by Rebecca Honig Friedman

Israeli women are working for peace.
From the top down, Galia Albin, a powerhouse in Israeli business and media, Director of the Israeli Women’s Network, and all-around Renaissance woman, has been hand-chosen by Jordan’s Queen Rania to represent Israel in next spring’s Convention of Women for Peace in the Middle East. Albin said of her role in the peace-making endeavor:

What I wish for more than anything is a connection between women in Israel, our region and the world. It’s a weak link that needs promoting, but luckily I think I have the power, knowledge and connections to do it.

If Albin, with degrees in psychology, law and acting, and directorships of at least 10 publicly held Israeli/international companies under her belt, can’t singlehandedly create peace in the Middle East, no one can.
And since probably no one singlehandedly can, Nitsan Gordon,
less intimidatingly accomplished than Albin but still impressive, is working from the bottom up, trying to unite Israeli and Arab women through weekly group meetings run by Beyond Words, an organization she cofounded with Marian Mar’i Ryan, the first Muslim woman in Israel to earn a doctorate (What’s the Muslim equivalent of Jewess? Muslimita?).
Each group is led by one Arab and one Jewish facilitator, who “work to create a safe environment in which the women can access and express their feelings, often through dance and body work.” No wonder Beyond Words recently brought 11 Arab and 11 Jewish women, all from Northern Israel, to “an 18-day intensive training in non-violent conflict resolution at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur.” Because there’s no better spot than the birthplace of Ecstasy in which to create peace, love and harmony.
Much better than simply chatting over tea, as 50 Muslim and Jewish women did last week in Machester, England at the first Muslim Jewish Forum Women’s event, organized by British Jewess Aimee Banay, who plans to hold more informal events in the future. Whether or not any of them will involve Ecstasy was not mentioned, however.

Hey, Long Island ritual bathers: Merrick, NY wants YOU. The Young Israel of Merrick is moving its location and building a brand, spanking new sanctuary and mikvah so it will be Family Purity-ready for you. The project began with a surprise $18,000 check from a visitor to the synagogue who requested that his donation be used to build “the most beautiful mikvah on Long Island.” The Taj Ma-Mikvah is not built yet, but the Young Israel of Merrick is accepting donations.

“The kids really listen to you when you’re on your head,” says acrobatic Jewess Lisa Appel in the Jewish Exponent. Appel, with her company Miss Lisa Inc., uses acrobatics as a tool to entertain audiences and teach them about Judaism at the same time. She even does a routine devoted to the Holocaust, without which, surely, no Jewish acrobatics program would be complete. Says Appel, of bringing together her two passions, “I am happiest upside-down [teaching] Yiddishkeit.”
Personally, I teach Judaism best at a 45-degree-angle, but to each her own.

Posted on February 4th, 2007 Filed under: Uncategorized |