New York, NY 10021.
The Vilna Center for Jewish Heritage in Boston is working to claim the Vilna Shul in that city as a historic landmark. Boston is the only major city in the U.S. without a Jewish museum. To get involved in lobbying for this cause, contact Barbara Hunt, Campaign Coordinator, One Financial Center, 40 FL, Boston , MA 02111.
A new public-interest environmental library is seeking donations of literature on environmental issues of the 80’s and 90’s, including scientific texts and materials from related disciplines. Israel Union for Environmental Defense, 317 Hayarkon St., Tel Aviv 63504, Israel.
Rendering of the Eldridge Street Synagogue, on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, being restored by the Eldridge Street Project, 12 Eldridge St., New York, NY 10002.
TEACHING & LEARING
Breaking the Silence: Jewish Feminists Tell Their Stories, explores the lives and stories of E.M. Broner, Marcia Freedman, Susan Griffin, Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz, Deena Metzger, Judith Plaskow and Savina Teubal, along with music, documentary, and excerpts from ATJT plays Snake Talk: Urgent Messages from the Mother, and Berlin Jerusalem and the Moon. One in a series of four tapes available from programs created for broadcast on public radio. $12.50. A Traveling Jewish Theatre, P.O. Box 421985, San Francisco, CA 94142-1985
How a Jewish family and community deal with “coming out” as gay or lesbian is the subject of a video “You Shall Be a Blessing” an outgrowth of Kavod, a gay-sensitive counseling and education program of the Jewish Family Service. Currently in pre-production, funds are needed for completion. Contact producer, Claire Mix, 3777 Hayden Dr., San Jose, CA 95117. (408)554-6083. or Karen Belford, Kavod Director, Jewish Family Service of Santa Clara, 14855 Oka Road, #3, Los Gatos, CA 95030. (408) 399-2202.
Learn Torah with scholars Savina Teubal, Carol Meyers, Marcia Falk, Tikvah Frymer-Kensky, Rachel Adler, Rachel Cowan, Debbie Weissman, Jo Milgrom, Blu Greenberg, Deborah Lipstadt, Amy Eilberg, Elyse Goldstein, Tamar Frankiel and others (male and female) beginning September 1994. A two-page commentary will be faxed weekly to subscribers, with a third page of the best fax or e-mail responses; edited by Joel Grishaver and Stuart Kelman. $185/year, Canada $220.Torah Aura Productions, 4423 Fruitland Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90058. 800-BE-TORAH.
A class in contemporary Israeli literature for Israelis and others fluent in Hebrew, taught by Zvia Ginor, meets Tuesday evenings, biweekly at the Jewish Theological Seminary, 3080 Broadway, NYC. The spring curriculum will include new works by female authors Batya Gur, Yehudit Hendel and Orly Kastel-Blum. Contact Margalit. (212) 678-8993.
Hebrew Writers, a directory of modern and contemporary Hebrew authors of fiction, poetry, and drama—among them 30 women—lists their published works and those available in translation. 140 pages. $10. Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature, P. O. Box 10051, 52001 Ramat Can, Israel. (03) 579-6830. fax (03) 579-6832. Also available Hebrew Women Writers 1994, 30 pages with excerpts from 9 authors.
Complicating Categories: Women, Gender, and Difference is the theme of the 10th Berkshire Conference on the History of Women to be held June 7-9, 1996 at UNC in Chapel Hill, NC. Proposals should be submitted in triplicate by February 1, 1995, on U.S. and Canadian topics to: Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Afro- American Studies Dept., Harvard University, 1430 Massachusetts Ave.. Cambridge, MA 02138; on topics other than North American women to Merry Weisner-Hanks, Center for Women’s Studies, University of Wisconsin, P.O. Box413, Milwaukee, Wl 53201.
TRAVEL . . . WITH A DIFFERENCE
Meet Israeli women business owners, such as the owner of the largest dried flower company in the world, the manager of a meat packing plant, and a prize winning uniform designer and manufacturer, on a UJA Federation business and professional women’s mission to Israel, “Energizing Links in Israel and New York.” The next mission is planned for May 1995. Contact Roberta Zuckerman, Project Eliany, UJA-Federation, 130 E. 59th St., New York, NY 10022. (212)836-1117.
Gay Israel Discovery Tours offers a series of expeditions led by experienced gay and lesbian guides, exploring the historical roots of Judaism, as well as those of the gay and lesbian heritage. Participants will meet with Israeli gays and lesbians, attend a party at the Gay and Lesbian Center in Tel Aviv, and attend a memorial service at Yad Vashem for homosexual victims of Nazi persecution during the Holocaust. Scheduled for November 19-29, and December 29-January 8. Contact Ron Dayan, ITP Travel, HE. 26 St., New York, NY 10010. (212) 749-7139.
Israel, a Woman’s View, a new program of the American Jewish Congress, combines a traditional tour with meetings with female members of the Knesset, a visit to a Jerusalem shelter for abused women, a seminar on the role of women in Jewish tradition, as well as a bat mitzvah-affirmation ceremony atop Masada. Departures October 9, and November 6. Details in the new 96-page catalog from American Jewish Congress, 15 E. 84th St., New York. NY 10028. (212)879-4588.