Happening
Resources for Jewish Women
BODY POLITIC
Women in Black, the informal movement of women who stand vigil throughout Israel every Friday from I -2 pm to protest the Occupation and attendant violence, publishes a newsletter, by the same name, available in Hebrew or English, for $20.00. Contributions welcome for general support and correspondence. Women in Black. P. O. B. 61128, Jerusalem 91060. Israel.
Politics: A Game for Young Women is a board game developed to teach politics and women’s history and to encourage women to become politicians; for resale through feminist organizations or institutions as a fundraiser. Sample game $15.00 (Resale for $25.00). Information from Maevernon Varnum or Jodi Talbot, Vartal Enterprises, Box 506, Ambler. PA 19002.
Sexual Harassment: Research and Resources, A Report-in- Progress focuses on current legal and scholarly definitions of sexual harassment, the dimensions and roots of the problem, beliefs about harassers, behaviors of the harassed, anti-harassment goals, policies, and procedures. $16.00; bulk discounts. National Council for Research on Women, Sara Delano Roosevelt House, 47-49 East 65lh Street, New York, NY 10021,(212)570-5001.
Rape and Alcohol is a brochure presenting statistics on the connection between rape on campus and alcohol consumption Free sample; proceeds from bulk sales will support women’ s programs at Mankato State University. The Women’s Center, MSU Box 107, Mankato State University. P.O. Box 8400. Mankato, MN 56002-8400.
On Being a Lesbian in Israel: send poems, prose and stories for a new anthology to Ayelet Hamidbar Publications, 1678 Shattuck Avenue #133, Berkeley, CA 94709.
The Eco-Kosher Project encourages institutions and individuals to make purchases and investments and use resources in accord with a Jewishly rooted and defined ethic of social responsibility, in particular for the environment. The program, inspired by Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative, and Orthodox rabbis, is intended both for those who follow traditional kashrut and those who don’t. For information, a speaker, or to make a contribution, contact: The Eco-Kosher Project, Institute for Jewish Renewal, 7318 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19119.
Gesher is a small organization reaching out to thousands of Israel’s young people with a message of tolerance. It has developed new programs specifically for recent Russian immigrants. Tax deductible contributions may be sent to Gesher Foundation, 421 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001.
National Battered Women’s Law Project is an information clearinghouse for advocates, attorneys, and policy makers on the legal issues battered women face. National Center on Women and Family Law, 799 Broadway #402, New York, NY 10003,(212)674-8200.
RSVP is a jewelry line, drawing on mythologies of ancient goddesses, designed to stimulate an awareness of the Earth and our relationship with it. Profits are donated to environmental and world relief organizations. Joan Koplewitz Inc., Fine Art Jewelry, P.O.B. 4392, Burlington, VT 05406, (800) 639-6036.
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
Questions Jewish Parents Ask About intermarriage by Rabbis Aryeh Meir and Mark Winer, is a guide that promotes inmarriage or conversion of the non-Jewish partner but also stresses outreach to intermarrieds for whom conversion is not currently possible. Free with SASE from Janice Hyman, American Jewish Committee, 165 East 56th Street, New York. NY 10022.
Women, Science and your Daughter is one of a series of four pamphlets developed with a grant from the Women’s Education Equity Act Program; it offers suggestions for parents and educators to enhance the math and science achievement of girls. Sample of 4 pamphlets $2.50; bulk orders also available from WEEA Publishing Center; Education Development Center, 55 Chapel Street, Newton, MA 02160. (617)969-7100.
The National Havurah Committee Teachers’ Bureau is a clearinghouse designed to match havurot and synagogue adult education programs with havurah-style teachers who are dedicated to sharing their knowledge, skills, and passion for learning with others who may never have had a positive Jewish learning experience. Rivkah Walton, NHC Teacher’s Bureau, P.O. Box 262, Bala Cynwyd, PA J 9004-6621, (215)843-1470.
News from Jerusalem makes Israeli Radio (Kol Israel) newscasts in English and Hebrew available throughout the USA via telephone, at a cost of $1.50 per minute. (Callers must be 18 or over.) News segments run 3-5 minutes and are edited to weed out items unrelated to Israel and the Jewish people. The service is provided by a private company. Dateline Jerusalem Inc. of Palo Alto. 1-900-7373-NEWS.
For the Record (Al Hanekuda) is a free monthly digest of translated news from Israel’s major news-papers. For The Record, 2025 Pennsylvania Avenue NW #715. Washington DC 20006. (202) 833-8267.
INCLUDE AND BE INCLUDED
Shekhinah: Feminine Essence of God is a one hour work-in-progress video documentary about women rabbis. Funds to complement foundation support are sought to complete the project; a 10-minute clip is already available. Contact filmmaker: Leslie Krongold, 142 Tiffany Avenue, San Francisco, CA941W, (415)824-4401.
