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Kinesis
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r6ratin our Speddi ^letfions Swkfl The forgotten reality: Mizrahim and the peace process (p.16) Inside - <U2S^ K m«*w<s ^B Celebrating 25 Years 19 7 1-19 9 9 Racism and youth violence: the Reena V irk case 4 #309-877 E. Hastings St by Georgina Farah £V Vancouver, BC V6A 3Y1 Tel: (604)255-5499 Federal budget ignores low income women 4 Vf Fax: (604)255-7508 by Farzana Khan Email: kinesis@web.net Biocolonialism and Indigenous peoples by Georgina Farah 4 — Kinesis welcomes volunteers to work on all aspects of the paper. Co-op Radio relocates 4 # Production for our May 2000 by Farzana Khan issue is from Justice for Leticia Cables 4 April 19-25. by Georgina Farah Founded in 1974, Kinesis is published ten times a year by the Vancouver Status of Women. Its Kw « msm objectives are to be a non-sectarian feminist voice for women and to work actively for social change, Features specifically combatting sexism, racism,classism, homophobia, An Indian Jewish Birth Ritual 7 ableism, imperialism and anti- by Flora Samuels Jewish oppression. Views ex Jewish refugees in Shanghi 8 # #• pressed in Kinesis are those of the by Madeline Zadik writer and do not necessarily reflect VSW policy. All unsigned material is Memories from the Motherland 9 -**v the responsibility of the Kinesis by Catherine Smadja Editorial Board. Experiences of a mixed blood chameleon 9 JXL EDITORIAL BOARD by Nikola Maria Marin Anti-Semitism: the hidden oppression ....10 *& On hiatus by Sima Elizebeth Shefrin PRODUCTION THIS ISSUE Background information on Palestine and Israel ....11 Pam Greenstock, Aseefa Merali , by Marisa Zwan Meera Shah, Heather Miller, Monica Bringing Sephardic identities to the forefront ....12 # # K. Rasi, Fiona Jeyachandran, by Sandra Harr Shakti Jeyachandran, Debbi Harford, Tara Ross, Joanna Lemay, Jewish Life in Cochin, South India ....14 Helen Babalos, Nadine Chambers, by Ruby Daniel Taine Recognizing patrilineal Jews ....14 # by Mirah Kirshner Guest Editors: Amal Rana & Lisa Wulwik The forgotten reality: Mizrahim and the peace process ....16 Marketing: Jenn Lo by Loolwa Khazoom Circulation: Audrey Johnson, Reclaiming an Egyptian Jewish identity ....20 Chrystal Fowler by Joyce Zonana Production Coordinator: Amal Rana Designer: Jenn Lo Behind the scenes at a Jewish feminist journal by Claire Kinberg ....22 FRONT COVER Palestinian and Israeli women working for peace ...23 "She who is the tree of life." by Terry illustrated by Michelle Ross Filling the gaps: remembering all the victims of the Holocaust.. ...24 graphic design by Michelle Sotto by Catherine PRESS DATE Jewish women talk story: WWII revisited ....26 April 4, 2000 by Shelly Crow as told to Lisa Wulwik # & SUBSCRIPTIONS A feminist perspective on circumsion by Drora ...27 Individual: $20 per year (+$1.40 GST) Jxi *- or what you can afford Institutions/Groups: 4%. ^^^H ^B^k^H $45 per year (+$3.15 GST) VSW Membership (includes 1 year Kinesis subscription): m. Centrespread P $30 per year (+$1.40 GST) Jewish women discuss identity ...18 SUBMISSIONS by Katrina Craig, Carta Greif, Nikola Marin, Tara Ross, Amal Rana and Lisa Wulwik Women and girls are welcome to I make submissions. We reserve the 1 right to edit and submission does 1 A not guarantee publication. If possible, submissions should be submitted on disk or by email. Arts » * *t Kinesis does not accept poetry or fiction. Editorial guidelines are available upon request. Poetry: a crucial way of telling our stories ...33 DEADLINES by Tamar Elyon, Dina Elyon, Talia Ely on and Madeline Zadik Jewish women on the internet ...33 ^<s All submissions must be received in by Dina Elyon "Ch the month preceding publication. &<r Note: Jul/Aug and Dec/Jan are double issues. Features and reviews: 10th News: 15th Letters and Bulletin Board: 18th Regulars 9 Display advertising (design required): 16th (camera ready): 18th As Kinesis Goes to Press Inside Kinesis 2 2 <K Printing by Horizon Publications. I What's News 5 ^ Kinesis is indexed in the Canadian I Women's Periodicals Index, compiled by Georgina Farah <K D the Alternative Press Index, and is I compiled by Georgina Farah and Debbie Harford a member of the Canadian Maga- I Bulletin Board ...34 -*■ zine Publishers Association. compiled by Heather Miller and Georgina Farah ISSN 0317-9095 Publications mail registration #6426 j NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 1 4- ^ ^SSSeSg&S^ QSS!^^ "^ ^KSS£^ Editing this issue has been an incredible experience for me. I have learnt and accomplished a lot both professionally and personally. Creating a venue for Jewish women to express themselves is vital. Unfortunately, we are often silenced and not given a space to speak out as Jews. Anti- Semitism is often overlooked and many Jewish women feel afraid to speak up when they are affected by it. The article on Bat Shalom, a peace organization in Israel, made me think about my responsibilities as a Jew in the Diaspora in regards to the Middle East crisis. The articles written by Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Mizrahi women gave voice to the diverse experiences of being Jewish. It is important to dispel the stereotypes that all Jews are white, rich, loud, etc I am also grateful to the women who participated in our discussion on Jewish identity. This talk was very insightful and helped to create, within me, a sense of Jewish community that I have not felt in a long time. Although we have tried to represent a broad spectrum of Jewish women, we are lacking in articles written on working class Jewish women and women with disabilities. All the articles we received were great and I thank the women who contributed and shared their work with us. They forced me to challenge my own assumptions that I held about being Jewish. I hope that this issue creates awareness about Jewish identity, helps to foster Jewish pride and strengthens our community. I also hope that it implores people to examine their own stereotypes that they hold about Jewish people. It is crucial that we as Jews act as allies to all women facing different forms of oppression but it is also important that non-Jews recognise Jewish oppression and work as our allies as well. It is necessary to remember that although NorthAmerica has been a place of refuge for many Jews we need to recognise our own responsibility in the continued oppression of Aboriginal peoples. Thanks again to all the writers, Kinesis staff, volunteers and especially to Amal. Also, thank you to my Nana who taught me the value of sharing stories. Shalom! — Lisa Wulwik As Kinesis goes to press, I am struck by the importance of making connections between different communities and what we see as our 'issues'. The murder of a young SouthAsian woman, biocolonialism of Indigenous people's knowledge and DNA, racism against domestic workers, the Palestinian/Israeli 'situation', the rise of Anti-Semitism, discrimination against Mizrahi, Sephardic and other non- Ashkenazi Jews, homophobia in the Jewish community, and the continued oppression of Aboriginal peoples...what is the common thread that binds such seemingly disparate issues? Why are some of these topics being covered in this special edition? The answer lies perhaps in more questions. Why are we not able to understand that all oppressions-no matter how different-are interconnected and mutually reinforcing? Jews have a long history of social action and civil disobideance that has made itself visible through various civil rights, peace, labour, anti-racist and other movements. It is crucial that we reclaim this history by participating at rallies to protest the incarceration and imminent deportation of Fujianese refugees, at the various protests and hearings over traditional territories of Aboriginal peoples, at the trial of the youth who senselessly beat a young SouthAsian woman to death and at the various other vigils, rallies and protests that we consider to be of "no direct relevance to the Jewish community." All of these issues are relevant to us as Jews and as a socially conscious people who have survived genocide, ignorance and the continued hatred that we face today. The fight for Indigenous sovereignty and against biocolonialism is especially relevant to us as a community that has sought and found refuge on land that belongs to Aboriginal people. We have to travel in both directions. It is my hope that this issue will not only empower Jewish readers, it will also inform and convince non-Jewish readers to stand up as allies to Jewish people. Anti- Semitism, learning about different Jewish realities, understanding how we view our Jewish identities and how anti-Semitism hurts us...these are not just 'Jewish' issues. Allies have to meet each other half-way and it is time that Jewish women receive the support we need in order to become visible in feminist organizations. Our appreciation to the following supporters who became members of VSW, renewed their memberships, or who made donations during the month March. Cenen Bagon * Jane Bouey * Mary Frey * Aileen Gerlinger * Christine Harris "jean Scott * Betsy Nuse * Fiona Spalding-Smith *BC Chamber of Commerce * Westcoast Energy A special thanks to our donors who give every month. Monthly donations assist VSW in establishing a reliable funding base to carry out our programs, services and Kinesis throughout the year. Thanks to: Masoud Azarnoush * Helen Babalos * Tanya De Haan * Erin Graham * Marion Pollack When Jewish women speak out against Anti-Semitism, we need our non-Jewish, feminist sisters to recognize how they can oppress us and thank us for having the courage to speak out about a reality that is often invalidated and overlooked. Many of the pieces in this issue are by Jewish women of color due to a conscious effort on our parts to challenge what is often seen as an Ashkenazi hegemony in Jewish media and literature. I send out a special appeal to my non-Jewish sisters of colour to stand behind Jewish women-especially those of us who are also of colour-and help us build the alliances that are so desperately needed. While guest editing this issue, I have often felt forced to choose between my identity as a woman of colour and my Jewish heritage. There is no choice. The reality is that I am both and this is the theme that draws all the pieces in this issue together: Jewish women cannot be viewed through a narrow lens. We are complex. We are lesbians, we are poets, we are rabbis, we are single mothers, we are orthodox, reform, conservative, secular, passionate, beautiful and above all else, we are strong and proud survivors. So, to all my Jewish sisters who contributed to this issue: here is testimony and tribute to your beauty. Thank you and enjoy. And to all other readers, I hope this issue will be a platform from which you can become both informed and active as allies to Jewish women. We welcome you into this rich-but by no means exhaustive- glimpse into our world. My thanks to all the women who worked tirelessly to produce this issue. A large thank you to Georgina Farah, Jenn Lo, Tara Ross and Carla Greif. An equally big thanks to my co-editor Lisa Wulwik and to Loolwa Khazoom for providing numerous valuable contacts. — Amal Rana Spring is here! Adar (Jewish month February 7-April 5) is here and Nissan (April 6-May 5) is just around the corner. While the weather brightens up and the tulips push their lovely green buds through the soil we here at Kinesis have been busy preparing the April issue. This issue, is the first of its kind and we're extrememly pleased to present you with the first ever Jewish Women's issue. This year we've had a string of topics covered beginning with the fabulous Native Women's Issue, Black History Month, International Women's Day and now the Jewish Women's issue. We are extremely pleased to welcome the two Jewish guest editors, Amal Rana and Lisa Wulwik who have nurtured this baby from start to finish. Amal and Lisa have both been actively involved with Kinesis's past productions. Amal is the Production Coordinator (needless to say production went smoothly) at Kinesis and shared with us her rich Jewish culture and community. Wearing her many hats, Amal successfully juggled the challenges of editing with coordinating production and scheduling volunteers. Whew! Amal, goddess of juggling, also came through with tasty Jewish Knishes, which we all can't get enough of now. Her wisdom and talented eye for editing pulled together all the many rich herstories. Lisa comes to us from her many projects within the community and shared with us her stories and wisdom of Ashkenazi culture. She brought enthusiasm, vitality (with the odd hoe- down) and her love for trucks. Don't ask. At 23 years old, Lisa sure has it together and we thank her for her devotion and creative input to this issue. Superstar! A big round of applause is due to all the many new writers who contributed their works and poems. Although, poetry is not standard in Kinesis we are happy to make an exception as much of our herstories are held within poems. This issue couldn't have been done without all of you! On a special note, we'd like to thank Sima Elizabeth Shefrin for contributing pictures of her beautiful artwork which appears throughout the issue. Sima Elizabeth Shefrin is the artist/coordinator of the Middle East Peace Quilt and a facilitator for Jewish identity and anti- Semitism workshops. Speaking of workshops, we'd like to acknowledge and thank Fay Blaney, Homalco Nation and Meera Shah for facilitating an anti- racism workshop for VSW volunteers and staff. Their wisdom and experience allowed us to keep unfolding the layers of oppression that have marked all of our lives. Erasing our ignorance is an ongoing journey. Having said that, we look forward to dialogue and new learning around anti-racism, anti-Semistism, ableism and many more! Don't forget our partee on April 7th, 7pm here at VSW. We think this issue will be a treat in itself and look forward to continuing the dialogue with Jewish women. Our next production for the May issue will begin on April 17th so be sure to send us your feedback, letters and looovvve by the 14th! Happy Passover!!!! NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Excerpt from Bad Sheet Date by Sarah Hunt (printed in Kinesis February 2000) Marg Scott at the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre sees the Bad Date Sheet as a great resource for women who access the centre. "It is good in terms of tracking [violent men]," Scott said, "and it is an empowering way for women to act after a bad experience, by writing up the incident and warning other women." However, Scott fears the Bad Date Sheet is not reaching the most vulnerable women. DEYAS and PACE outreach workers need to ensure that the women who are not able to access drop-in services receive the Bad Date Sheet. In the Downtown Eastside sexual and physical violence is a daily reality for most women. The Bad Date Sheet is an essential resource and as Scott said, "it is ultimately other women who are going to keep women safe down there." T Kinesis: Thanks to Sarah Hunt for writing the story and thanks to Marg Scott for pointing out an editing error. Re: "Bad Date Sheet" by Sarah Hunt I am writing to clarify my comments to Sarah Hunt regarding DEYAS' Bad Date Sheet. While I did express my impression that the Bad Date Sheet does not necessarily reach the most vulnerable working women in Downtown Eastside (DTES), I did not make the following comment: "DEYAS and PACE outreach workers need to ensure that the women who are not able to access drop- in services receive the Bad Date Sheet." I recognize that DEYAS and PACE outreach workers and other DTES workers work very hard to build relationships with working women in DTES. It is not for lack of trying that some working women don't have access to the Bad Date Sheet. There are many reasons why working women do not seek out help and information, and part of outreach work or any work with women, for that matter, is respecting women's choices about what they need and want. As well, the better part of the issue of women's access to information and services is the difficulty of providing services (with very limited resources) to a large number of women with complex needs; a struggle that most DTES agencies share. The responsibility for this barrier to DTES women accessing services, safety information and healing resources can be squarely placed where it belongs, with the misplaced priorities of our elected representatives. We all share a responsibility for speaking out about that. I hope this clears up any confusion which may have resulted from the above comment implicity attributed to me. In solidarity, Marg Scott Downtown Eastside Women's Center NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 News by Georgina Farah Racism covered up A young girl is dead, each suspect is pointing to the other and nobody seems to know why such a brutal attack happened in the first place. Reena Virk was viciously murdered by a group of teens more than two years ago. The only motive offered in the killing is that several teens were angry with her for taking an address book and one girl accused her of stealing a boyfriend. Of the eight teenagers implicated in the case, Kelly Ellard is the last one to be tried. Ellard is being charged with beating and eventually drowning Virk in November of 1997. Virk was asked to meet the teens by the Craigflower bridge in Victoria, BC. When Virk arrived, it is alleged that Ellard began the assault on the girl. When asked why she (Ellard) threw the first punch, Ellard responded that she was trying to protect her friend who had just put out a cigarette on Virk's forehead. The group of teens swarmed Virk, leaving her with multiple head injuries. Virk managed to pull herself up and walk across the bridge. According to the other teens' testimony, Ellard and Warren Glowatski followed Virk across the bridge. The next day Ellard is said to have told another girl that she thought she might have killed Virk. There were also reports that Ellard bragged about having beaten and drowned Virk that night. Final arguments were given but the jury has not yet made a ruling. There has been no analysis around the power, privilege and the hatred that led to Reena Virk's death. Numerous questions have come up since Virk's death. Was the murder a racist crime against a young woman of colour? According to local teens, Virk was also rumoured to be possibly bisexual or lesbian. What other motivations lay behind her death? The mainstream media has consistently pointed to rising female teen violence as the only answer to these questions. Yet, the real reasons why Virk and other