The life of Victoria Leshiner, a Jewish woman living in Donetsk, Ukraine, was completely normal until about a month ago. When the war began, she started looking for a way out with her two children, a 20-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son. Having lived in Israel some 20 years ago, she decided to immigrate to Israel as…
Renowned historian of the Holocaust and Jewish history, Deborah Lipstadt, was finally confirmed this past Wednesday as an ambassador to combat antisemitism for the Department of State. The grueling eight-month process of hearings and delays only seemed to strengthen the resolve of Jewish groups supporting her nomination. Groups as diverse as the Orthodox Union and…
At the beginning of March, prior to the pandemic, Jodi Fried hosted The Jewish Mama Mashup online summit, where she interviewed 20 Jewish women from around the world who were experts in many different areas. After this summit, Jodi was inspired to start The Empowered Jewish Mom Movement, a closed Facebook group that welcomes all…
Photo: Rachel’s Well Community Mikvah. Photo by Victor Paru Rachel’s Well Community Mikvah (Jewish ritual bath) opened in January 2018 in a secluded, natural setting on the Schnitzer Family Campus. Owned by the Jewish Federation of Portland with ritual supervision provided by the Oregon Board of Rabbis, the community mikvah is open to all who…
Photo: Dr. Robin McCoy, daughter, Molly, and husband, Steve. In 1997 as a family friend, I visited Robin McCoy during her internship and residency at the University of Utah. When I saw Robin in her lab coat, I remember asking her how people reacted to her looking like a kid. When I repeated the question…
PHOTOS: Women of all ages learn to blow a shofar and gain a richer understanding of the Shofar ritual at WOW’s annual Shofar Workshop. Photos by Hebrew Union College Rabbinical student Kelly Whitehead, and WOW Media Associate Elizabeth Kirshner. Women of the Wall held their annual Shofar Workshop Aug. 25 in Jerusalem, in preparation…
PHOTO: Song of Miriam 2019 Honorees: (Front standing) Cheryl Richards; (from left, seated) Sarah Orzech, Beit Am Corvallis; Marissa Richardson, Congregation Neveh Shalom; Andrea Sanchez, Mittleman Jewish Community Center; Liz Stanley, Congregation Shaarie Torah Sisterhood, Linda Veltman, Oregon Jewish Museum & Center for Holocaust Education; Abbey Vanderbeek, Temple Beth Shalom, Salem; Jennifer Zeidman, Portland Jewish…
The 15th Annual SHOC Walk & Run will be Aug. 3 at Latus Motors Harley-Davidson in support of ovarian and gynecologic cancer research. The event begins at 7:30 am with KATU’s Rhonda Shelby leading the opening ceremony with the walk and run beginning at 8. Participants will enjoy a beautiful 5K/10K walk or run or…
PHOTOS: Above, Kim Rosenberg, right, interviews Bari Weiss at IMPACT. At right, Kim addresses the 250 some women who turned out for the event. New York Times opinion writer Bari Weiss delivered a powerful message of how we can fight anti-Semitism in this world when she spoke in Portland May 6. Bari addressed more than…
PHOTO: Jodi Garber-Simon from Portland was one of 100 women from around the world attending the lay leadership conference. The Orthodox Union Women’s Initiative hosted its inaugural Leadership Summit, a lay leadership conference designed to encourage and develop women serving as lay leaders within their communities. The 100 participants were nominated by 56 communities (including Portland)…
