At a time when liberal democracy is under attack in both Israel and the United States — and when neither country’s government is prioritizing gender equity — Hadassah Foundation grant recipients continue to work tirelessly on behalf of women and girls. They are mobilizing support for survivors of gender-based violence, defending low-wage female workers, preparing more women to take top-level leadership positions, and successfully promoting legislation that increases penalties for sexual abusers. Below are just a few inspiring updates from some of our grant recipients. You can learn more about each grant recipient here and see even more updates on the Hadassah Foundation’s Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook pages. We also encourage you to read our recent update about Moving Traditions‘ new resources for Jewish trans youth and their parents.
Maharat Ordains 100th Female Orthodox Rabbi
Maharat is about to ordain its 100th Orthodox woman rabbi. At its 13th Annual Semikha Ceremony on June 16, the yeshiva will ordain 25 new rabbis, its largest class ever. The 25 new rabbis come from the United States, Israel, France, and England. The first institution to ordain Orthodox female rabbis, Maharat, which is based in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, has since 2009 prepared Orthodox women for the rabbinate. Learn more about the 2025 graduates and register for the semikha ceremony here.
Rackman Center’s Dinah Project Releases First-of-Its-Kind Report on Oct. 7
The Dinah Project is preparing to release a first-of-its-kind analysis of the sexual violence committed by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks against Israelis and against hostages in captivity. Unlike previous reports and research, this report systematically categorizes all publicly available information based on its strength and reliability. It offers a novel legal framework ensuring accountability in cases of mass assaults where sexual violence is used as a weapon of war.
Launched immediately after Oct. 7, the Dinah Project is a leading resource in the call for recognition and justice for the victims of the sexual crimes committed by Hamas. The Project is led by a team of leading legal experts and former senior civil service members and operates under the auspices of the Rackman Center at Bar Ilan University, which 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.
To receive a copy of the report upon release, please email Dinah.project@biu.ac.il.
Association of Rape Crisis Centers’ Victims’ Rights Law Clears Legislative Hurdle
A new law that will make it harder for convicted sex offenders to gain early release from prison passed its first reading in the Knesset in April. Promoted by the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel, the “Victims Perspective Law” will require parole committees to consider not only an offenders’ behavior while incarcerated, but also how the victim is recovering and what impact the release might have on their recovery. The legislation comes in response to the extremely short sentence and then early release of Yuval Carmi, a psychologist who, in a high-profile case, sexually abused a young patient he was supposed to be treating for trauma caused by a previous sexual assault.
“We’ve passed seven new laws in the last year alone to better protect survivors,” ARCCI’s Executive Director Orit Sulitzeanu told the Jerusalem Post. “Every legal or social progress demands a struggle, as the justice system is not inherently empathetic to survivors; continuous effort is necessary to attain justice.”
The national umbrella organization for Israel’s rape crisis centers, ARCCI advocates for laws, amendments, rights, services, and policies to benefit survivors of sexual violence.
Jewish Women International Mobilizes to Stop Cuts
The Department of Justice recently announced it is cutting hundreds of millions of dollars in grants aimed at preventing gender-based violence and helping survivors of abuse. The cuts mean many programs will close, leaving survivors nowhere to turn in their hour of need. In response, Jewish Women International is calling on people to reach out to their members of Congress to demand that the funding be restored and that the Office on Violence Against Women be maintained as an independent agency. You can contact your representative and senators using JWI’s FastAction form. JWI is also mobilizing people to speak out on another issue: urging the Pulitzer Board to rescind an award it recently gave to writer Mosab Abu Toha who has on social media “repeatedly denied the humanity of Israelis taken hostage …justified their abduction, and disparaged calls for their release.” Learn more and sign the open letter here.
Based in the U.S., JWI works to empower women and girls of every race, culture, ability, gender identity, and sexual orientation by ensuring and protecting their safety, building access to long-term economic security, and lifting and mentoring women leaders.
Itach Ma’aki Defends Low-Wage Female Workers and Advances Women in Peacebuilding
At a time of national crisis, it’s easy for employers to violate labor laws for low-wage female workers, since they assume employees will not have the wherewithal to challenge them in court. The Legal Aid Center of Itach Ma’aki: Women Lawyers for Social Justice is one of the few places where these workers can get help. Recent successes include:
- With Itach Ma’aki’s help, a haredi educator who was wrongly fired while pregnant, and whose employer deducted retirement benefits from her paycheck without transferring this money to her retirement account, won a settlement agreement of 210,000 NIS.
- After 960 Arab women in the low-income town of Rahat were abruptly laid off from their jobs as educational aides, Itach Ma’aki helped them pressure government officials. In January, the municipality began to hire some of them back. In addition to persuading the government to reinstate many employees, the campaign cultivated a strong new cohort of local women’s leaders that Itach Ma’aki continues to help advocate for their rights.
In helping individual workers, Itach Ma’aki discovers systemic problems — most recently uncovering the many ways hourly workers are discriminated against and then advancing legal reforms to help them. The organization is also continuing its critical work in other areas affecting women, including documenting the current war’s disproportionate impact on women and advocating to bring more women leaders into negotiations and other peacebuilding efforts.
Forum Dvorah Spotlights Female Military Heroes
On October 7, Border Policewoman Ravit Chana Assayag z”l saved a wounded soldier under heavy fire at Moshav Yakhini and was then killed in a battle with terrorists. The only daughter of Ethiopian immigrants, Shai Germai z”l earned a brigade commendation certificate for her bravery and operational resourcefulness in the Border Police. On January 7, 2024, she was killed during an operational mission in Jenin. These women were two of six Israeli policewomen highlighted by Forum Dvorah in a special mailing for Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day. Since October 7, 2023, a total of 55 women soldiers have been killed in action; Forum Dvorah has published all their stories in its Women Warriors website, which recognizes them for their heroism and leadership. Forum Dvorah highlighted the stories of six Israeli policewomen killed in action since October 7, 2023 and honored all 55 women soldiers killed in the war.
The only organization in Israel focusing on gender equality in key decision-making positions in the fields of national security and foreign policy, Forum Dvorah manages a network of over 200 women in these fields and supports the next generation of leadership among young women.