marginalized youth are consistently targeted within the school system have yet to be established. Low income women bear the burden once again Once again, the federal budget sorrily overlooked women's needs. Paul Martin did the usual consultation with certain women's organizations but made it abundantly clear that women are not a priority. This budget was dedicated to a particular segment of the population that neither needed the boost nor deserved it. The Liberals doled out $58 billion in tax cuts, much of which favours the wealthiest individuals in Canada. Corporate tax rates have been reduced by 7% and the surtax on high incomes was eliminated: Middle income earners were accommodated some tax relief, although women in the lowest income brackets continued to bear the burden of government neglect. Although the federal government distinguished between what the market can do and what governments should do for people, Finance Minister Paul Martin made it abundantly clear token relief was the order of the day for women and children. As Kim Brooks, fiscal policy analyst for the Na tional Association for Women and the Law (NAWL) put it, "This is too little, too late." Martin increased the Canada Child Tax Benefit slightly. However, most provinces claw back the benefit from social assistance payments. "[Ijt's still inaccessible to the women and children who need it most." Provinces like Ontario deduct the benefit from the cheques of single mothers on social assistance" said Joan Grant-Cummings, president of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women. The Liberals did increase the Child Care Expense Deduction for parents of children with disabilities, along with reiterating their commitment to Employment Insurance parental benefits. Grant-Cummings also pointed out that the 70% of part-time working women will not be able to access the EI benefit, along with the growing number of self-employed women. Author Armine Yalnizyan stated that the Liberal government's course of tax cuts and weak social transfer payments (funding from the federal government to the provinces) will only serve to widen the rapidly increasing income gap. "Tax cuts aren't the solution because tax cuts aren't the problem. Tax policy is not a substitute for social policy. A tax cut will not buy us better hospital emergency services...keep our kids' schools from closing...raise the incomes of the poorest Canadian families who don't have taxable income." Women have been demanding an increase in monies to social services, shelters, welfare payments, unemployment insurance, training programs, childcare and housing. Grant-Cummings also expressed her outrage over the lack of homelessness funding. "The $750 million to go to solving the homelessness crisis is like spitting in the wind—we need $3.5 billion it wasn't even close!" Where is the funding for family, immigration and refugee legal aid? Where is the allocation of the promised $50 million to grassroots, feminist services that deal with violence against women? A small concession was given to health and social transfers. Canada's healthcare and education was given an additional $2.5 billion. This amount won't even bring healthcare and education (not to mention welfare) back to levels in place before the 1995 budget cuts. At a time when healthcare is in a deep state of crisis, the government continues to derail it by offering inadequate transfers to to provinces. Libby Davies, a Vancouver MP reflected, "For every dollar in tax relief, only 2 cents will go to health care...only 9 cents will go to kids. [This] government...lacks vision and political will." When we reflect on the weak Liberal commitment to the National Childcare program, the words "why are we waiting?" spring to mind. We wonder if Paul Martin knows the tune. Theft of Indigenous peoples' knowledge and DNA The theft of Indigenous people's DNA, knowledge and the destruction of biodiversity in their communities were the issues addressed at the recent Biocolonialism forum in Vancouver. Debra Harry, Northern Paiute from Pyramid Lake, Nevada, spoke of how Indigenous peoples' DNA is systematically being appropriated by western scientists under the guise of dis ease research. Harry told a packed audience, that DNA research on Indigenous peoples is just another form of colonization and that the 'researchers' agenda is DNA ownership, not cures. This latest, worldwide wave of colonization targets Indigenous peoples for control of their communities, lands and ultimately their lives. Harry emphasized that genetic colonization is all about profit and control, while Priscilla Settee, Cree from Northern Saskatchewan, recounted the harsh impact of western forms of 'development' on the biodiversity of Indigenous lands. The panel discussion was moderated by Viola Thomas, Secwepemc Nation, the president of United Native Nations. With permission of speakers, speeches to be printed in upcoming issues New home for Co-op Radio home Alternative radio station, Co-op Radio, has at last found a new home within the Downtown Eastside community in Vancouver. The peeling wallpapered walls of the Sunrise Hotel will be renovated to house not only the radio station, but a medical/ dental facility, a laundromat and a cafe. Coop Radio was given money from the city and a provincial "Community Spirit Grant" worth over $150,000 towards the permanent home. Co-op Radio aims to create a collective and inviting design that has 'street presence' and wheelchair accessibility. The radio station, which has been around since 1975 was operating out of an old building without security of tenure. Volunteers have kept the radio running for 25 years and are looking forward to the station's new space. Protesters demand rights for Filipino women Vancouver, B.C. - Deported Filipino nanny, Leticia Cables, was denied by Immigration Canada to meet with her supporters at the Vancouver International Airport as she left 'voluntarily' for the Philippines. Ms. Cables' supporters, made up of Filipino organizations, community members, and promoters of social justice, were set to show support for her decision to leave for the Philippines instead of undergoing further harassment from Canada Immigration. However, in much the same way Immigration would treat a dangerous criminal, Ms. Cables was kept from seeing her supporters and closely monitored. This denial to meet with the Filipino community was one last kick goodbye for Ms. Cables and yet another last slap in the face to all Filipino women suffering under the Live-in Caregiver Program. Ms. Cables came to Canada over 3 years ago as a live-in nanny through Canada Immigration's Live-in Caregiver program (LCP). She ended up working in Edmonton, Alberta for a lawyer as a live-in domestic worker. After 3 years of perseverance, Ms. Cables finished her contract under the LCP. But as her dream of making a better life for herself in Canada came closer to realization, she was cruelly slapped with an order of deportation when she applied for permanent status—her crime: working too hard. In violation of the terms of the LCP, Ms. Cables worked for more than one employer at a time. For this crime, Ms. Cables has been deported. On average, live-in caregivers will earn minimum or even less than minimum wage—barely enough to survive on. Yet, under the LCP, the women are not even allowed to augment this meagre earning by taking on other work. To show their support for Ms. Cables' ordeal, and their disgust at Canada Immigration's unjust and inhumane treatment (not only of Ms. Cables but of all Filipino women brought into Canada through the LCP) the Filipino community asked to meet with Ms. Cables at Supporters of Leticia Cables protest for her 'voluntary' deportation the airport. However, they were abruptly denied and shuffled aside by Immigration officers. In response, her supporters staged a protest in the Immigration office chanting: 'Let us see Leticia NOW!' Instead of heeding the community's demands, Immigration treated her supporters with the same disrespect as they treat Filipino women. They waited until they were sure Ms. Cables boarded her plane, then the Immigration manager informed the supporters of her departure. Despite the fact Ms. Cables made the hard decision to voluntarily leave the country (she even bought her own airplane ticket) she was kept from the public. For the Filipino women and community, Ms. Cables stands as a symbol for the tens of thousands of Filipino women who are disposable in the eyes of Immigration Canada. Currently, there are close to 90,000 Filipino women who work as domestic workers in Canada. The LCP was established in 1992. Since this time, Canada has seen a marked increase in the number of Filipinos fulfilling the federal government's need for a cheap substitute for a national childcare program. Yet, along with this increase in numbers, there is also a marked increase in the abuse and exploitation of Filipino women. The LCP exploitative and slavelike conditions leave domestic workers vulnerable to all forms of violence and abuse. For this reason and for the sake of ending violence and abuse, the Philippine Women Centre holds that the LCP must be scrapped and domestic workers granted landed status. Source: Philippine Women Centre. KINESIS NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 What's News compiled by Georgina Farah, Joanna Lemay and Aseefa Merali Hate is not a parental right The British Columbia Teachers Federation (BCTF) voted in favour of gay/straight alliance clubs in schools. Teachers came under fire from some parents for encouraging and endorsing safe spaces for lesbian, gay, transgendered and bisexual students within schools. Some right wing parent groups fear their children will become homosexuals if the clubs are created. One of the opposing groups went so far as to label the clubs as a gay propaganda machine. Penny Priddy, Education Minister, backed the BCTF with this statement, "I support any initiatives that make students who are gay or lesbian, transgendered or bisexual feel safe and comfortable in their school." Priddy also referred to the fact that lesbian, gay, transgendered and bisexual students have a very, very high suicide rate. Violence in BC schools has come under the blanket term "bullying" and has failed to address the causes of oppression. Recently, 14 year old Hamed Nastoh died after jumping off a bridge—he had been taunted and labelled as gay by other students. Although gay/straight alliance clubs are intended to protect students from harassment and allow for discussion on queer identities, the Surrey School Board has just passed a motion to create 'guidelines' for all school clubs. This comes after the SSB lost an $800,000 court challenge to remove books on gay and lesbian families within the school. The guidelines of the new club policy have yet to be disclosed. Women win 23 year old discrimination case A settlement worth $746 million Cdn has been awarded to 1,100 women in the U.S. who filed a discrimination lawsuit in 1977. This is the largest job discrimination settlement in U.S. history and sends a powerful message to employers. Women filed the lawsuit against the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) and Voice of America - two independent federal government agencies that encourage American interests overseas. The case was launched when Carolee Brady Hartman applied with the USIA as a writer. She was told by the editor that they would not hire her because they were look ing for a man to fill the position. In some cases, officials of the agency had forged test scores of men to avoid hiring women whose scores were higher. Emergency contraceptive pill available over the counter in B.C. B.C. will be the first province to offer women access to the pill without a prescription. Pharmacists are following the example of their neighbours in Washington State where they learn how to assess women who need the pill, when to refer women to a doctor and how to look for signs of physical and sexual abuse. Despite the prospect of more control for women regarding their bodies and their health care, there is deep resistance to the program. Anti-abortion activists and some pharmacists are in opposition to the pill. Disturbingly, the Canadian Pharmacists Association is revising its code of ethics to allow pharmacists who disagree with the pill the right to refuse dispensing it. However, the new code will require pharmacists to refer women to another pharmacist who feels "comfortable" distributing the pill. According to the B.C. Medical Association Journal, approximately 30% of Canadian women will have an abortion at some time in their lives. Within B.C., 23% of pregnancies result in abortion and are the most frequently performed operation. It has been suggested that the limited access that some women have to the "morning after" pill. Various national organizations are collaborating with Health Canada to make the morning after pill available without a doctor's prescription. This emergency method of preventing the fertilization of a woman's egg consists of four low dose birth control pills, followed by a second dose twelve hours later. The treatment must be taken within three days of having unprotected sex. It has been found to be effective 75-89% of the time and its side effects consist of nausea and/or vomiting. ^ Same sex benefits exclude marriage Bill C-23, the Modernization of Benefits and Obligations Act has been passed to accord gay and lesbian couples the same benefits as heterosexual common law couples. The bill will amend 68 federal statutes including the Old Age Security Act, the Canada Pension Plan as well as tax obligations and benefits under the Income Tax Act. The legislative changes did not include a definition of marriage. However, Justice Minister Anne McLellan recently introduced an amendment to the legislation to adopt a 'one man, one woman' marriage definition, banning same sex couples from legal marriage. Several provinces are already changing their laws to comply with the Canadian Char- ter of Rights and Freedoms. New home Pap test A new study is underway to develop a home Pap test. Dr. Ruth Martin, an instructor at the University of British Columbia has been conducting tests to develop a Pap test that women could administer to themselves rather than having to go to a doctor. The test would allow women to obtain cells from the cervical wall, mount the cells on a slide and send it off to a laboratory for testing. Dr. Martin feels that there are many women who avoid Pap tests because of the intrusive nature of the procedure and that women would, in fact, prefer to use a home Pap kit. Pap tests (short for Papanicolaou) were designed to screen for cancerous cervical cells, which can be treated if detected early on. In Canada, over 1500 women are diagnosed annually with cervical cancer; about 500 women die each year from the cancer. news by for about women wnrreire NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Movement Matters Women speak out against Taliban compiled by Georgina Farah Women for Women in Afghanistan (W4WA) is hosting a fundraising dinner for women in Afghanistan. Women there are currently experiencing some of the worst atrocities in Afghan history under the Taliban regime. They are not able to access adequate food, water and healthcare facilities. The dinner will be held on May 1st and will feature a series of guest speakers. Afghan women will speak about their experiences and the impact the Taliban have had on the health and well-being of women. All proceeds will go to relief work and education in Afghanistan. Tickets are $50 and must be purchased in advance. There are only 100 seats available! For more information or to send a cheque or money order to Women for Women in Afghanistan, write 5340 Kensington Crescent, West Vancouver, BC, V7W1M4 or telephone: (604) 926-3566, fax: (604) 926-3072 or e-mail: laurynoates@home.com International women's journal seeking submissions compiled by Debbie Harford A new on-line journal, The Journal of International Women's Studies is seeking submissions for the November edition. This is a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journal focussing on the relationship between feminist theory and activism. They are looking for articles, but are also open to literary pieces and poetry. Submissions should be no more than 20 pages, double-spaced, and should contain citations within the text and employ endnotes, not footnotes. The journal is biannual and is published through the Women's Center at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. To review a copy of the first edition go to the college's web page (www.mcla.mass.edu), click on publications and then on the Journal of International Women's Studies. Deadline for submissions for the November edition is September 1st, 2000. Those interested in submitting should send either an e-mail attachment to womenctr@mcla. mass.edu or a hard copy plus disk to: Dr. Diana Fox, Managing Editor, Journal of International Women's Studies, Susan B. Anthony Women's Center, Massachusetts' College of Liberal Arts, 375 Church Street, North Adams, MA 01247. Answers about women's health complied by Georgina Farah The Canadian Women's Health Network (CWHN) recently announced a partnership with the newly formed Canadian Health Network. The CWHN has announced that the partnership will give women even more access to health information. Madeline Boscoe, Executive Director for the CWHN was quoted as saying "If you're not finding the information you want, log onto our web site or call our toll- free-number." The CWHN aims to provide women with health information and/or to direct women to other sources of health information. The CWHN can be reached through the toll-free number: 1-888-818-9172. E-mail: cwhn@cwhn.ca or check the website: www.cwhn.ca. World March of Women 2000 by Fiona Jayachandran World March of Women 2000. Oh wow! I had to go - the words on the poster jumped out at me, saying it is time to rejoin your sisters, rejoin the action, get involved, get excited - so I did! I began marching at 11 years old at an anti-nuke protest. Lately, I had been feeling tired of it all; the marches, the petitions, the speeches, the seeming lack of any real change. I even missed last year's Take Back The Night march, after faithfully attending for 12 years. Women were still being beaten in their homes, children were still being raped and I was still angry. I retreated. I stopped volunteering, I didn't belong to any women's organizations, I stopped reading the newspaper and I didn't attend any rallies. I became a feminist hermit (what an oxymoron), however, the retreat and rest were healing and needed. But the work still needs to be done. My