Happy Friday! Funny Jewish Women

by: Mae Singerman

Fri Jun 18, 2010 at 16:20:15 PM EDT

Last night, I saw Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work about the career of the groundbreaking comedian Joan Rivers, which reminded some JFSJ staff members of another documentary about a brilliant Jewish comedian who redefined comedy and television, Gertrude Berg. Berg was one of the first women to create, write, produce and star in a long-running hit" and if she wasn't the absolute first she did it better than those suckers, anyway.

So, question for the audience...why are Jewish women so damn funny? (And, "they are not inherently funny" or "that's a ridiculous generalization" are obviously not the answer to this question...) 

Outside the limelight

by: Erica Brody

Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 17:27:50 PM EST

Last night at the Oscars, Kathryn Bigelow broke a celluloid glass ceiling, becoming the first woman filmmaker to win best director. And that’s something to celebrate this International Women’s Day.

But every time we see a crack in the glass, we need to remember the people on the lowest rungs of our societal ladder, people who need our attention – if not the limelight. Like women. After all, women are more likely to live in poverty, face job and pay discrimination, and be abused. Not to mention that women are disproportionally affected by disasters, like Hurricane Katrina. And that’s just for starters.

Poverty & Jobs
As we found out last fall, women make up more than half of the U.S. workforce. Yet

A Different Kind of Livestock

by: borderjumpers

Mon Jan 11, 2010 at 10:26:09 AM EST

One thing I haven't tried yet is found all over Africa and, in addition to being a food source, it is also considered a pest-grasshoppers. As I was walking through a market in Kampala, Uganda I noticed women "shelling" what I thought were beans, but upon closer inspection the baskets sitting between their legs were full of wriggling grasshoppers. As they sat, chatting with one another and the curious American, they were de-winging the insects so that they could be either sold "raw" or fried for customers.

Despite the yuck factor many of you reading this might have for eating insects, grasshoppers, crickets, termites, and other "bugs" can be a nutritious source of protein, vitamins, minerals,

and other nutrients. According to the results from a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization workshop in 2008, caterpillars are an important source of food for many people in Central Africa, providing not only protein, but also potassium and iron.

Collecting and selling insects can also be an important source of income, especially for women in Africa. And as climate change increases the prevalence of certain insects, they become an even more important source of food in the future.

Are women being represented in the UJC's Jewish Community Heroes contest?

by: benhayehudi

Sun Aug 16, 2009 at 22:57:04 PM EDT

The United Jewish Communities is running an interesting contest, called the Jewish Community Hero. The idea is simple - people who know someone who works in the Jewish community and does great work, nominates them and then people vote on who they believe is the Jewish Community Hero. The winner receives $25,000 towards their non-profit work.

As of the last time I looked there were only 3 women out of the top 10. How is that? While we know that Jewish organizations are predominantly run by men, this contest is about the people who make the difference not sitting in the CEO's seat and there are plenty of women in that category.

A disclaimer: My wife is running and she is in the top 10. She does a fantastic and incredible job educating Jewish youth and empowering Jewish young women. There are other incredible women as well who deserve to be nominated and who have been nominated.

But I ask that you take a moment and vote for my wife, Sharon Weiss-Greenberg. You can vote by clicking here: is.gd/2jzua. Thanks and here's to strong Jewish women!

The Caveman Study Returns!

by: Hannah Farber

Thu Sep 11, 2008 at 00:25:08 AM EDT

It never fails to amaze me how many science dollars are being poured into the Research Field that Most Resembles Bad  Comedy Routines:

"Men are more like this, and women are more like this!"

Yep, you guessed it, it's evolutionary biology time! Here's a brand spanking new study, which crunches data on 40,000 men and women from six contents to conclude, and this is a direct quote from the NYT article,

"The more Venus and Mars have equal rights and similar jobs, the more their personalities seem to diverge."

It's... it's... Wow! Venus and Mars, you two just can't keep from expressing your basic caveperson identities! It's so funny... I mean, really! Women! The more rights you give 'em, the more they just want to sit in the cave and nurse their cavebabies! 

Here are the things that irritate me:

Hot rabbis?

by: Rabbi Jill Jacobs

Wed Jul 02, 2008 at 22:46:33 PM EDT

Hannah and I spent some time this week debating whether to blog about a fairly cruel post put up by another writer somewhere else on the web.  In short, this writer put up a picture of a woman rabbi whom s/he found unattractive, and suggested that overweight and unattractive women rabbis are contributing to the exodus of men from Jewish life.  

