Activism
Rose Wortis
Rose Wortis was an active union organizer and member of the Communist Party in the first half of the 20th century. She was an elected official of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, the Trade Union Unity League, and the New York District Communist Party.
Judy Frieze Wright
Judy Frieze Wright went to prison for her participation in Freedom Rides, but that was only the beginning of her career as an activist.
Janet Yassen
Janet Yassen helped build the first rape crisis center in Massachusetts and went on to become an international consultant on preventing rape and sexual violence.
Yiddishe Froyen Asosiatsiye-YFA (Jewish Women's Association)
The Yiddishe Froyen Asosiatsiye (YFA) was the only Jewish women’s organization in Poland during its time. The YFA was a feminist organization that sought to education and empower Jewish women, who faced double discrimination for their gender and religion.
Rebecca Young
Rebecca Young’s focus on prisoners’ rights led her to create programs to improve the juvenile justice system and monitor and report prisoner abuse.
Dorothy Miller Zellner
As co-editor of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee’s newsletter, the Student Voice, Dorothy Miller Zellner helped craft the organization’s message and report on stories suppressed by the mainstream media.
Miriam Shomer Zunser
Miriam Shomer Zunser, journalist, playwright, and artist, was an important promoter of Jewish culture in America during the period before World War II. Born in Odessa in 1882, Zunser left a strong legacy in the Yiddish literary world and in the world of Jewish activism and organization.
Elsa Zylberstein
During the last two decades of the twentieth century, French cinema displayed an extraordinary wealth of young Jewish talents, such as Elsa Zylberstein. Zylberstein is an internationally acclaimed French film and stage actress with a strong commitment to humanitarian awareness and advocating for women’s welfare.