sisters still need my anger and I still need theirs. So I took the day off work and South Asian women march in support of International Women's Day. headed out to the Art Gallery where women were already gathering for action. I had my camera, my reinduced and of course, my boots for marching. Women were everywhere and more kept pouring in. There was an undercurrent of excitement moving through the milling crowd. I spotted a woman I knew from Rape Relief and we greeted each other with joy. She was busy giving out red and purple coloured balloons: the official colours of International Women's Day 2000. Aboriginal women were drumming - drumming us to awareness, calling out to the women in the ever-growing crowd. An Elder said a prayer and the march began. Suddenly we weren't milling about anymore. We now had a purpose - our energy became focused, our laughter, determination, courage and strength embraced us. This incredible energy drew us along, joyously winding its way throughout the march. It triumphantly led us and it protectively encircled us. Hundreds of women smiling at one another, shouting out fierce chants, holding hands, wheeling wheelchairs, pushing strollers, carrying banners, marching. We called out our defiance, our demands: no more poverty, no more violence, no more! We were angry and determined but we were also proud and celebratory. Look at us all! Women of all colours and shapes and ages. Hundreds of thousands of women all over the world that have changed so much and continue to change so much. Despite violence, hunger, bombs and rape; despite all the crappy systems we live and work in, all the fucked up 'isms' and phobias. Despite all of it, we're still here! The hundreds of women flowed by me and encircled Library Square (where several federal government departments are located). We completed the circle and gathered in front of a small stage. Some tinny music was playing, there were media people milling about and cops were standing across the road. That was all irrelevant - our focus was here with each other. I saw several more women that I knew and we greeted each other with hugs and smiles. I was moved by the silent cutouts of women protesting for our sisters behind bars. An eagle flew overhead. A sea of red and purple balloons billowed above the crowd while an Aboriginal Elder began the speeches with a prayer. I realized I was part of an awesome sisterhood of women, mothers and grandmothers marching behind me while I was marching on the path of young women marching us into the future. Marches make a statement, they make us visible, they are an action that inspires us to other actions. But, it's not only about great marches and fine speeches. It's also about women finding each other, linking up, discussing, supporting and acting together. One small step here, one small step there, one letter here, one released woman there, one law changed here, one woman safe there... Towards the end of the march, I was able to meet up with a group of women from the SouthAsian Women's Center. We talked, argued, laughed, and planned all afternoon. International Women's Day March 2000 inspired me. My sisters encouraged and strengthened me, and once more, I'm ready for action! For more information about upcoming events check out the World March of Women website http://www.ffq.qc.ca/ marche2000 or call your local women's cen- Women gathered on International Women's Day in Vancouver BC. NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Feature A Bene Israel cradle ceremony: An Indian Jewish ritual for the birth of a girl by Flora Samuel The following article was originally published in Bridges: A Journal for Jewish feminists and (palna) is decorated with flowers, and the baby wears new clothes and ornaments. O n this oc- reading R i v k a Rosenwine's article about a new American Jewish ritual for naming a baby girl, I was prompted to write this article so that more people will know about the unique way in which the Bene Israel community of India celebrated a girl's birth by adopting a Hindu custom. The Bene Israel perform a ceremony, called barsa, at home on the twelfth day after the birth of a girl or a boy. On that day the child is introduced to his or her cradle ceremoniously in the presence of guests, mostly women and children. The cradle name, whereas a boy has received his name earlier at the brit mila (circumcision). The girl's naming ritual is performed by the child's aunt or another lady. She holds the baby in her arms, blesses her, whispers her new name into her ear, then places her in the cradle. Around the baby in the cradle are arranged portions of boiled chick peas, sweets, and other foods to be distributed among the children. Women sing lullabies to the child. The mother sits on the bed rocking the cradle. She also wears new Never Buy Tampons or Pads Again! -Small rubber cap worn internally ^u£^ -Sanitary & reliable -Comfortable, easy to use t|v -Lasts at least 10 years -Safe for overnight wear -Great for sports, camping, backpacking, swimming.travel, overnight wear, etc. -Accepted FDA 1987, Health & Welfare 1992 -No more pads or tampons to pack -No more worries about running out of supplies "This is a hidden treasure. It's clean and odorless. " (Keitha) "I can't believe every woman in the world isn 't using The Keeper!" (Chris) Menstrual Cap Free Brochure 800-663-0427 Guaranteed www.keeper.com clothes and her hair is decorated with flowers. After the songs, the portions of sweets are handed to the children, but the children have to act as if they are stealing the portions. An elderly woman stands to the side with a kind of cloth belt to pretend she is giving blows to the children, who try to avoid them. This, in my opinion is a farce to represent the mischievous behaviour of the Hindu god Krishna, who used to steal butter from the gopis (milkmaids) when he was a child. This represents a kind of wish that the child will be full of pranks and not just a block of flesh and blood. The guests then bring gifts to the newborn baby as well as to the mother and the party goes on. The gifts that the mother receives are accompanied by a tray full of almonds, dates, sweets and coconut. The idea behind these ingredients is to make the mother eat preparations which they believe help her to have enough milk in her breasts. The mother picks up the coconut and while she is sitting on the bed, she pushes it back under the bed between her legs. She is jokingly chided by the other ladies to push it as far back as possible so the next pregnancy won't be too soon. The Bene Israel of India, who lived among the non- Jews, adopted this barsa custom not as a religious custom but as a pleasant social one. When a Jewish male child was born his first encounter with outsiders came on the day of his brit mila. This ceremony, however, took place at the synagogue, so only Jews were present there. Now what about the non-Jewish neighbours and friends who wanted to see the newborn and bring him presents? So the Bene Israel found this cradle custom handy. Like their Hindu neighbours, they held it on the twelfth day following the birth. (Among the Hindus a woman is considered impure for ten days after the birth.) The Bene Israel ceremony resembles that of the Hindus except for the religious rituals. A Jewish child is put in the cradle with the words "beShem Adonai" (in the name of the Lord). For the 1995 exhibition on Indian Jewry at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, the Indian Women's Organization of Lod coop- Uassage Therapy Cranial Sacral Therapy • Energy Balancing oefcAjra £ healing centre 10-2495 Commercial Drive 6 Broadway Telephoi 251-6879 erated by videotaping some of the religious and social customs of the Bene Israel. A small group enacted the barsa ritual for the opening celebrations of the exhibition. The Indian Women's Organization of Lod was founded in 1969 and has been responsible for preserving and presenting Indian Jewish culture in Israel. I am one of the founding members of the organization and for the last few years I have served as the coordinator and advisor. When Mrs. Delia Worms of London saw one of the photographs of the cradle ceremony, she came running to see me saying, "We the western people consider ourselves progressive and advanced but we never give a girl the importance you Indians did by this ceremony." By celebrating the barsa for girls as well as boys, the Bene Israel took the opportunity to celebrate a female child's birth publicly. The recent ceremonies oibritha or bat mitzvah for girls were unknown in India. When I read the article by Rivka Rosenwine, my thoughts went along with her. I also felt elated at the birth of my daughter. I am a mother of three children, two sons and a daughter. They all love, care for and respect me equally and I have given equal love and care to them and am equally proud of their achievements. But the birth of a daughter added a dimension to my life. I can't help thanking God for making me a woman as He wished, and for blessing me with a daughter in addition to my two excellent sons. Flora Samuel was an organizer and leader of an Indian women's group in Israel, and wrote from her personal experience as a Bene Israel woman and as a scholar of Indian languages and culture. Canadian Jewish Congress PACIFIC REGION CONGRATULATIONS Kinesis for celebrating the diversity of Jewish women! Suite 201-950 West 41s1 Avenue Vancouver, BC V5Z 2N7 Phone: (604) 257-5101 Fax: (604) 257-5131 Email: pacific@istar.ca Web site: www.cjc.ca NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Feature Jewish refugees In China: Shanghai: From my mother's accounts by Madelaine Zadik The following piece originally appeared in Voices of Jewish Lesbian Daughters of Holocaust Survivors: Past and Present, 1997. In 1939, Shanghai was the only place to which Jews could still escape without much money, a visa, landing permission, or other documents. The Germans still released Jews if they had proof that they were leaving the country. My father was released from Buchenwald and my mother from prison; they were permitted to take with them the equivalent of $4 and no jewellery. They were thoroughly searched before embarking. A committee of Central European Jews who had settled in Shanghai earlier met the new refugees upon arrival. They had organized huge dormitories where 50 to 150 slept in one room (no flush toilets) and provided one hot meal a day. After a week my parents found a room, which they shared with three others. When they finally found a room to themselves, that they could afford, they fled because the bed bugs were unbearable. They ended up in a house with 20 rooms and about 50 people, and the luxury of flush toilets. When I went to Shanghai with my mother in 1982, we actually managed to find the building. It was still standing and had been turned into a school. We went inside and I saw the small room where my parents lived during most of their stay in Shanghai. Many Chinese had come to Shanghai from the countryside fleeing from the Japanese. Conditions were very crowded and there was tremendous poverty. Stealing and begging were widespread. They could not afford funerals and one would find bodies wrapped in straw mats on the street, which were picked up as garbage by big trucks. Garbage was not regularly collected, however, and my parents always had cats to help control the rat population. It was far too expensive for individuals to boil water, so there were hot water shops where they sold thermoses of hot water. Once in a while my parents bought a whole bath: a 'coolie' would come with two large containers of hot water, which were poured into the tub and cold water was added. Since this was such an expense, my mother took a bath first, then my father, then my mother washed their clothes in it, and finally washed the floors and toilet with that water. Work was difficult to come by, but after a while my mother managed to find a job as a secretary-bookkeeper making $10 a month. They still got one hot meal a day from the Committee and they had to sell many of the possessions they had brought with them to make ends meet. The dormitories, kitchens, and hospitals established by the European Jews were maintained with money sent by American Jews. After Pearl Harbor many businesses closed and the flow of American money was cut off. It was the Jews who fled Russia in 1917, who had established themselves in Shang- They could not afford funerals and one would find bodies wrapped in straw mats on the street, which were picked up as garbage by big trucks. hai and accumulated some wealth, who were able to help continue financing these programs. My mother was then out of a job and joined those working for the administration of the dorms, kitchens and hospitals. Although there was no money, at least they got food. Altogether there were about 20,000 European Jewish refugees living in Shanghai at that time. In 1943, under pressure from the Germans, the Japanese (who occupied Shanghai) ordered all Central European Jews into one district, later called The Ghetto. They could only leave this section with special permits. This northern part of Shanghai, Hongkew, had been occupied by the Japanese since 1932. Many areas had been destroyed, so the refugees lived among the ruins. Then America began bombing Japanese installations around Shanghai. Thousands of Chinese were killed as well as a few hundred European refugees. In the meantime, it was somehow arranged for American Jews to send money via Switzerland or Sweden for the upkeep of the dorms and kitchens. If it had not been for those kitchens, many Jews in Shanghai would have starved. My mother then received a salary of about $7 a month, which, with the extreme inflation, meant she needed a shopping bag to carry her salary home. During the war years it was the Red Cross that managed to get messages in and out of war zones. That was how in 1942 my mother heard of the birth of her half sister in America and the death of her other sister in Ravensbruck. There was great rejoicing when the war was over in 1945, although, because of a raging typhoon, the Americans could not land for two weeks, and until then the news was not verified. However, the Japanese sentries who patrolled the Ghetto disappeared. Then the horrible news of the holocaust hit and the refugees were stunned. When the American soldiers were sent home, the US army hired local civilians. My mother landed a job and actually made a decent salary. It took another two years until all the formalities were settled and my parents were able to come to the US (with financial aid from American Jews). There, my mother was reunited with her father, stepmother, and her new sister. Many of the Shanghai refugees came to the US after the war and formed a social organization. Many of those friends have since died, but the organization is still going on, made up mainly of those who were in Shanghai as children. In 1997 my parents attended a Shanghai reunion. They were probably the oldest survivors attending. Madeline Helga Zadik is a Jewish Lesbian daughter of holocaust survivors, who lives, gardens, and creates art in western Massachusetts. Before Eve. Beyond Ms. Before Eve, there was Lilith — the woman committed to equality with Adam. Today LILITH is the feminist magazine for Jewish women. For a i -, sample copy or subscrip- VS&* tion, call toll-free 1-888- >«tw 2-LILITH or e-mail to lilithmag@aol.com Lilith LEGAL REPRESENTATION AND MEDIATION SERVICES in: labour and employment law human rights civil litigation public interest advocacy MUNRO • PARFITT LAWYERS Melinda Munro and Clea Parfitt 401-825 granville street Vancouver, b.c. v6z1k9 689-7778 (tel) 689-5572 (fax) quality legal services Paula Clancy, b.a. Certified General Accountant Auditing Accounting Financial Planning for Organizations Small Businesses Tel: (604)215-1720 Fax:(604)215-1750 WOMEN IN PRINT BOOKS & OTHER MEDIA 3566 West 4th Avenue Vancouver BC Voice 604 732-4128 Fax 604 732-4129 Discounts for book clubs Special orders PAM ATNIKOV, ma Counselling and ; Empathy> Psychotherapy Skill 1202, 510 West Hastings St. \ - Vancouver BC . • Affordability Phone:(604)873-8743 .J ^ NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Feature Returning to ancestral soil: Motherland by Caroline Smadja artwork by Sima Elizabeth Shefrin The mid-afternoon torpor, the feel of dolce vita clinging to the hot dry air, erases in a few sips of cool lemonade my western self: twenty years of living in France as a French citizen, datebooks filled with to-do lists, the time-is-money-let's-get-on-with-business mentality that's shaped my last thirteen years in Northern California. Life for me started here, in a clinic of the plush quartier du Belvedere, only a long walk from where c^ I'm seated at | an outdoor I cafe boulevard ^ de Tunis. Three k months later, I xj was yanked |^ away never to return until now, August 1992. But, like a cat who knows her mistress's voice, her smell, the touch of her skin, my body remembers, lingers back on the cafe chair and lapses into rare calm; which opens up - to the incessant movement of people strolling down the esplanade that divides up the boulevard, with no aim other than to stroll at dusk in the direction of the sea, chatting with family and friends; to a whiff of jasmine, sold at every street corner, tied up by brown-skinned vendors into neat bundles that men wear behind the ear like others a pencil or a cigarette. My body remembers, feels no fear, not an ounce of worry, as I enter the souks through the tamedPortede Tunis and walk resolutely forward, while my mother, born and raised in this city, keeps repeating: "[w]e should head back, we're going to get lost." Somehow, I feel more confident than in any other unknown city I've visited. Some ancestral knowledge, perhaps passed down by my great-great-grandmothers who spoke no language other than Judeo-Arabic and wore chechias on their heads Arab-style to cover their hair, is guiding me. My desire to explore, to get inside the belly of the old city, is more compelling than any apprehension I might have of getting lost in the maze of narrow streets or harassed by the all-male merchants. A feeling is pulling at me that I wished for but didn't really expect to have: these streets belong with me and me with them, even though Tunisia will never belong to me. Most Jews left in the late fifties and throughout the sixties no longer welcome once national independence had become a reality. The lone Kosher butcher we passed this afternoon made my heart ache. My mother and I looked at each other but said nothing. Still, in spite of the butcher's sorrow, and my own, at a past irrevocably gone, a way of life I'll never have a chance to experience