You can imagine why Hannah and I hesitated:  we couldn't even imagine how horrible the woman pictured would feel if she found herself held up as the paradigm of the ugly woman rabbi, and blamed for men leaving the Jewish community.  We didn't want to draw any more attention to the post.

In response to our e-mails, the owner of the blog where this piece appeared has removed the offending post, so I am now able to blog about the topic without causing additional embarrassment to the (perfectly lovely) woman previously pictured.  (for clarification--before anyone cries censorship--Hannah and I requested that the woman's picture be taken down for the sake of sparing her embarrassment; the blog owner chose on his/her own to remove the entire post.)

Things That Are Different in This Country Than They Are In Some Other Countries

by: Hannah Farber

Mon Jun 30, 2008 at 13:49:39 PM EDT

I just got back from visiting my cousin in London. She works for an international pharmaceutical company that also employs people in the United States. She just had a baby.

She has an 11 month paid maternity leave.

In the United States there's been some good news on this front recently, but we still have a long way to go.

"I have a brain. I have uterus. They both work."

by: Alana Krivo-Kaufman

Wed Jun 25, 2008 at 12:26:23 PM EDT

said Pat Schroeder at the Drum Major Institute on Monday morning during a discussion on "Rumors of our Progress have been Greatly Exaggerated"

I was excited about the event questioning how far women have come in closing the gender gap, increasing political power and participation, implementing policies congruent with their interests, as well as hearing from some power hitters- Christina Quinn, Caroline Maloney, Pat Schroeder, and three other women I hadn’t heard of before, but was equally excited about.

(Surprisingly) I got there early, and it started late, so there was general milling around the lobby, which, of course, means solid people watching time. I was immediately struck by Congresswoman Maloney’s outfit in comparison with her much younger staffer, and was thinking about generational differences in the power “feminine” appearance. Whereas Maloney had a shockingly bright skirt suite dealy, stiff (dyed) blond hair, and really high heels, the twenty something wore nice gray pants, sleeveless white shirt, and really high heels.

This led my mind to wander to female power and the role image maintenance and presentation play. Why do so many powerful women wear high heels and conform to what I see as oppressive norms of beauty? Especially the heels! What says dependency more than shoes that make it harder to walk, just so your ass sticks out at a (supposedly) appealing angle and you display your calf muscles? So, I decided to take a tally of the ratio of flats: heels, and found it to be 63% Flats, 37% Heels, with only 17% being of the deadliest nature, the unconquerable (for me) high heel. [There were also eleven men, whose shoes I did not count.]

Then as we were sitting down, I had an inkling that maybe my train of thought was a bit...off message? The woman sitting next to me, from TW 100, (who got me to shake Speaker Quinn's hand while my mouth was stuffed with fruit, good look) commented "it looks like The View up there". Really? Really!? Problem is, she was kind of right. The primary imagery associated with women sitting around and discussing is not a policy forum, but a talk show. But, talk policy they did. Oy vey. How come she was judging such dynamic women by their 'appearance'...wait, how come I was counting heels?

The conversation was brilliant moderated, ranging from the gender pay differential, intersectionality of race, immigration status and gender, the ERA (R.I.P), paid family leave, glass ceiling, niche vs. agenda mobilization, misogynistic media, opportunity vs. access to reproductive health, why the progressive agenda is the women's agenda, and that MORE WOMEN NEED TO RUN FOR OFFICE. Maybe they did not say it that loudly, or that frequently, but I definitely left with a guilt trip for not planning my path to political office.

Rundown of the most interesting, insightful, or triggering comments after the jump. [It's like liveblogging... only from my notes.] Click here to hear from the speakers themselves.

Jewish women & tokenism

by: Rabbi Jill Jacobs

Thu May 22, 2008 at 23:30:07 PM EDT

In this week's Jewish week, National Council of Jewish Women president, Nancy Ratzan writes:

Last month, I attended the United States Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee meeting for national Jewish leaders.  As it turned out, I was the only woman on the Jewish leadership side of the table -- a table at which about 25 Jewish leaders and 23 Senators gathered.

Being at that table created opportunity for me to advocate for the restoration of rights for employees to challenge wage discrimination (the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act). Had NCJW not been there I expect this issue, which particularly impacts women and other under-paid workers, would not have been raised or understood as a priority.

But being the only woman who attended this meeting from Jewish leadership was simply not enough.  It is  clear that not only does NCJW need to be at the table to deliver the voice of progressive Jewish women, but we also need to join our unique voice, values and vision with more women who lead the Jewish communal world so that our impact can be strengthened. 

Amen.