A virtual program on the ways Israeli organizations and communities are collectively addressing the immediate need of women and girls in Israel, and the role of the newly created Civil Commission of Oct. 7 Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children.

Cosponsors: Center for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater Phoenix; Elluminate; Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America; Jewish Women’s Archive; Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta; Jewish Funders Network;  Jewish Federations of North America JEDI Initiative; Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance; Jewish Women’s Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago;  Jewish Women’s Foundation of New Jersey; Jewish Women’s Foundation of Pittsburgh; Jewish Women’s Funding Network; Jewish Women’s Giving Foundation of Baltimore;  National Council of Jewish Women; Shalom Task Force; SRE Network; The Miriam Fund; Women of Vision; the Women’s Amutot Initiative of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation; Young Judaea

Speakers

Dr. Cochav Elkayam Levy 
Chair of the Civil Commission of Oct. 7 Crimes By Hamas Against Women and Children 
Founding Head of the Deborah Institute for Gender and Sustainability Studies

Dr. Elkayam Levy, an attorney, is an expert on international law, human rights, and feminist theories. She is the Sophie Davis Fellow on Gender, Conflict Resolution and Peace at the Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations at Hebrew University, and an adjunct professor on gender, peace and security, human rights and climate change at Reichman University.  Dr. Elkayam Levy is the Founding Head of the Deborah Institute that addresses pressing global challenges and protects women’s rights. A Postdoctoral Fellow at the Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, she is conducting research on the global protection of feminist religious movements around the world and their contribution to our understanding of transformational societal changes.  Her previous research has been published in top U.S. legal journals, tackles national security issues, domestic implementation of international human rights, religious liberties, transformative social changes, and international sustainable development.

Tal Hochman
Director of Policy and Government Relations at Israel Women’s Network

At the Israel Women’s Network, Tal promotes legislation and policy initiatives with Knesset members and various other government offices. She has previous experience as a Parliamentary Assistant in the Israeli Knesset and is a trained social worker who counseled youth who were formerly in prostitution. Tal earned a master’s degree in international social and public policy at London School of Economics, with a dissertation on Israel’s recent legislation decriminalizing women in prostitution, and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Tel Aviv University.

Shirin Abu Amar Alkrinawi
Attorney at Itach Ma’aki: Women Lawyers for Social Justice

At Itach Ma’aki, Shirin provides women with legal assistance and representation and works to promote policies that advance the status of women. Her legal expertise advises the services that are provided through Israel Women’s Network’s emergency hotline and her advocacy led to the creation of the Center for Bedouin Women’s Rights. Before joining Itach Ma’aki, Shirin worked as an attorney in Israel’s Southern District Attorney’s Office, and then as a judicial assistant at the Regional Labor Court of Beersheva. She then opened a private practice specializing in employment law, social security, and debts.

Stav Salpeter
Director of International Relations and Development at Itach Ma’aki: Women Lawyers for Social Justice

While completing her MA (Hons) in international relations and international law at the University of Edinburgh, Stav co-founded and led the university’s award-winning Palestinian-Israeli dialogue society and directed the EIJI pro bono legal clinic, focusing on international criminal law and human rights. Prior to joining Itach Ma’aki, Stav served as the director of community engagement at Yachad, a British Jewish organization dedicated to supporting a negotiated resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Stav was awarded the University of Edinburgh’s 2022 Principal’s Medal for her interfaith work and is a Rising Leader Fellow of the Aspen Institute UK. When she is not thinking about the intersections between community organizing and human rights, Stav enjoys concocting new knitwear patterns and leisurely walks home from shul on Shabbat.

The program is free and open to the public. Advanced registration for each attendee is required.

This program is made possible by the Bernice S. Tannenbaum z”l Fund for Education, which enables the Hadassah Foundation to invest in a broad variety of educational opportunities. A President of Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Bernice was instrumental in establishing the Hadassah Foundation. She was a trailblazer who valued learning and re-invention.

Photos from left to right: Women participate in a Jewish Arab partnership to provide needed aid in the South (Photo courtesy of Itach Ma’aki); Women protest outside of the UN Headquarters in New York on November 27 (Associated Press); Display in Tel Aviv in mid-October calling for the release of the hostages. (Oren Rozen/Wikimedia Commons.)