firsthand, the joyful sense of being in the right place wins out, along with a feeling close to invincibility that comes as a complete surprise to me. I'm walking in my ancestors' footsteps; generations of Smadjas were born here and lived here. I'm certain for now that I am out of harm's way. I feel safe, at peace, at home. Years after this one visit back to the motherland, I will reflect upon the peculiar experience of exile: that of being forced by the tyranny of geography and foreign- ness to shed my original skin, to cover it up with layers of others, to forget it at times, only to discover in the wondrous simplicity of clear blue skies against white-washed walls, in the muted tarn tarn of a derbouka, in the fragrance of jasmine on a summer eve, that this first skin of mine, the one I was born with, will always be the one that clings to my bones. "Go back if you'd like," I answer with a calm determination that seems to take her by surprise, "I'm going Caroline Smadja is a San Francisco-based French-born writer of Jewish Tunisian descent. She was born in Tunis, Tunisia and raised in France. She writes fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Bonding between Jewish women: Happy Kwanzaanukah by Nikola Maria Marin I was having a slow day at work. I decided to surf the internet and to do a genealogy search on my father's last name— Marin. As I was scrolling down a list of names, I saw my mother's maiden name on a list of Jewish families that migrated to the Caribbean, along withDfl So and Sos and the Thingezes. I called my mother that night and told her the news. "Whatever," she said, which made me think of the piled up Jewish moments in my life. My dad—who is in his fifties—and I are finally penetrating the shield of idiotic anti-Semitic jokes. We laugh at the jokes now, not at each other. I also know that my mother has a Jewish thang. When my black friends, Jesse Jackson, that college professor and "whatever"* make anti-Semitic remarks, I am embarrassed for the whole damn community. White Jews dismiss my Judaism or say [screwed] up white people things. When I tried to lodge a complaint about anti-Semitism, I was asked if I was sure it was anti-Semitism. I guess naggers are supposed to be sweated and black Jews don't know what anti-Semitism really is. While I am told that I am the exception to the all-of-them-are-bad rule, it still bites, because I have to witness the violence and survive it too, smoldering away silently. I see Jewish blood tendrilling over the surface of the earth, popping up like the changing faces in a Michael Jackson video collection. Popping up out of nowhere, out of everywhere, a many-headed beast. My upbringing allows me to focus on the bonds between Jewish women (and men), rather than a rigid notion of what a Jewish upbringing is. It has been a project of mine to document these lingual and non-lingual bonds in photography, writing, and video. As a mixed race/mixed blood chameleon, my bonds with my Jewish sisters and "whatever"* have been complex and sustaining in my life. A real blessing to come together, having been outsiders. Nikola Marin (center) with her mother (left) and grandmother. In this day of internet genealogy searches, if I, a basic black Canadian, raised Roman Catholic, can be a Jew, so can you. *whatever applies to people of Jewish heritage who are in denial. Nikola Maria Marin is the co-producer of fuck this, Ginger. She is poor and knows big words. NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Feature Anti-Semitism uncovered: Smashing silences by Sima Elizabeth Shefrin For days I've been struggling to write this article on Jewish visibility and anti- Semitism. It's a subject I understand well. I'm a long-time Jewish activist, working for Jewish pride and visibility, against the oppression of Jews, and for a just peace in the Middle East for both Jews and Palestinians. But doing research on anti-Semitism makes you tired. This week it's been hard to put any heart into my words. Finally, I give up and go to a movie. "Lucie Aubrac" is playing at the Vancouver East Cinema. Lucie and her Jewish husband Raymond were resistance fighters in France during the nazi occupation. When Raymond is arrested and condemned to death, Lucie engineers his escape by convincing a gestapo officer that Raymond is her fiance, that she is pregnant, and must, artwork by Sima Elizabeth Shefrin for the sake of her reputation, marry him before he is executed. I happen to know that this is a true story. In 1943, Aubrac was an active and trusted member of the French resistance, fighting to save her country. But she was also a Catholic woman who displayed great courage to save the Jewish man she loved. Suddenly, I remember why I am writing this article. I love being Jewish. I love being part of a people who have a rich culture and history that spans thousands of years, a history of learning, strength and survival. I love being part of such a diverse people, rooted all over the world, of many ethnicities and nationalities. I love the religion, with its many branches and degrees of observance. Although I do not actively practice it I know it is the basis of the culture and values with which my life is entwined, including a basic Jewish value of healing the world. Perhaps this is why a disproportionate number of Jews have always been active on the left, in the communist party, in the women's movement. This, despite the fact that the left has rarely taken a stand against the oppression of Jews. Anti-Semitism has many similarities to racism but it also has differences. Historically, anti-Semitism has been cyclical, with periods of relative safety following periods of terrible oppression. During the good times, misinformation and stereotypes have been kept alive so it would be possible to use Jews as scapegoats in times of crisis. Over the centuries Jews have been expelled from many countries. During the Middle Ages, Jews—who were not allowed to own land or practice most professions —worked as tax collectors. While this was happening, anti-Semitism would continue to simmer and when the peasants rebelled against over-taxation, their anger would be directed at the most visible agents of the oppression, the7ews. The Holocaust, the systematic killing of 6 million Jews in the Second World War, was also the destruction of our languages and vibrant cultures. It has left unimaginable scars on Jewish communities which we are still working to heal. What does the oppression of Jews look like today? What is it about? Due to its cyclical nature it is sometimes invisible to people who are not Jewish: part of the oppression is that others cannot see what is only too painful and obvious to Jews. It's about the fact that you can live for years in the lower mainland and not be aware of the Jewish community. It's about the amazingly prevalent myth that all Jews are rich. It's about the fact that most of the doctors shot at by anti-choice extremists are Jewish. It's about North Shore columnist Doug Collins and others like him who deny the Holocaust in the face of overwhelming documented evidence and painful memories. It's about members of the Chassidic community - Orthodox Jews who are very out about their Judaism - being routinely harassed on the streets. It's about the extensive vandalism last year in a Winnipeg Jewish cemetery. It's about the burnings of American synagogues. People forget that the white supremacist movement does not consider Jews white. In California a man walked into a Jewish community centre and shot five people including small children. He said this was a wake up call to America to be on guard against the Jews. Yet still we have to argue to prove the oppression exists. The women's movement has also experienced its share of anti-Semitism. Until the mid-Seventies, while many Jewish women were committed and active feminists, they didn't particularly identify as Jewish feminists. At the 1975 Mexico conference, marking the beginning of the United Nations International Women's Decade, the resolution, "Zionism is racism" opened the door to extensive anti-Jewish attitudes. In her book, Deborah, Colda and Me, American Jewish feminist, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, documents comments from that conference as extreme as, "The only good Jew is a dead Jew". In the early 1980's, in Vancouver and elsewhere, Jewish lesbians and feminists started to address the anti-Semitism in the women's movement and come out as Jews. We refused to stay quiet any longer or to let Jewish oppression be seen as less important than other oppressions. Yet even today it takes tremendous courage for Jewish women to speak out publicly as Jews. A history of oppression makes people afraid. Much Jewish immigration to Canada has been to escape danger and severe oppression. Jewish babies are born into a delicate world of fear. Even in families so assimilated that the children grow up not aware they are Jewish, the fear gets passed down from generation to generation. For Jewish women, there's a particular intersection between sexism and anti- Semitism that hits us hard, making us feel bad about ourselves and our bodies. Like many lesbians, Jewish women don't fit the stereotypes of femininity. Like many gay men, Jewish men don't fit the stereotypes of masculinity. In addition, for Jewish queer people, the way homophobia operates is so reminiscent of anti-Semitism, it adds another layer to how scary it feels to be out in the world. Since you can't get through life being that terrified all the time, we get good at functioning on top of fear, sometimes without even knowing it. But fear can make us feel mistrustful, or isolated, or make us become invisible as Jews. Internalized oppression makes it difficult for us to confront incidents of anti-Semitism, especially since the fact that no one else seems to notice them makes us feel like we're crazy. The oppression of Jews is hurtful to everybody. The damage that holocaust de- niers like Collins do is parallel with people trying to tell us that there is no sexism in our society, or no racism, and that any way we feel bad is just a personal problem; a figment of our imaginations. Holocaust denial is not just damaging for Jews, it's damaging for everybody. I started out speaking of Lucie Aubrac as an ally to Jews. Many gentiles hid Jews during the holocaust at tremendous personal risk. Children of nazis and children of Holocaust survivors have met in Germany to do healing work. Before the 1985 International Women's Conference in Nairobi, African-American and Jewish women worked together to take a stand against both racism and anti-Semitism. In the last two decades Jewish feminists have learned to take pride in ourselves as loud, proud Jewish women. We have refused to be invisible. We have learned to speak out and insist on being heard. We are learning to connect with each other in support and trust. We are learning how to work with our allies in this project we share: to build an oppression-free world in which we can all truly live with equality, respect and dignity. Sima Elizabeth Shefrin works as an artist and as a community arts organizer. She is the artist /coordinator of the Middle East Peace Quilt. She also facilitates workshops on Jewish identity and anti-Semitism. For information on any of these activities call 604-734-9395 or email: Kn.bc.ca NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Israeli Settlers and Settlement - Communities of Israel and Palestine ■ by Marisa Zwan When making reference to the Middle East, the topic of the Palestinian-Israeli situation inevitably comes up. Despite the numerous articles, commentaries and books on this topic, many people tend to be intimidated by the complex history and the numerous different points of views that exist. Social action can not take place without knowledge. We hope that the following information will inform our readers—both Jewish and gentile—and provide them with a platform from which they can start working for a just peace for both Palestinians and Jews in the Middle East. We caution readers that due to the complex nature of the Palestinian-Israeli situation, the following information cannot encompass all points of view, due to space limititations. However, it is our hope that future issues will include more articles on this topic, from all the different perspectives. This information first appeared in Cantilevers: Building Bridges For Peace, Winter 1999-2000 Volume 7. A brief history of Israeli Settlement 1948: State of Israel declares independence on basis of UN plan for the partition of Palestine; subsequent to ensuing 1948 War, Israel's territory is significantly larger than originally intended or expected by any of the parties 1967: Israel occupies West Bank and Gaza Strip following 1967 War; establishes control over 650,000 Palestinians of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and 356,000 from the Gaza Strip; Golan Heights and Sinai Peninsula are placed under Israeli military administration; active military and civilian settlement process begins in occupied territories. 24 June 1967: United Kibbutz Council decides that Kibbutz members should establish settlement in the occupied areas. 1968: Greater Israel Movement delegation re-establishes a Jewish settlement near the old city of Hebron. November 1969: UN Security Council Resolution 242 calling for Israel's withdrawal from (the) territories occupied in the recent conflict; emphasizing the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war; recognising the right of all states in the region to live in peace and security within secure and recognised boundaries. 1973: Subsequent to the 1973 War, UN Security Council Resolution 338 calling on all parties to implement Security Council Resolution 242. 1975-91: Wars in Lebanon lead to Israel's occupation and creation of a "security zone" in Southern Lebanon (1985) with proxy South Lebanese Army (SLA). November 1977: Israel signs Camp David Accords with Egypt, implementing the principle of Land-for-Peace. 1979-82: Israel withdraws forces from Sinai, Egypt and dismantles its infrastructure. 1993: Israel and Palestinians sign Oslo Accord (1), a 5-year plan designed to enable Palestinians in regions of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to become gradually self-governing. 28 September 1995: Israel and Palestinian Authority sign Oslo (11) Accord; West Bank divided into Zones A, B and C with Israel and the PA sharing relative jurisdiction over administrative and security matters related to each zone. Israel to retain control of roads leading to settlements which are not to be dismantled. January 1997: Hebron Accord signed, calling for withdrawal of Israeli troops from Hebron. October 1997: Israel maintains 30,000 troops in Lebanon. October 1998: Wye River Memorandum signed by Israel and PA reiterating principle of Land-for-Peace. December 1998: Israeli Cabinet goes ahead with plans to expand settlement activity despite international criticism. May 1999: Party of Ehud Barak, One Israel, emerges victorious from national elections; maintains public policy stance that "no new communities will be built and no existing communities will be detrimentally affected". 4 September 1999: Sharm al-Sheikh Memorandum reaffirms Israel's commitment to reduce West Bank areas under exclusive Israeli control; since Oslo 1, construction of Israeli settlements, housing and infrastructure has accelerated. 10 September 1999: Israel transfers 7% of the West Bank to Palestinian civil control (Area B). 18 October 1999: Yesha Council of Judea, Samaria and Gaza dismantle first outpost slated for evacuation in their agreement with the government of Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Hill 827 (Shvut Rachel 7). December 1999: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak calls for a moratorium on, though not a complete halt to, the building of settlements, reflecting the continued ambiguity around Israel's policy towards settlements and settlers in the Occupied Territories; Israel and Syria enter into discussions around Land-for-Peace on the question of the Golan Heights where Israeli settlers publicly demonstrate their opposition to the moratorium. Marisa Zwan is a student of political science and philosophy at Concordia University in Montreal. by Marisa Zwan with the assistance of Janis Abbott Demographics of the State of Israel • Total population: 6,037,700 (1998 provisional) • Population of Palestinians (Arabs) in Israel in 1995: 810,_000 • Population of Palestinians (Arabs) in Israel in 1996: 1,123,083 Jewish Population of Israel • Total: 82% of population • Israel-born (Sabra): 50% • Europe/Americas/Oceania: 20% • Africa: 7% • Asia: 5% • Percentage growth of Jewish population in Israel since 1949: 364% Immigrants to Israel by Continent 1948-1996 • Europe: 58% • Africa: 18% • Asia: 15% • America and Oceania: 8% • Unknown: 1% Aliyah (immigration, ascent) to Israel • Law of Return: must have at least one Jewish grandparent to receive Israeli citizenship • First Aliyah 1881-1904: 25,000-40,000 Pioneers from Russia, Romania and Yemen began settling land • Second Aliyah 1904-1914: 40,000 Russian, labour and social Zionists disillusioned by wave of pogroms that followed 1905 Revolution; at outbreak of WWI, approximately 85,000 Jews in Palestine • Third Aliyah 1919-1923: 35,000 young immigrants arrive, mainly from Russia, Poland and Romania; 85% arrived from Russia and Poland; about 15% from Turkey, Yemen, Iraq and other European states • Fourth Aliyah 1924-1932: 88,450 mainly middle-class immigrants from Poland in wake of economic measures dopted by government against Jewish middle- class; 9000 Sephardi and 'Oriental' [see editors' note] Jews from Turkey, Bulgaria and Yemen. 