In both Israel and the U.S. Jewish community, Hadassah Foundation grant recipients are making a difference in the lives of women and girls and are advancing gender equity. Below are just a few recent achievements:
Task Force on Human Trafficking and Prostitution accuses OnlyFans of online trafficking. (Raw Pixel)
Task Force on Human Trafficking Takes on ‘Modern Pimping’ Site
The Task Force on Human Trafficking and Prostitution is partnering with several other Israeli organizations on a coordinated campaign against the Israeli branch of OnlyFans, a global social media platform where creators share sexual videos with paying subscribers.
“OnlyFans is a platform for prostitution in every sense of the word,” Moria Rodel Silfen, CEO of the Task Force, told an N12 reporter in a recent article. “The platform is a lawless online space for modern pimping and the unhindered exploitation of minors, all hidden behind the benign label of ‘sexual content.’”
The Task Force is promoting a bill, introduced by MK Pnina Tamano Shata, that would define online prostitution as a criminal offense and has also brought complaints to the State Attorney’s Office. It has criticized the State Attorney’s Office for “relying heavily on OnlyFans’ own self-reported claims regarding their monitoring and enforcement mechanisms.” In the article, Rodel Silfen also notes that there is currently no tailored enforcement mechanism in Israel targeting OnlyFans. Instead, “there is no one to protect young Israeli women and minors from sexual exploitation, while the platform owners and ‘agents’ continue to amass enormous fortunes at their expense.”
Read the article in Hebrew here or in this translation provided by the Task Force.
A Core grant recipient, the Task Force on Human Trafficking and Prostitution engages the government, legal community, enforcement agencies, media, and the public in systemic efforts to eradicate sex trafficking and prostitution in Israel and to ensure victims’ access to services. This grant is underwritten by the Andrea Silagi Fund for Education, Advocacy and Outreach.
‘Talking Away the Taboo’ Reaches 200 Episodes
Aimee Baron of I Was Supposed to Have a Baby at a 2026 event hosted by the Hadassah Foundation. (Shulamit Photo & Video)
I Was Supposed to Have a Baby’s podcast, “Talking Away the Taboo,” recently released its 200th episode. Aimee Baron, the podcast host and the organization’s founder and executive director, started the podcast in 2022, interviewing doctors, therapists, other experts, and a wide range of individuals who have experienced fertility challenges and tragedies.
“So many listeners responded and said, ‘I finally feel like I’m understood,’” Baron recalls. The podcast has been downloaded more than 83,000 times, and Baron says she’s found it particularly rewarding to have conversations “where people talk about things that they don’t share in regular, everyday conversation. We get into lots of substantive conversations about God, about faith, about relationships. A lot of the conversations talk about what happens when life doesn’t turn out the way you expected.”
“Talking Away the Taboo” is just one offering of I Was Supposed to Have a Baby, which also facilitates more than 15 free support groups, offers personalized support, trains Jewish community leaders and institutions to better serve individuals experiencing fertility challenges, and more.
A Spark grant recipient, I Was Supposed to Have a Baby provides hope, community, and vital information to Jewish individuals and families navigating fertility challenges.
Forum Dvorah Mentors Haredi Women Soldiers
While the drafting (or lack thereof) of Haredi men into the IDF is a perennial issue in Israel, a growing number of Haredi and formerly Haredi women are choosing to enlist. And because few have family or friends who have served and can provide advice, the experience can be overwhelming. To meet this need, Forum Dvorah recently concluded a pilot initiative providing one-on-one mentoring for Haredi women seeking to serve in combat, in collaboration with Mityaztzevot El HaDegel. The first cohort of “ITACH” (“With You” in English) brought together 13 mentors and 13 mentees from late December through March. According to an evaluation conducted afterwards, mentees, who were paired with Forum Dvorah members working in the military and national security, reported increased clarity, preparedness, and confidence ahead of their enlistment into combat roles, and mentors expressed a strong sense of purpose and meaning. One mentee shared, “I felt that I had someone I could turn to. She always answered my questions, reassured me, and thanks to her, I arrived at the army much more prepared.” Forum Dvorah plans to launch a second mentorship cohort in the coming year.
A Core grant recipient, Forum Dvorah manages a network of over 200 leading women in Israel’s national security and foreign policy fields and supports the next generation of leadership among young women.
Women taking the Chief Rabbinate’s exams on April 27, 2026. (Courtesy of Itim)
In Milestone, Women Take Chief Rabbinate’s Exams
On April 27, for the first time, three women took the Israeli Chief Rabbinate’s ordination exams. The Rackman Center and partner organizations won a landmark High Court ruling last summer requiring the Rabbinate to open the exam to women. However, the rabbinate made several efforts to appeal the ruling and avoid implementation. On exam day, the three women were required to take the exam in a separate location from the men, and for four hours, they were made to wait due to alleged issues within the system. During this delay, the Rackman Center and partner organizations Itim and Koleinu filed a legal motion that forced the Rabbinate to comply, enabling the women to complete the exams. “This moment didn’t happen overnight,” the Rackman Center announced in a statement. “It came after years of legal struggle, a petition to the High Court, and a landmark ruling that made it clear: excluding women from these exams is unlawful discrimination. Despite repeated attempts to circumvent that ruling, justice prevailed.” Unfortunately, stumbling blocks remain: In May, the Rabbinate canceled another round of exams women had been planning to take, and the April exam scores have not yet been announced. Learn more about this milestone here.
A Core grant recipient, the Rackman Center promotes the status and rights of women in matters of family law and works to end gender discrimination and inequality in Israel through advocacy and legislative change.