JEWISH WORLD

JEWISH WORLD • JUNE 14-20, 2024 13 Women 6f =alor Meet Hadassah’s 18 Extraordinary U.S. Zionists By ELANA SZTOKMA N T oby Klein is no stranger to standing out and challenging the status quo. She successfully navigated com- ing out as gay to her Orthodox com- munity, chose to do her doctorate researching Holocaust education at the University of Arkansas and spent time doing abortion advocacy work in the conservative southern state before becoming program manager for the Jewish LGBTQ+ advocacy organization A Wider Bridge. But Klein’s work advocating for Israel since Oct. 7 has made her stand out like never before. It has earned her opprobrium from LGBTQ+ activ- ists she thought were her friends and praise from Zionists. Klein was re- cently named by Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, to its second annual list of “18 American Zionist Women You ShoulK- now.” “My commu- nity is hurting right now,” Klein said. “Some people won’t talk to me because I’m a Zionist or because I’m Jewish or because I won’t con- demn the State of Israel.” Hadassah’s 2024 list, published in May, includes both well-known names and lesser-known ones. Among the honorees are actress Debra Messing, who has used her public platform to speak out about the post-Oct. 7 explosion in an- tisemitism; poet Tova Ricardo; so- cial media influencer Shai Albrecht; Christian Zionist activist Destiny Albritton; Hillels of Illinois execu- tive director and JUF campus affairs associate vice president Emily Briskman; and Gila Zarbiv, a nurse midwife at Hadassah’s medical cen- ter in Jerusalem who lectures inter- nationally on the complexities of life, birth and medicine in Israel. Many have intensified their out- spokenness in support of Israel in the wake of Oct. 7, taking risks to push back against lies and hate di- rected toward Israel and Jews. “I’m so proud of the women on this list,” said Hadassah National President Carol Ann Schwartz. “They are doing so much work and accomplishing so much. But people don’t always know their names.” That’s something Hadassah seeks to change. With almost 300,000 members, Hadassah aims to elevate the profiles of the women on the list and help their Zionist messages – and the larger message that Zi- onism today con- stitutes a diverse array of identi- ties and activities – reach a much wider audience. “They are not people looking to start a fight, but people who are educating, cor- recting misinfor- mation, and getting the facts out there in a positive way,” Schwartz said, adding that Hadassah also wants to help these Zionists let the world know “about the good things coming out of Israel – research part- nerships, intellectual partnerships, even AI.” P ublication of the list is one of several initiatives Hadassah has undertaken since Oct. 7. The organi- zation has also sent two global soli- darity missions to Israel during which the groups met with hostage families, among other activities. Hadassah also expedited the open- ing of a new rehabilitation center at its Mount Scopus hospital so that injured soldiers would have access to the state-of-the-art facilities they need to recover. Perhaps the biggest project Ha- dassah has undertaken since Oct. 7 is its global End The Silence cam- paign to raise awareness of Hamas’ weaponization of sexual violence and to demand that the United Na- tions hold Hamas accountable. Cen- tral to the campaign is an interna- tional petition that, to date, has been signed by more than 150,000 peo- ple in 118 countries and shared with the UN. In addition, on and in the run-up to International Wom- continued on page 26 1,WI:/ W6M,5 Many of these women ha]e intensified their outspokenness in support of Israel in the wake of 6ct. . Ashira Solomon was named to Hadassah’s list because of her advocacy for Israel and against antisemitism in the Af- rican-American community.