55,000 Jews in Israel by 1926, mostly from Poland; 155,000 Jews in Israel by 1928 • Fifth Aliyah 1933-1939: 215,222 from Central Europe in wake of persecution by anti-Semitic German and nazi authorities (44,420) and Poland (over 90,000); 15,000 Sephardi and 'Oriental' [see editors' note] Jews, Yemen (7000), Turkey and Bulgaria • 1945: almost 30,000 Jews emigrate from Yemen • 1948: proclamation of the State of Israel led to mass emigration of Jews from Islamic countries in the Near and Middle East, including Yemen, North Africa and India • 1962: mass immigration of Jews from Algeria Since War of 1967 • 1967-1975: 100,000 Jews migrate from Soviet Union • 1977: 17,000 Jews from Soviet Union • 1978: 29,000 Jews from Soviet Union • 1989: 194,700 Jews from Soviet Union • 1984-1985: 15,000 Ethiopian Jews air lifted to Israel, as "Operation Moses" • May 25, 1991: 14,000 Ethiopian Jews airlifted to Israel over 36 hours, as "Operation Solomon" • 1990-1992: approximately 400,000 people (20,000/month) emigrate to Israel from former Soviet Union • 1989-1999: more than 700,000 Jews emigrate to Israel from former Soviet Union Non-Jewish Population of Israel • Total: 18% of population, mostly Arab • Total Muslim population: 14.2% (1995) • Total Christian population: 2.85% (1995) • Total Druze population: 1.7% (1995) • Total Bedouin population: 1.46% • Percentage of population of Palestine comprised of Muslim and Christian Arabs in 1918: 90% • Percentage growth of Muslim population since 1949: 678% • Percentage growth of Christian population since 1949: 271% Palestinian Population Distribution • Palestinians living within designated zones: 3.6 million (46%) • Palestinians living in the West Bank: 1,873,476 • Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip: 1,022,207 Palestinian Refugees-Where Are They? Country 1948 1996 1998 Jordan (East Bank) 70,000 1,389,603 1,741,796 Lebanon 100,000 356,258 408,008 Syria 75,000 352,136 370,035 West Bank 280,000 538,391 652,885 Gaza Strip 200,000 731,942 766,124 Total 725,000 3,368,330 3,573,382 Palestinian Ethnic and Religious Composition • Percentage of Palestinians who are Muslim: 97% • Percentage of Palestinians who are Muslim, in the West Bank: 75% • Percentage of Palestinians who are Muslim, in the Gaza Strip: 98.7% • Percentage of Palestinians who are Christian: 3% • Percentage of Palestinians who are Christian and other religions, in the West Bank: 25% • Percentage of Palestinians who are Christian and other religions, in the Gaza Strip: 1.3%. [Editors' Note: The term 'Oriental' is officially used by the Israelii government for stastical purposes, when referring to Mizrahi Jews. Mizrahi Jews trace their origns to African and Arab roots. Israel's usage of the term Oriental is a clear illustratin of the racist manner in which the state views the Mizrahim.] Marisa Zwan is a student of political science and philosophy at Concordia University in Montreal. NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 KINESIS Feature Mixed-heritage musings: Seeds of doubt: constructing a Sephardi identity by Sandra Haar This excerpt first appeared as a larger piece in Bridges: A Journal for Jewish Feminists and Our Friends, Vol. 6, #2, Summer 1996. It was subsequently published in Canadian Woman Studies/les cahiers de la femme, Vol. 16, #4, Fall 1996. It otherwise remains unedited as per the author's request. Perhaps, it should be enough to say that i am Jewish. On the thin surface layer of reality, my mother would have insisted so. But even as a girl I could make sense of the other truths, that the surface reality hid and protected. This is my dilemma. One part of my Jewish identity is seen to be definitive of "Jewishness," the other is ignored or derided. The stories I am about to tell are my attempt to reassert my Sephardic identity, to trace its history, to insist on the place of that history in and among other histories and realities. My mother Yvonne and her cousin Helene came to Canada in 1956 on student visas. Yvonne was 21 years old. The same year, in Egypt, 10,000 Jews were stripped of their citizenship and expelled. Some Jews were killed or imprisoned. Two years later, my mother's family was expelled. They were dispossessed, given 72 hours to carry their belongings out of Egypt. Valuables were confiscated at the border, so members of my mother's family paid other (non-Jewish) Egyptians to carry these items - necklaces, jewels - out for them. They arranged to meet outside in Italy, France, and Switzerland. In certain instances they never saw these carriers again. It was a risk. From 1948 to 1967, the year of my birth, the Egyptian government carried out a systematic program to eliminate Jews from the state. First the Jews were thrown out of government jobs and positions, then children were not permitted to attend state schools. Professionals lost their licenses to practice, then Jews could not own the principal share in any company. Activists and community leaders were imprisoned, without trials, on the accusation that they were Zionists. The Egyptian government commenced a program of the "Arabization" of Egypt, expelling residents without Egyptian citizenship, for the most part, Armenians and Greeks. Before 1958, my mother was an Egyptian citizen, as was her mother and her mother before that. But Jews were not part of the new program, not Arabs. The Jewish community of Alexandria, in which my mother was born and grew up, was an elite community. Her world of private schools, beaches, and parties, was demarcated, always with the awareness that it could be encroached upon by the others; the general population of the city and its streets—poor, "dirty," Arabs. The history of the elite in Egypt follows from the history of colonization. As the French colonized North Africa during the 19th century, there emerged a class of citizens who began to speak French and who acted as an intermediary class between the Arabs and the French. My mother's family were merchants in the cotton trade between southern Egypt and the fabric industry of France. They dressed, spoke and behaved as the French did. As in other colonized countries, there was a correlation between class, education, skin colour, and language. Yet the older traditions would sometimes resurface: my mother points out in a family photograph from the 1950s, a man who is still wearing a tarboush, in the Arab custom. For the Jews of North Africa, of the Islamic lands, entrance into the colonial structure provided liberation from the anti- semitic laws and customs and an avenue to European modernity. These laws and customs included mandatory dress or markers on clothing, public humiliations, and differential civil rights that varied in time and from place to place. Following the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, the Jews of Islamic countries, like those of Christian nations, would be automatically linked (in the minds of nationalists) in allegiance to the Zionist nation. Cultural intermingling existed concurrently with prohibitions, special laws and taxes, and codes of dress that paralleled the situation for Jews in the Christian countries of Europe. In recent centuries, the situation worsened. During one of the wars between Israel and the Arab countries (it must have been 1967), my father Isaac was working as a general contractor in Hull. A co-worker who knew Isaac's wife was Egyptian asked if there was conflict between him and his wife. I can see again my father's frustration as he tells the story, why this man couldn't understand that his wife is Jewish and so is he, and therefore, for him, there was no issue whatsoever. He was infuriated at his co-worker's inability to comprehend, even to ask such a question. My father and mother were married in Montreal in 1964. In arranging the documents for the marriage, the rabbi accepted my father's Jewishness without question, but had serious concerns about my mother's identity. This was an Ashkenazic rabbi in an Ashkenazic synagogue. Montreal's Sephardic community was, at this point, still very small. And, my mother did not have a Hebrew name. What allayed the suspicion of the rabbi was Yvonne's recitation of her parents' names: Esther and Alfred Isaac. The wedding could proceed. I am reminded of an Ashkenazi friend whose community would have used the term "mixed marriage" to describe this. Within Israel, ethnic groups are designated by the state as "European" and "Oriental" (which is sometimes replaced by "African" and "Asian"), placing the groups in political relation to one another. Within the Middle East, to do this is also to draw upon the power relations that are the legacy of colonialism. Ashkenazi Jews have become "the Europeans;" Sephardic, "the Orientals." So, the divisions of Europe, Asia and Africa have been reproduced within the Jewish state, as within the Jewish world of the diaspora. In a Jewish context, my mother becomes the Arab to the Europeanness of the Ashkenazi. However, among Sephardim there is another division: one of class, education, language and skin colour. My mother's family would not exist in the same conceptual "place" with most Sephardim in Israel. The difficult position I am placed in with respect to Middle East politics, as a Jew with roots in that region causes me apprehension about discussion of Arab/Jewish politics. In these cases, "both" Arab and Jew is a contradiction and as such indicates a difference from the "Arab" position (which assumes that you are not also a Jew). I am told, reminded, over and over: regardless of how similar a Jewish culture is to its surrounding culture, regardless of the level of participation, or how long the co- existence, that we are from there, but not of there. Sephardic Jews are those Jews that trace their origins to Spain before 1492. This is a standard definition. Following the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, some migrated northward into Holland and later England, while the majority settled in the lands of the Mediterranean. Middle Eastern and North African Jews, generally, have been described as "Sephardic." The origins of Sephardim begin at the point of exile from the Iberian Peninsula, which had been reconquered by Christian forces. Thus began another diaspora within the overall Jewish diaspora (70A.D., from Judea/Palestine). Moving out from that singular point of exile, that event of expulsion, when along with 3 million Moors, 300,000 Jews - those who had not converted to Christianity (whether in name or in practice) - took their belongings (what had not already been plundered), and left, by order of Queen Isabella. Also moving out from that historical and geographic point, are Jewish communities scattered throughout the Christian and Islamic world, consisting as well of Jews already living in these regions. Leading up to this point, these Jews were existing in a society that was culturally and politically dominated by the Moors of Africa and the Islamic religion, and marked by the co-existence of Christians, Muslims and Jews. For the majority of Jews resettling after the Expulsion, this African/Arab/Islamic context remained consistent. In tracing the lines of influence, I am led not only to an examination of Arab/ Jewish relationships, but to an awareness of the complexities of theArab/African relationship and where "Jewish" fits into that. As difficult as it is to bring together the strands of "Arab" and "Jewish," the African influence has been even more effectively denied and removed from consideration in popular and academic discourse. I am trying, here, to recover some fragments. The Expulsion was part of an overall attempt on the part of powerful forces in Christian Europe to remove all traces of African, Islamic and Jewish influence from society. And while African scholarship would have inestimable importance in the European "Renaissance," its antecedents were denied. TheArab, Jewish, African influence on Southern Europe became despised and submerged - whether this influence was evident culturally or physically. The Arab and African influence emerged through our bodies, though not in uniform ways. However, the specificities of our bodies were eclipsed by the stereotype of the Jewish body. In Europe, Ashkenazim were/are thought to be identifiable by the (Arab and African) signifiers of the "frizzy (Jewish) hair" and the "hooked (Jewish) nose," among other traits. In pseudoscientific circles Ashkenazim were stigmatized, thus, as "carriers" of African blood, and as "impure." Many fictions are created by what we look like, through family and through race. In Mein Kampfi Hitler was very clear: the Jews are responsible for bringing Africans into the Rhineland. He didn't mean it literally; it was an issue of race, of blood. Still, stories are told to emphasize certain "bloodlines," and others are moved to different locations. see SEPHARDI next page NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Feature artwork by Sima Elizabeth Shefrin from SEPHARDI previous page I didn't grow up with "Sephardic" as a primary self-identity: I had no hesitation identifying as Ashkenazic; the culture, history and philosophy were mine. This has as much to do with the dominance of Ashkenazim as the Jews (in NorthAmerica) as with the particulars of my family history and dynamics within it. Add to that the virtual absence of Sephardic cultural and political reference points available to me. Also, within popular stereotype, I "look" Jewish, that is to say Ashkenazic. Because I am not seen as "Sephardic" in Jewish circles, unless I verbalize that identity, I could ignore that fact in a way that if, say, my skin was a darker colour or I looked more like my mother, I could do less easily. I know which of my features are from which "side," but no one outside my family knows that. When I'm asked, "Where are you from?" I want to answer, "How far back do you want to go? Egypt, Poland, Turkey, Austria, Italy, Spain... and beyond that?" The "origins" of a diasporic, migratory people necessitates the long answer. Few stay around to listen. In and of ourselves, Jews are a mixed people. As often as not, Jews deny this, and cling to our apocryphal unity, even though it should be clear that though we might have started in the same place, we've adapted, assimilated and ac- culturated. As a collectivity and as individuals we embody layers upon layers of "mixing." I grew up hearing cries of bastal and santa maria\ (and the half-whisper la polizial) from my mother. I revelled in the power of these secret words that formed part of a repressed history, existing below the surface of the everyday. The Spanish words transformed into Judeo-Spanish, Ladino, and carried across southern Europe, across history, as we went into Turkey. I remember her baking a meatloaf with a cooked egg in the middle of it, and wanting not the ends, but the middle with its concentric circles of yellow, white and brown, a polpetone, that was, like her surname, Cori, evidence of the Italian history. Layered onto that is the French, the most recent and therefore dominant addition. Being mixed, that is, from two people having separate, specific identities, offers a unique perspective. "Ashkenazi" will never be synonymous with "Jewish" for me because I've always had another perspective. It's a perspective that permeates my understanding of what comprises "Jewish": I'm always aware of the often partial, inaccurate use of "Jewish" to refer to Ashkenazim only. Being "mixed" has also prevented me from rushing wholeheartedly, nostalgically into "my past history." Any attempts are cautiously tempered with the knowledge that it is a partial history. It is at these moments of caution, suspicion, and doubt, as well as insight and perspective that I feel "both"—Sephardi and Ashkenazi—and not (as is more often the case) one or the other. Like others, I seek to transform this tattered fringe of the Jewish community that I hang onto into a place of strength, connecting errant threads from other places, cultures and traditions as well—those of mine and those of others. I would like to thank Brenda Cossman, David Findlay, Ellen Flanders, Sarah Jacobus, Martha Judge, Shoshana Simons for comments and criticism during the various stages of writing this essay. Sandra Haar is a visual artist and writer. She was the project initiator and co-editor of Fireweed's special issue on Jewish women (1992), the first collection of Jewish feminist writing in Canada. Her essay "Within and without: anti-Semitism in the anti-racist context," written with Susan Nosov, appeared in Canadian Women Studies, Spring 1994. She is currently working on a series of collage/ papercut/photo works exploring Jewish identity through popular culture and language. Sandra is a worker/owner at Come As You Are palace The finest foods direct from nature = amore FRESH, FROZEN NUTRITION FOR CATS & DOGS Locally made Natural Treats and SO MUCH MORE Mary Brookes, PROPRIETOR 1280 Commercial Drive 255-1211 NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Feature Flavours and fragrances of the diaspora: More memories of Cochin Jewtown by Ruby Daniel This piece originally appeared in Bridges: A Journal for Jewish feminists and our friends, Vol. 7, #1. Thinking of Cochin [South India], where I lived so long ago, the Jewish section had a unique atmosphere which I can't forget, with its own sights and sounds and smells. There the Jews lived for more than 400 years and there is nothing that has not happened there, except murder. So I think that I should put down more of my feelings about the atmosphere of that town where I and my ancestors were born and bred (like all the Jews there) up until recently when there are no Jews at all. In fact it is not an entire town, only a street, but we called it Jew Town. In that small town there were three synagogues and three Jewish communities. There was no need for the Jews to go out far away from Jew Town as we had everything we needed. Near the northern end of the street were the little shops where we bought all the necessary things for cooking. These shops mostly belonged to Hindus who lived a few kilometres to the west. There was a clothes shop, a toddy shop, an opium shop and a charaya shop where they sold a drink made from the bark of a palm tree. This drink was like arrack, and they sold it retail by the ounce. In this area there was also a betel shop, and a barber shop where the men went to shave their heads and beards. Women had no use for barbers as they always grew their hair, the longer the better. The shopping area ended where there was a lane going towards the west and the new Jewish cemetery. A few yards further south was another road connecting the town to the main road in the west, and at the end of the connecting road is the old Jewish cemetery. Even after death we didn't have to leave the place. Apart from the people who lived there, there were also ghosts and mischievous spirits called Kapiris, which I have written about in my book, but I did not hear about any devils. Maybe they could not enter the Town as it was protected by the two synagogues at both ends of the street. In Jew Town, the first person who got up in the morning would open the door wide before she started her morning chores. In case the door of one house was not opened, the neighbours started worrying. "Why did they not open the door yet?" If any woman went on the road, people would ask her "Where are you going?" If they saw she was going to the hospital, "Oh! Who is ill? What has happened?" Then the elderly women would go visiting to see if they could help. For any celebration, like brit mila or a wedding or bar mitzvah, everyone in the community went to help decorate the house, making the manarah (canopy) bed specially for