Jewish Women and the Feminist Revolution, http://www.jwa.org/feminism/. Created and maintained by the Jewish Women's Archive, Brookline, Mass. Reviewed Jan. 26-Feb. 23, 2006

Abstract

Since its establishment in 1995, the Jewish Women's Archive (jwa) has been committed to digitizing as many records about Jewish women in America as exist. In doing so, it is arguing that history must be examined in gendered terms. The jwa's online exhibit, Jewish Women and the Feminist Revolution, exploits the online format to provide a rich, multilayered history of Jewish women's activism in the United States from 1963 through 1999. Broad definitions of Jewishness and feminism guide the exhibit. Orthodox women's efforts to gain more significant roles within the traditional structures of Judaism are placed alongside a lesbian rabbi's contention that homosexuals are the new lifeblood of Judaism. Furthermore, the exhibit highlights the activism of many women who, although Jewish, have not focused their lives on Jewish issues. For example, Nina Totenberg, the National Public Radio reporter who broke the Anita Hill story in 1991, merits a place in the exhibit despite the fact that her accomplishment is not directly related to anything particularly Jewish. Similarly, Eve Ensler's campaign to end violence against women is included without any mention of Ensler's Jewish identity.