The Hebrew Seminary for the Deaf, is the first “deaf-friendly” facility for advanced Jewish studies. For further information regarding the seminary, its goals and format, or its fund-raising needs, contact Congregation Bene Shalom, Hebrew Association of the Deaf, 4435 W. Oakton, Skokie, IL 60035, (708) 677-3330.
The Great National Jewish Read-In is a contest in which friends, relatives and neighbors serves as “sponsors,” pledging a contribution for each book a child reads during National Jewish Book Month. Money raised will provide a wide range of services to enable visually impaired persons to participate fully in Jewish religious, cultural, and communal activities in the USA, Israel, and 40 other countries. Israel A. Taub, Jewish Braille, Institute of America, 110 East 30th Street, New York, NY 10016.
Gates of Prayer for Shabbat is the Reform movement’s first gender-sensitive prayerbook, responding to feminist concerns by eliminating gender references to God and acknowledging the importance of both women and men in Jewish tradition, history, and worship. Softcover, 96 pages, $7.50 from CCAR Press, 192 Lexington Avenue, NY, NY 10016, (212)684-4990.
Rosellen Brown, Aviva Cantor, Marcia Falk, and Melanie Kaye- Kantrowitz are speakers at the 2nd Texas Jewish Feminist Conference Oct. 23-25, American Jewish Committee, 336 Richmond Ave. #303, Houston, TX 77098, (713)524-1133.
SEPHARAD: WOMEN IN SONG AND DANCE
Songs of the Jews of Calcutta, compiled and edited by Rahel Musleah transcribes more than 50 songs (pizmonim) for Shabbal, holidays and special occasions and gives a historical musical overview of the Calcutta Jewish community. Includes vocal line, texts. transliterations, and annotation. Hardbound with accompanying cassette, $29.95 plus $4.00 shipping, from Tara Publications, 29 Derby Avenue, Cedarhurst, NY 11516.
Breezes from Andalusia; Dance, Spain, and the Jews, is a combined program of dance performance and scholarship presented by JoAnne Tucker, director and choreographer of the Avodah Dance Ensemble, and Raymond Scheindlin, author of Wine, Women & Death: Medieval Hebrew Poems on the Good Life (Jewish Publication Society. 1992). Available especially for commemorations of the 500th anniversary of the expulsion from Spain. Avodah. c/o JoAnne Tucker, 243 Fifth Street, #9, Jersey City, NJ 07302 (201) 659-7072.
Ofra Does Her Laundry With My Tears is a dance based on the fanciful tale of a slave girl who wins the heart of a nobleman; based on Wine, Women & Death (see above), this work, choreographed by Sharona Paller Rubinstein, is performed by the Parparim Ensemble. To arrange for a performance contact: Israeli Dance Institute. JCRC- 12th Floor. 711 Third Avenue. New York, NY 10017(212) 983-4806 xl44.
REMEMBER
The Other Side of Faith focuses on the moral courage of a 16- year-old Polish Catholic girl who. with the help of her 6-year-old sister, saves the lives of thirteen Jews during the Holocaust. The story is told by the heroine and her husband, one of the men whose life she saved. The 27-minute VHS tape includes a discussion guide, .$40.00. Rita Catama. Documentaries International Ltd.. )800 K Street #/120. Washington DC 20006. (202) 429-9320.
The Jewish Foundation for Christian Rescuers assists some 1,000 people in fifteen countries who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. Monthly grants to the rescuers — many of whom are elderly and poor — pay for food, rent, utilities, and medical expenses. Groups and individuals are sought for an “honor-a-rescuer” program, receiving the name and address of a rescuer they help to support. Information from Diana Stein, JFCR. Anti Defamation League. 823 UN Plaza, NY. NY 10017. (212) 490-2525 .x429.
The Hidden Child is a newsletter published as an outgrowth of last year’s conference of children who survived the Holocaust in hiding. Support groups now meet throughout the U.S. and a second world gathering is being planned for the summer of 1993 in Israel. Speakers share their childhood experiences with students via newspaper, television, and radio interviews through a speaker’s bureau which seeks more participants. Hidden Child Foundation, ADL 823 UN Plaza, New York. NY 10017, (212) 490-2525.
The 4th March of the Living will bring together several thousand Jewish youths from all over the world to Poland to visit the sites of struggle and extermination of the Holocaust and then to Israel to witness the rebirth of the Jewish homeland. For information on the next March , scheduled for April 1994, contact March of the Living, c/o Central Agency for Jewish Education, 4200 Biscayne Boulevard. Miami FL 33137. (305) 576-4030.