the wedding couple. Women did the cooking with the help of a few cooks, if they could afford to hire them. On Friday the cooking was done for the hathan shabbat celebration after the wedding. Usually the women made kubha (dumplings) for the Sabbath afternoon meal, preparing them on Thursday to be ready for cooking the next day It was a hard job to make such a lot for the whole community. Sometimes the marriage party could not afford to celebrate on the Sabbath, but the community did not let them down. Every family brought the food they made in their houses to the bride's house, bought a few bottles of arrack, and sat singing and enjoying the whole day, to make the bride and groom happy. They didn't want to discriminate between rich and poor people at that time. It was a time when we did not have electricity and no oven to keep the food warm for shabbat. One or two rich families had a big oven built, as big as a room, where they kept burning coconut shells on the side and closed the small doors. On Friday evenings most of the Jews would bring their food, either hammin or rice in a pot, and keep it in one of those ovens. The door was opened only on the next day at lunch time. Then you would see all the people fetching the food and bringing it back to the house as if in a procession. The houses on both sides of the street faced the road and there was a carved stone lamp next to the door of every house. Each Friday evening we would put oil into this stone lamp and light a wick, before the shabbat lamp was lighted inside. Walking on the street you saw the lights on both sides, all the length of the road. Then you would see all the men going to the synagogue with the young children in their festive dress. At this time the women in the houses would light the seven glass oil lamps which hung from the ceiling, and say the blessings. The stone lamps were lit not only on shabbat but also on the eve of all the feasts, and when someone had a birthday in the house. Next morning on the Sabbath day or festival day, the women also went to Syna gogue. The Jewish girls had to have a piece of garland made of sweet-smelling jasmine flowers to put on their hair. Most of them had long hair and they made it into a bun at the back of their head and put the jasmine garland around it when they went to Synagogue. After the minha prayer on the afternoon of Simhat Torah, the women dressed up in gold embroidered dresses to go from the Paradesi synagogue to the Kadavumbagam in the south. Those women from Kadavumbagam went through the streets all the way to the Paradesi synagogue in the north. It was beautiful to watch the people coming back from the synagogue all together. From every house we heard the Sabbath or festival songs, in the night and in the day. In the evening at the end of shabbat the light had to be brought back from the synagogue. Adults or children would bring lighted candles from the synagogue after the evening prayers were over, to light the lamps in each house. If there was a marriage that week, the bridegroom was brought home through the street with a small band playing, and everyone in the Town ran to see it. During the festival season you could hear all up and down the street the crowing of cocks and clucking of ducks. The Jews used to buy chicken and ducks early and keep them in the back yards of their houses and feed them with oil cake bran see COCHIN next page KURUKKUN (a short chorus) Obstinacy and quarrels are found throughout the street. The northern street has got more obstinacy, But the southern street has got more strength. The northern street has got the smell of flowers. And their whole body fragrant with sandalwood paste, The Jews go out. The Maharajah makes a royal appearance To see how beautifully the Jews are dressed. Of all the nations, the Jews are in front. No others are ornamenting and adorning themselves like the Jews. Singing loudly and dancing, they are going through the street. With dignity they go to the synagogue, Joining their hearts together, ten people together. Together they bow down and worship God. This piece was originally published in Bridges, Vol. 7, # 1. NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Feature Tracing our ancestors' paths: Embracing patrilineal roots artwork by Sima Elizabeth Shefrin by Mirah Kirshner Text from above photo: What right have I to feel this pain You tell me is not mine? Yet these Jews are people Blood of my blood, Dear to my heart, Grappling with the same fears. For me the Law is one of No Return I do not deny my mother's gentile line But Jewish is my world by birth, Not a state I have to earn. What haven mine if they should come again? I will not let you keep me from my home. The room was thick with damp and chill. Candles flickered softly, dripping wax on the stackable tables scattered around the back of the synagogue. A friend had seen a listing for "An Evening of Jewish Sto- rytelling," and casually mentioned it to me. It had sounded like a great way to spend a Sunday night, though now, facing a circle |g of strangers, I wondered j« what I could have possibly ■£ been thinking. -§ All I really knew about a Judaism were the thrice a a year holiday events spent •<~ with my father's family. My ^ great uncle would sit at the ST1 head of an extended table, 1j reciting prayers almost un- 8 der his breath, while my ■2 relatives shouted to each "ft. other over the clutter of forks and food. I watched the rituals like a tourist as foreign words explained histories that I thought were not mine. I spent the Sunday mornings of my childhood colouring drawings of Jesus and hearing stories from the New Testament. My brother, sister and I were packed off to church with my mother each week, while my father stayed home. I often inquired why my father didn't have to come."Because he's Jewish," my mother would always reply. It was through the weekly routine of running to the car, gobbling cooled peanut buttered toast, after the frenzy of finding my misplaced Sunday School notebooks, while my father calmly pitter-patted inside the house, that I came to the conclusion that I was not Jewish. As I grew into adulthood, I became aware of an immediate kinship emanating from certain strangers or casual acquaintances who were Jewish. Strangers saw in me something I wasn't certain of myself, yet I began to embrace it. Words dropped from my lips that surprised me as I too began calling myself Jewish. There was also a declaration by an Israeli Rabbi that Judaism can only be passedon matrilinealy; Judaism traced from father to child is invalid, meaningless, absurd. Truthfully, I knew very little about the religion and made no effort to learn more. When I was about ten, my mother had decided she could not live as both a good Catholic and a good feminist and thereby marked the end of my Sunday obligation. I had marked myself as 'areligious', not officially a part of any institutional clique. And being deeply skeptical of organized religion, how could I even think of calling myself Jewish? As the first few tales unravelled, I drifted in and out of listening. "And you know of course that Jews couldn't travel freely through Russia in those days," I heard a storyteller say and sat in rapt attention. Earlier that week, in the back of an overstuffed closet, I had stumbled across an old elementary school project about my Zada's journey from Russia to Canada. I had written that he had decided to emigrate because of "problems in his homeland". "What kind of problems are you referring to? It would be interesting to expand on this," my teacher had commented in a surge of red ink. At the time I hadn't known what problems I meant, listening to stories over a decade and a half later, some of the possibilities became clearer. That night burst with revelations, not just because part of my lineage shifted into slightly sharper focus, but because, unexpectedly, I too was present in the different talks of the evening. I was searching for a permanent place to root and had thought comfort would only come with the finding of that definitive place. I realize now that the searching itself ties me to my ancestors, my history. It defines me. And that evening, as the cool autumn gusts blew through the sukkah house, and onto my skin, I felt grateful. Mirah Kirshner is a Toronto-based writer. from COCHIN previous page and leftover rice, so the meat would get a good taste for the holiday. A couple of weeks before Pesach and Rosh Hashanah, people started painting their houses. Some people painted once a year only, before Pesach, and during that season the whole Town smelt of paint. Just after Yom Kippur the whole Town smelt of fresh coconut leaves, which were brought by one or two richer families and distributed to the people of the whole Town to make their Succoh festival. The natives of Cochin knew what the Jews needed for each festival. They would bringpomela fruits andethrogs with a stem, and a few leaves to hang in the succoth, and of course chicken and ducks. They called out their wares: "Pomelas to sell! Ethrog to sell!" all along the street, and for all these, the Jews paid a bit of a high price. On the eve of Shemini Atzeret there was a man who brought jasmine flowers in chains, and a yellow flower beautiful in color and smell called chambagam (which I have seen nowhere else). Even the non-Jews who passed through Jew Town enjoyed our celebrations. After most of the Jews left Cochin, someone wrote in a local newspaper how he missed the songs he used to hear when passing the Jewish street on our Sabbaths and festivals. One day a few years ago my sister and I suddenly remembered a Malayalam song which we used to sing when we were young, joking about the rivalry between the different Jewish communities and also praising their beauty as they walked through the street. This is a song which women sang at parties during the eight nights of Hannukah, when we would dance in a circle and clap our hands. Ruby Daniel was born in 1912 in the Jewish community of Cochin, South India, and made aliyah to Israel in 1951. She wrote her memoir Ruby of Cochin: An Indian Jewish Woman Remembers in collaboration with anthropologist Barbara C. Johnson. NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Feature A Mizrahi perspective on the Middle East: There's a piece missing in this peace by Loolwa Khazoom We have been forced into binarisms. Either we are progressive/pro-Arab/pro-Palestinian and thus in favour of giving up the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights; or we are racist/anti-Arab/ anti-Palestinian and in favour of keeping all or part of this land. In all the analyses I have heard, from the so-called Left and Right, hawks and doves, there is a poignant lack of awareness of Mizrahi reality. As if the only refugees have been Arab. As if the only Jews have been European. As if "Jewish" and "Middle Eastern" identities are diametrically opposed. Ironically enough, although not surprisingly, I have found Arab analyses of the situation to be as Euro-centric as the Jewish and general world community's analyses. I say we put all the cards on the table. Let's talk about all theArab-Jewish/Arab- Israeli points of connection and oppression and only then begin to think of how to solve the problems in the Middle East. Without looking at the full picture, we cannot have integrity when addressing Arab-Israel relations. I also find that racist and anti-Jewish assumptions and attitudes are woven into the lens through which we look at the issues in this region. Germany has been held accountable for the Holocaust. It has made compensation payments to the families of Holocaust victims and to Israel. On a daily basis in the Jewish world, we are reminded of the Holocaust. On the other hand, how many people know of the daily terror Jews faced in Iraq or Syria? How many people know that Egypt and Morocco invited nazis to exterminate their Jewish citizens? How many people know that 1,000,000 Jewish refugees and their children from Arab countries now make up the majority of the entire Israeli population? Mizrahi mistrust of Arab states has not been understood with compassion, the way that Ashkenazi discomfort with Germany has been. Along those lines, our hesitancy to give up Israeli land has not been explored and taken seriously. On the contrary, our political stand on Israel has been contextualized in a racist and patronizing light. Mizrahim, we have been told, are hawks because they are too primitive to understand the Western values of diplomacy, democracy, and peace. Anyone in the Middle East peace movement would find it absurd to discuss ^"~ '""" " "*•<*-«,;'.,. y Jilt: ' Wm iIilT y% *$■■ Mm mmim —. s 1 G-&\ QUf art and photo i Arab-Israel relations without inviting Palestinians to the table. Yet Mizrahim have consistently been absent from such discussions. We have been unfailingly silenced by the so-called "peace-makers", when trying to talk about the oppression our families faced at the hands of Arab governments. This silencing is rooted in a complex mixture of racism and Jew-hatred. Arab governments and international Arab community leaders have publicly spoken of Jews as if all Jews are European; they have spoken about Israel as if it were a European state colonizing "third-world people". The majority of Israel's population is Mizrahi, indigenous to the region. More specifically, they are refugees or children of refugees from countries currently under Arab control. They were forced to flee their homes of 3,000 years when Arab states either issued expulsion orders or otherwise forced them to leave, through intolerable conditions of oppression. Arab dismissal of the Mizrahi experience stems from anti-Jewish sentiment that existed far before the creation of the State of Israel. If hostility towards Israel was based purely on the injustices that the state inflicted on Arabs, Arab leaders could speak about those injustices without needing to dismiss the Mizrahi reality. The two could exist side by side. Ironically, the State of Israel and the international Jewish community have helped foster misperceptions, as they too have presented all Jews as being white Europeans. I find Arab dismissal of Mizrahi reality stemming from anti-Jewish sentiment, whereas I find Ashkenazi dismissal of Mizrahi reality stemming from racist sentiment. Anti-Semitism is a term that specifically describes the anti-Jewish experience facing Ashkenazim. Persecution of German, Polish, and Russian Jews was based on the premise that these individuals were not real Europeans; they were Semites— people of the Middle East and North Africa. And because of European racism, people of this region were seen as undesirable foreigners. For centuries, Ashkenazim faced hostility, discrimination, and even death, which were attributed to the Middle Eastern and North African roots of the Jewish people. For the sake of survival or status, depending on the time period, Ashkenazim therefore tried to assimilate into Christian Europe, by appearing as un-Semitic as possible. As such, a cultural legacy was developed and passed on, where Ashkenazim shunned the Middle Eastern and North African roots of their heritage, in favour of a European identity. Despite the fact that Jews lived in the Middle East for 3,000 years as opposed to the 700 years or so that see MIZRAHI next page NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Feature from MIZRAHI previous page Ashkenazim lived in Europe, Ashkenazim completely dissociated from a Middle Eastern and North African identity. And so we have a crisis in Jewish identity, where anti-Semitism is itself a form of racism, and where Ashkenazi detachment from the Middle Eastern and North African roots of Judaism is simultaneously a form of self-hatred and self-preservation. For this reason, I understand how Ashkenazi community leaders can simultaneously embrace Arab causes and run in the other direction from Mizrahi ones. Arab causes seem external, about someone else. Mizrahi causes, on the other hand, challenge the very foundations of Jewish identity and thus threaten to crumble 700+ years worth of hard labour that Ashkenazim have put into their being viewed as true Europeans. Of course, this behaviour describes Ashkenazim who consciously ignore or resist the Mizrahi reality. There are Ashkenazim who embrace theArab cause but not the Mizrahi one simply out of ignorance. Because Arab and Jewish communities have portrayed Jews as white Europeans, many Ashkenazim have analyzed the situation through this lens; they have honourably gone beyond their own interests to fight what seems to be a racist case of white Europeans colonizing and oppressing "third world people". There are also Ashkenazim who are hostile both to Mizrahi and Arab causes. I feel this attitude comes from general racism towards non-Europeans. Ironically enough, with the establishment of the State of Israel, Ashkenazim for the first time could present themselves as true Europeans and be the ones in power over the non- Europeans - whether Mizrahi, Arab, or most recently, Ethiopian. Modern European Zionism after all, is based on enabling Jews to finally throw off their Semitic stigma— their Indigenous identity—so as to be considered equals among the European nations. What about non-Jewish/non-Arab individuals? I feel that anyone who is pro- Arab out of the positive spirit of defending justice must embrace the Mizrahi reality as well. The two are not in competition, after all; in fact, there are a number of places where they overlap. Right now, I find there is no room for Mizrahim to voice our mistrust of Arab states or communities, as our mistrust is viewed as being racist. Such a response eradicates the Mizrahi experience of being the oppressed group in Arab countries. It clumps Mizrahim together with Ashkenazim and once again portrays all Jews as being European oppressors. Throughout theArab world, since the advent of Islam, Jews were treated as dhimmis—legally second-class, inferior people. Even in the mildest forms of discrimination, Jews were treated as subordinate and expendable and had to go through many obstacles to achieve basic economic survival. The yellow badge—i.e., the yel- I find Arab dismissal of Mizrahi reality stemming from anti-Jewish sentiment, whereas I find Ashkenazi dismissal of Mizrahi reality stemming from racist sentiment. low Star of David, a symbol associated exclusively with nazi Germany—actually originated in the Middle East, where it was used to identify and single out Jews for a variety of discriminatory treatments. Throughout the Arab world, governments did not grant Jews equal protection under the law. In countries such as Iraq and Syria, for example, government officials randomly banged on doors of Jewish homes, after which nobody ever saw the families again. Gruesome torture of Jews was also common in such countries, after which the victims were either murdered, permanently disabled or disfigured. Jew ish children going to school frequently disappeared without even making it to the ransom stage. Because of the silencing of Mizrahi Jews, the world has not been exposed to the personal stories of people who suffered through the discrimination and terror that I have described. I was not of the generation that grew up in and was forced to flee from Iraq, but I have been impacted directly by the many consequences of fear and the destruction that the Jewish community faced there. Growing up, my sister and I were forbidden from making any sudden banging noise. Whenever we forgot, my father was thrown into a fit of panic and terror, having a visceral reaction that an Arab official was at the door to come to do God-knows-what to the family. My father also slept with his shoes near his bed, unable to get over the sense of needing to run from an Arab mob at any time. I learned fear of walking past an uncovered window at night; my father passed it on from his childhood, when it was apparently unsafe for a Jew to be exposed in such a way. A number of people around me - family, community members and friends' parents - have been completely unable to discuss details of life and loss in their home countries throughout the Arab world. The pained silence itself has told me a story and given me a sense of the harsh impact of what happened to the Mizrahi community. The majority of Mizrahim in Israel seem to be conservative about giving up Israeli land. I happen to feel the same, for reasons I have discussed so far. Not all Mizrahim share the same feelings or current political stand. We are not a monolithic community. Regardless of our history or politics, the diversity and uniqueness of our voices needs to be heard in the Middle East peace movement and in the Arab-Israeli peace talks. The world needs to finally recognize us and take what we have to say seriously. Loolwa Khazoom has had her work published in various periodicals and anthologies. She is the the editor of Behind the Veil of Silence: Middle Eastern and North African Jewish Women Speak Out. She is also an accomplished musician and is recording an orginal CD with her band, Girl Monster. GLOSSARY Challah - braided bread, traditionally egg bread Gentile- non Jewish people Good Yontiff - wishing one well at a time of religious celebration Gemora - text containing rabbi's explanations of religious writings Hag Sameach - happy holidays Hannukah (Channukah) - eight day festival of lights, a new candle is lit on the menorah each day Knishes - a Jewish food that is wrapped in pastry L'Chayim - to life, cheers! Maariv prayer - evening prayer said everyday Megillah - the Scroll of Esther read on Purim Mezzuza - a 'charm' placed on door frames to indicate a Jewish home and to bless it. Some Jews will kiss the mezzuza before entering a room. Minha prayer - afternoon prayer said everyday Mizrahi Jews - Jews that are indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa. They literally never left the region, from the days of Abraham and Sarah (4,000 years ago) to the modern day. Pesach, (Passover) - remembering the Jew's exodus from Egypt and is also a spring festival for Jews to celebrate the seeding of a new harvest. This year the first Seder is April 19,2000 Religious Zionism - a 3,000 year-old yearning to return to our homeland, conquered thousands of years ago by the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and finally the Romans. Rosh Hashanah (Jewish new year) - on this day people re-affirm their comittment to God - this year is 5760 Shabbat - from Friday sunset to Saturday sundown shabbat is the day of rest to symbolise God's creation of the world Shechira prayer - morning prayer said everyday Simhat Torah - last day of Succoht and is a celebration of having finished reading the five books of Moses Succoth (Sukkot) - an open roofed hut built for Succoht holiday - festival of tabernacles and the celebration of the gathering of the harvest fruit Yom Kippur - day of atonement, the holiest day of the Jewish year Zada - grandfather NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 On March 17, 2000, six women—Xatrina Crgjjs|.; Ccil Lc=. g:l-^lu Nikola jvJ^it iij; ;5 AmsJ JiiJiJ2j and LLsa VYllLvllLv—met in the offices of Kinesis to discuss what having a Jewish identity meant to them. The discussion took place over a few hours and was sustained by knishes, challah and lots of laughter. What follows is a very brief excerpt from the original discussion. AMAL: Let's start by describing our backgrounds. KATRINA: My maternal grandmother was born Jewish. I grew up with my mother talking about Judaism and telling me to learn about my heritage while warning me to not tell anybody about it. She was afraid of anti-Semitism and didn't want anybody to know that we were Jewish. On the rare occasions that I did open up and tell people at school I was ridiculed, so I got in the habit of not talking about it and not thinking about it. My grandmother was a Jewish woman. She was a big part of my life. I associated being Jewish mostly with her and not with myself. It wasn't until I was older and started looking for my identity and asking what my heritage was other than English, French Canadian and Scottish that I started looking into Judaism. My ex-partner knew a lot about Judaism and encouraged me to look into it. I started getting books out from the library. What I focused on was cookbooks. I found one with recipes and all these beautiful stories of families and their experiences. My journey led me out of Princeton. The next person I met who was a big influence on me was Carla, who was my first Jewish friend. It was really fun to just sit around being Jewish. LISA: Both my parents are Jewish. My family is from Prague, Poland, and Germany. My parents were raised in religious homes. I was in Hebrew school until my Bat Mitzvah and was brought up with the knowledge of being Jewish. In my family we don't celebrate the holidays and it seemed that the biggest connection to being Jewish for me was the holocaust. In high school, I was living in Toronto and I rejected Judaism for a while. I didn't want to be associated with J.A.P. (Jewish American Princess). I was going to school downtown and there were schools uptown which had a lot of Jews in them. The Jewish girls were stereotyped as J.A.PS which meant they were spoilt, princesses, selfish, rich. When I identified as Jewish I was compared to the J.A.P stereotype. I was going through a hard time and I really resented the word J.A.P because it deligitimised the pain I was in because princesses have perfect lives. For a long time instead of being angry at the stereotype and the anti-Semitism that created it, I was angry with the Jewish community. It took awhile for me to re-acknowledge and have pride in my Jewish heritage. CARLA: I've been Jewish since I was six months old. At that time I was converted and adopted into a Jewish family. My birth mother is Lebanese Arab. My birth father is Anglo Saxon. My parents are Ashkenazi from New York. I found out that I was half Arab around five years ago. I was always proud to be Jewish. I liked celebrating Jewish holidays; I enjoyed going to Hebrew school for a while. I've always identified as Jewish but have had some confusion because I wasn't born Jewish. I've always had the idea that I don't look Jewish or sound Jewish. I can pass for being a member of my family but I'm different. I've always felt different and that's been hard for me to understand because my parents thought being different was a bad thing. I think for a while I thought it was a bad thing to be different and I spent a lot of time trying to fit in (with my family and my peers). I've definitely gotten over that trip. NIKOLA: Before she died, my paternal grandmother went to Israel and Egypt and sent my father a dashiki. My father looks Arab so I've always felt this ambiguity about being Arab and being Jewish. I ignore Middle Eastern politics because I don't want to have to choose sides. I've been trying to come out of the closet for two or three years now. I form bonds with Jewish women. I find all these relationships to be quite sustaining. That's how I've managed to build community. I've gone to a progressive synagogue a few times. As a Black person I feel it's like being in elementary school when you're the only Black person and everyone else is white. It's hard for me to participate in a scenario like this. I . need to sit back and suss out who really is my ally. It means feeling a bit alienated until I can really be comfortable with people who are allies not just in terms of me being Jewish but with me being Black and a lesbian. I do a little two step dance sometimes because as a woman with a disability, as a Black woman and as a lesbian I can't afford to be everything all the time. It makes me feel like a walking target. TARA: My heritage is Jewish from Austria, Russia and Poland. My paternal grandfather was born in New York and my paternal grandmother was born in Toronto. My maternal grandmother was born in Poland and moved to Toronto in 1913. My mom's dad was born in Austria and immigrated toToronto in 1911. Both my parents were born in Toronto and were raised as orthodox Jews. I grew up reform. For me growing up second generation Canadian in Toronto, there was a strong message to assimilate, but at the same time to not trust anybody who was not Jewish. It was quite confusing. I always knew I •••I m •• • • « • • # C was Jewish, and I have always been proud of this but it has been both a hard and exciting process of trying to figure out what it means to be a Jew and what is important to me. My maternal grandmother's parents came from Russia and Lithuania and were orthodox Jews. She converted when she met my grandfather who was from Pakistan. He was Muslim and brown. For these reasons her family disowned her. She went to Pakistan and converted to Islam out of her own choice. Since she converted, I have always wondered, am I Jewish or not? My parents raised me as a Muslim, in Saudi Arabia. I knew I was Jewish but the emphasis was on the conversion to Islam. To reclaim my Jewish roots in that context could have met with grave consequences. I grew up internalizing a lot of anti- Semitism. I started reclaiming my heritage in university while talking to other Jewish women. I started realizing Jews weren't bad people. I got a lot of resentment from white Jews who didn't see me as Jewish. It wasn't until I heard a piece of wisdom about finding out your own identity by tracing the stories of your ancestors that I started to reclaim my Jewish roots. I'm finally coming into my power as a Jewish woman, but it's still hard to do so because I find the more I am out as a Jew, the more anti-Semitism I get from non-Jewish women of color. What are some of the ways your Jewish identity gets invalidated? I'll say, "I've made this Jewish friend, or they just found out that they were Jewish etc." My mother will reply "they're only Jewish if their mother's Jewish." But you know my birth mother isn't and I am Jewish as far as my mother's concerned. I first came out as being Jewish on my father's side and I felt I was no less Jewish. I still primarily bond that way with his family. My father can now say to me that he's Jewish. TARA: Historically, Jews have been faced with the threat of annihilation on several occasions. It is based in this threat that Jews decided that Jewish identity was to be passed down through the mother. If Jewish women were raped by non-Jewish men, then the child's Jewish identity would be assured. Today, anti-Semitism is kept alive through misinformation; this threat of annihilation does not exist. It is safe for all Jews to claim and take pride in their identity. AMAL: we need to qualify what kind of Jews we're talking about because in Western discourse the people who get heard are Ashkenazi Jews. For me it's about racism. My grandmother was disowned not just for marrying a man who was Muslim, but also because he was dark. The protectiveness that comes up around the question of who is Jewish is about Ashkenazi Jews wanting to disassociate from their original Semitic roots which trace back to North Africa and the Middle East . LISA: | remember being in Hebrew school and I never heard about Jews that were not Ashkenazim. As a kid growing up I didn't question it because it was all I knew. When I first went to a gay bar I gaped at people's faces; the same happened when I first went to a synagogue. I had a stereotypical image of Jews and I'm constantly having to stretch that. Part of what led me to understand my own Jewishness is my bonds with other Jewish people. I wasn't religious and because I was away from my family I didn't really feel like I could claim to be Jewish. A bunch of us got together, all Ashkenazi lesbians. For once I didn't feel like I was being too loud, laughing too loud or saying stupid things. It was a revelation. KATRINA: This is the biggest group of Jewish women I've ever been in. It's a unique experience to sit with a group of Jewish women and eat food and laugh. LISA: Working as co-editor I've learnt new things and have been forced to challenge a lot of my own beliefs. KATRINA: I met a girl who was reclaiming her Jewish heritage. She was Jewish on her father's side. She told me I was 'really' Jewish because my mother is Jewish. She bought me two books and one of them had stories of different Jewish women in it. I still have it. CARLA: We've been talking about a million different things. European Jews like my grandparents - living in Russia or Germany- didn't have white skin privilege the way that my parents do in the United States. They were easy to identify and targeted. My parents are first generation Americans.They still feel like they are being persecuted and in certain ways they are. They're white skinned and they have white skinned privilege, but being Jewish and white is not the same as gentile and white. see DIVERSITY next page Feature from DIVERSITY previous page The reluctance to learn really hurts. TARA: Take the time to learn someone who is just discovering LISA: As white Jews we live in Lately, I've felt betrayed by non- about Jews, meet Jews, make Jew their heritage? a binary. We occupy a dual position Jewish women of colour for negat ish friends and take pride in them. TARA: 1 love the importance and our different identities do not ing my Jewishness. I'm delighted with anyone who of family and how young people are negate each other. 1 have white skin NIKOLA: 1 feel boxed in. If you wants to be my ally. at the centre. 1 love celebrating Jew privilege but 1 am also a Jew. push too far you get the anti- CARLA: Don't get defensive ish rituals and 1 love the commit AMAL: 1 have felt the effects Semitism of people of colour and if and attack Jews if they call you on ment Jews have to making things of racism from the Ashkenazi side you push the liberalism of the white anti-Semitism. You can't just appoint right in the world. of my family and anti-Semitism from Jews, it's like having to walk a tight yourself an ally. If you want to be LISA: 1 love our history of people of colour in my family. rope. someone's ally, figure out how they strength and survival. There is a They're different. White skinned AMAL: It's about the oppres can be yours. good feeling that 1 get when I'm sit Jews must do work around their sion of omission where anti- AMAL: Stop being defensive. ting around with Jewish women. 1 white privilege. Semitism doesn't even make the'B' NIKOLA: One thing that I've like Jewish food, dancing and mu CARLA: 1 read a book by a list, let alone the'A'. Specific types seen with allies down the line is sic. For someone who is looking into Jewish lesbian who was comparing of anti-Semitism come from white sometimes when you've gotten to a their Jewish heritage, 1 would say anti- Semitism and racism. She was gentile people and gentile people of place where you can be an ally and look beyond the stereotypes. trying to use the language of rac colour. Then theres's the righteous you do some anti-racism or some KATRINA: 1 love what I've ism to define anti-Semitism. As ness of some non-Jewish women of anti-Jewish oppression work you learned about the strength of Jew Jews we don't have a language to colour who get furious if you call might feel like a hero but remem ish people, people holding together describe our oppression. That's why them anti-Semitic even though they ber that all those people have been and working together. They take she wanted to appropriate the lan would flip if a white, Jewish woman doing it all along and they don't get care of each other. For people look guage of racism. It doesn't work be got upset at them for calling her a accolades. Be humble about it. ing into their Jewish identity, 1 would cause it's different. Jews have been racist. AMAL: I've had to educate a say that you are who you feel you silenced repeatedly. 1 tend to stay CARLA: Everybody that I've lot of white people. 1 feel like I've are. away from leftist, feminist, social ever known, including all the peo created these monsters because AMAL: Our beauty and our re ist organisations. I'm terrified of ple 1 really like, they're all anti-Se they go on to think that they're the silience really stand out for me. 1 them, because of all the stories mitic in their own ways. most anti-racist, pro-Jewish women love our diversity. 1 like the music, I've heard from Jewish women who KATRINA: I've just come to and you can't even speak to them food and spirituality. To me it's very were doing political work and were that realization because I've been about their prejudices. pagan. What 1 would say to some completely silenced. listening in a different way to how CARLA: I've been there. one who is exploring their Jewish LISA: It is hard to find a lan people talk with each other. I've NIKOLA: We do need to en heritage is don't let anyone ques guage, particularly because anti- been realising that people around courage people to become allies tion you. Semitism often occurs in the form me and even the people that 1 love without doing 'this bridge is my "CARLA: 1 love Jewish music, of silences and in gaps, which and care about say the most god back' kind of thing. dance and our diversity. 1 was born makes you invisible. awful things without even thinking LISA: When we're talking about into the world an outsider. 1 didn't NIKOLA: 1 am always looking twice. anti-Semitism, it's important to look have a mother for the first five for allies and 1 wonder who is go AMAL: If you're socialised in a at how Jewish men perpetuate months of my life. I've always been ing to be an ally to me as a Jew and racist context as a white person stereotypes like the yiddishe mama an outsider and because of that as a woman of colour. With Jewish then you're racist because you've (overbearing mother) and J.A.P. On there's always a place for me. It's people in my life 1 feel like 1 am been taught to be. Why is it then, TV, a lot of Jewish men's jokes are given me a lot of strength. If you feel pushing them to do homework to be that we cannot say that if you're at the expense of Jewish women. like you're Jewish you probably are. my allies in terms of racism, not gentile you are anti-Semitic be TARA: No Jews, not even men, Come and say hi. only anti-Semitism. That's been a cause you have been raised in an are to blame for anti-Semitism. The NIKOLA: What 1 like about be challenge for all of us. White Jews anti-Semitic context? It doesn't stereotypes about Jewish men and ing Jewish has to do with my expe can be racist even though they ex mean that you are trying to be ma Jewish women parallel gay oppres rience of growing into my perience anti Semitism. The doors liciously anti-Semitic. Being furious sion. For example: Jewish men get Jewishness and feeling like there don't just swing one way though. In at a Jewish woman who calls you targeted as not being real men be were some things about me that New York City, there have been sto anti-Semitic—for whatever rea cause they show their feelings and were always considered to be ries of Black kids getting run over son—is as ludicrous as wanting to Jewish women get targeted for not uncool whether it was my intelli by Jewish people in cars and Black hold her'accountable'for calling you being real women because they act gence, my clothes, or the fact th-at professors teaching anti-Semitism on your oppressive behaviour. It powerfully. my nose was too big for a Black per in their courses. It makes for an un begs the question, if you're not anti- LISA: 1 think these stereotypes son. I've come from being an ugly comfortable mix. 1 went to a Black Semitic then why are you having are perpetuated through a mixture duckling into being more of a swan. bookstore and told the proprietor such a strong reaction to being of both sexism and internalised The way 1 see the world is a valu that 1 was interested in the history called this by a Jewish woman who anti-Semitism. We all have to take able point of view. When 1 can share of Jews in the Caribbean. He said has every right to do so? responsibility for how we portray that with my Jewish sisters 1 feel the reason the klu klux klan wore CARLA: That was the missing each other. there is real beauty in art and intel hoods was because some of them link for me in my understanding op AMAL: Let's talk about some of lect and celebration. were Jewish and they were rocking back and forth, praying and drink pression, 1 had to understand my the stereotypes about Jews. KATRINA: The kids used to ing the blood of Black people. 1 was LISA: What are some ways throw pennies at my feet and say photos by: Carta Grief and so horrified. that people can start examining and pick them up because Jews are Nikola Marin. AMAL: It's an uncomfortable tackling anti-Semitism? cheap. The expression to Jew photos, p 19 (top to bottom): place for me because I'm not CARLA: Acknowledge that somebody out of something. Tara Ross, Nikola Marin and Mizrahi, I'm not Sephardic, I'm Jews come in a diversity of hues. LISA: Jewish women are frigid Car la Greif. Ashkenazi and brown. Those who Fight racism and make connections or nymphos. Jew bitch, loud, pushy, photos, p 20 (top to bottom): are supposed to be my community between your own oppression and aggressive, rich and Christ-killers. Katrina Craig, Lisa Wulwik are often the ones who exclude me. other oppressions. What do you like about being Jewish and what would you say to and Amal Rana. NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Feature Reclaiming an Egyptian Jewish identity: Dancing with Nonna by Joyce Zonana It wasn't until I was twenty-five and studying belly dance that I learned to listen to Arabic music. I had ventured into the class on a whim, led by a friend who idolized the sixty-five year old teacher, an American woman married to a Moroccan man. In her bright ground-floor studio on a steep San Francisco hill, Violet taught us to circle our hips, ribs, and shoulders; to close our eyes, to bend our knees, to open our arms—to let the music rise from the soles of our feet to the crowns of our heads. Working deliberately, with the concentration of a priestess, she demonstrated delicate hand movements and deep, full-body undulations, showing us how our bodies could register each quaver, each beat of the pulsing, sinuous sounds. At the end of the two-hour classes, her husband Leo would join us, beating his drums as we shimmied ecstatically, wild, open. Before encountering Violet, I heard Arabic music only with my mother's ears, distinguishing nothing but a litany of loss—mournful, harsh cries that embarrassed and unnerved me. "I hate it," my mother would say, "It's too sad." If she could have had her way, our apartment would have been filled only with the studiously cheerful sound of 1950's pop music, supplemented by Italian opera Live from the Met on Saturday afternoons. But my mother's authority was limited; she was subject, even in the home she managed so meticulously, to the will of her mother-in- law, my father's widowed mother Rose, "nonna,". Nonna lived with us for more than twenty-five years, dominating my parents' lives from the day of their wedding at the Temple Ismailiya in downtown Cairo to just one year before her death at the Sephardic Home Brooklyn. I will never know which came first—my mother's distaste for Middle Eastern music or her conflict with her mother-in-law. I only know that in the tense battleground that was our home, the music my grandmother played came to represent all that my mother abhorred. In silent sympathy I allied myself with my mother, barricading myself against the rhythms of my birthplace, closing myself to my grandmother and all that she loved. Nonna, born in Aleppo to a large Jewish family, cherished Arabic music and insisting on playing it daily. Each afternoon, I would find her seated in the center of the living room sofa, an embroidered and scented handkerchief in her hand, listening to one of her four scratched recordings of favourites by Fairuz and Farid Al-Atrash. As she listened, she cried, sighing out her grief for the death of her husband thirty years earlier, the dispersal of her children and her own unwilling departure from the homeland she had loved. She had come to the U.S. in 1957, not long after the Suez Crisis led most Egyptian Jews to abandon the country. A community of perhaps 80,000 has today dwindled to 200. My father had chosen to leave in 1951; by the end of World War II, he had sensed that the creation of the state of Israel would change the nature of Jewish-Muslim relations in the Middle East. Two groups that had once lived together peacefully would now be polarized, forced by the politics of newly formed nation- states to choose sides. Rather than choosing Israel (as one of his brothers had), he came to the U.S., hoping to find the tolerance and opportunity so many immigrants have sought here. Nonna was to stay behind until we had the wherewithal to send for her. But the events of 1956 changed things, and my father made arrangements for her to come immediately. Nonna's arrival put an abrupt end to my dreams of waking up one day as an authentic American, blonde- haired and blue-eyed. Her presence became for me an inescapable, daily reminder that we were immigrants, condemned to eternal difference. Nonna spoke no English; and though she could manage in French—the language my parents used with me—her primary tongue was Arabic. Forgetting that I did not understand, she spoke to me in those strange syllables, syllables that my mother told me were "ugly" and "harsh.". My mother, though born in Cairo to a Sephardic Jewish family with deep roots in the Middle East—her mother was from Alexandria and Baghdad, her father from Aleppo-identified herself primarily as European, thanks to the French language and culture she learned at the Lycee. Nonna had come to maturity in a different milieu, less separate from the surrounding Arab culture. Nonna was old, older than anyone I had ever seen before—though I know now that in 1956 she was not yet seventy, not much older than my San Francisco dance teacher. Her dull gray hair was arranged in tight ridges, crinkled waves that seemed a magnified reflection of the deep wrinkles worn into her freckled face and hands. Her eyes were set far back, beneath a wide forehead and behind a sharp nose. One eye winked shut while the other stared forward. Her body was shapeless, tired, as if she could no longer summon the will to remain erect. Her thick ankles, covered in opaque beige stockings, emerged awkwardly from dark heavy shoes. Her knitted wool skirt, with its uneven hem, nearly brushed the floor. She appeared lopsided, wavering, off balance. Later I would learn that one of Nonna's breasts had been removed, in a mastectomy she had a few years before coming to the States. In an effort to hide the gap left by the surgery, she draped scarves across her right side, holding her arm across her chest when she posed for photos. My grandmother must have tried to love me, her only female grandchild in America. But I shrank from her clammy touch, seeking refuge with my mother. Nonna would run her hands across my body, caressing, exclaiming in Arabic words I could not understand. I heard her say, "Aroosa, En sha'allah aroosa" ("A bride, God willing, that you will be a bride"), and I cringed even more, deadening myself in revulsion and fear. These days my dance teacher, Audrey, is a young woman, not yet thirty. And I am the older woman, just turned fifty. At ten o'clock on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, a handful of us gather in my sparsely furnished second-story apartment. It is early spring, and I open all the windows, allowing the breeze to blow from the screened-in front balcony to the kitchen door at the back. Downstairs, I leave the front door unlocked for latecomers. After warm-up stretches, we array ourselves in loose chiffon skirts, tie scarves jingling with gold coins around our hips, wrap veils of red, blue, orange and green around our heads and torsos. The music builds, winding itself around us. Afterwards, exhausted and exhilarated, we sit on the floor, stretching. Some morn- ingsAudrey reads to us from Rumi; on others, we lounge, telling stories of our own. When the women leave, I lock the downstairs door, find my old recording of Fairuz, turn up the volume, and dance awhile longer. As I dance, I weep for nonna, the grandmother I lived with but never loved, a woman whose body enclosed both the sorrows and the joys of the history I sought for so long to deny Joyce Zonana was born in Cairo and moved with her parents to the U.S. at the age of eighteen months. She is currently an Associate Professor of English and Director of the Women's Studies Program at the University of New Orleans. She is at work on a memoir, entitled Aroosa. NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Feature Editing a Jewish feminist journal: Challenges of difference at Bridges by Clare Kinberg The following piece is an excerpt from a longer article which was first published in "The Narrow Bridge: Jewish Perspectives on Multiculturalism", edited by Maria Brettschneider. Somewhere in between Reagan's first election in 1980 and Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982 I was sharply reminded that the Jewish people were my "home" artwork by Sima Elizabeth Shefrin community. At that time I was a shop steward at a coat factory. The company was owned by Orthodox Jews, but I was the only Jew in the union. Though my lesbianism had led me to a left wing critique of US society which in turn had led me to union activism, I never mentioned my lesbianism to my co-workers on the shop floor. While working forty hours a week doing piece work on a sewing machine gave me a lot in common with the women I worked with, I was also terribly isolated. The isolation peaked one day as I was riding the bus to work. I overheard someone commenting on the headlines about the massacres in the Palestinian refugee camps, Sabra and Shatilla: "Never turn your back on a Jew, they'll stab you just as quick." I needed someone that I could talk to when I got to work, but I knew with sickening clarity that the understanding I needed would not be there. As a lesbian I felt I was, politically speaking, spitting in the wind of nuclear proliferation, war in the Middle East, Reaganomics; as a Jew outside the Jewish community, I felt terrified. Despite my own denials, I was irrevocably a member of the Jewish community. I thought it was possible that my own actions could have a political affect on the Jews in the U.S. At least the Jews were a conceivable constituency. Though as a lesbian I would still be struggling for acceptance and basic rights in the Jewish community, in a profoundly political sense, the Jews, I knew for certain, were my people. In 1983,1 joined New Jewish Agenda, an organization of thousands of other Jews like myself who had visions for global, social and political change. The feminists who had made it to Agenda published an internal newsletter titled Gesher (Hebrew for "Bridge") which attempted to connect feminists in NJA to let other members know, what feminists were doing. In 1988, Jewish writers and editors Ruth Atkin, Elly Bulkin, Adrienne Rich and I started talking about the possibilities of expanding the Gesher newsletter to a journal, and becoming independent of NJA. Our intention was to be explicitly Jewish in a multi-ethnic feminist movement. We wanted to connect Jewish women who were active in anti-racist, peace, lesbian/ gay, and Jewish renewal movements, and to make connections across generations, countries, and language. We wanted to create a forum that would address questions emerging again and again in our writing, organizing and publishing. Who are Jewish feminists and what are we doing in our own communities? What are our goals? Who are our political allies and how do we discover them? How do we become allies to others? How can others become political allies to us? These questions, and the aspirations they imply, are embedded in the name of the independent journal we helped found in 1989: Bridges: A Journal for Jewish Feminists and Our Friends. Our subtitle, "a journal for Jewish feminists and our friends," was carefully formulated to state our political intentions: to be a journal that is proudly Jewish, boldly feminist and accessible to our allies. At that first meeting we drafted the Bridges' mission statement: "The editors bring to Bridges a commitment that combines the traditional Jewish values of justice and repair of the world with insights honed by the feminist, lesbian, and gay movements. We want to provide a forum in which Jews, feminists and activists can exchange ideas and deepen our understanding of the relationship between our identities and activism. We seek writing which develops affirmatively Jewish and feminist perspectives and creates links between Jewish feminists and activists in the broad range of movements for social and economic justice and for peace. We are especially committed to integrating analyses of race and class into Jewish-feminist thought and to being a specifically Jewish participant in the multi-ethnic feminist movement." Our mission stated that we were committed to "integrating analyses of class and race into Jewishfeminist thought" because we knew Jewish participation in broad- based social justice movements depended upon new thinking in relation to Jewish identity, anti-Semitism, class and race. Still, we hadn't addressed the fact that everyone in our initial group was Ashkenazi and middle class. Not until our second meeting, a year later, did a working-class editor, Tova, join the collective. Our discussions about class were not easy, particularly for Tova, the lone working-class woman. We did make progress, however, towards changing both how we work together and how we select and edit the material we publish. We made plans to add at least two more working-class or raised- poor women to the editorial group; to actively encourage submissions from working-class women; to be more conscious of the class bias in the work we consider; to have a working-class/poor women's column as a regular feature in each issue; to publish a cluster of articles on class; to consider class issues in relation to promotion and availability, and to commit the middle- class editors to discussions of class with women in our communities and among ourselves. The commitment to a "Working Class Words" column in each issue makes us confront these issues, as a group, over and over. For an article on how the Republican Contract with America would affect women on welfare, I contacted a Jewish woman who had mentioned in passing that she had received AFDC when her son was young. To help write the article, she immediately called up six of her Jewish friends who had also been on welfare. All of them felt, in varying ways, invisible in the Jewish community. The contributions of working-class women have affected the others amongst us as well. The middle-class editors, for example, have found that to keep up a dialogue among ourselves about class we have to start with some basic questions: what is it about being middle class that makes it so hard to keep a discussion about class and money going? What does it mean to "own" middle-class identity? How does our class affect our editorial judgment? Bridges now has two more working- class editors. As a group we must remain open to fundamentally changing how we deal with money, solicit work, and make editorial decisions. Our specific work as editors brings us eye-to-eye with such questions as: how do class and class-based power inequities interact with Jewish values and experiences of education, learned- ness, art and literature, language, immigration, community, and family? How do we see BRIDGES page 27 NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Feature Palestinian and Israeli women reclaim common ground: The Jerusalem Link artwork by Sima Elizabeth Shefrin by Terry* The following piece is excerpted from an interview with the director of Bat Shalom, one of two women's organizations that belong to the Israeli-based Jerusalem Link. The Jerusalem Link is comprised of two women's organizations: The Jerusalem Centre for Women on the Palestinian side and Bat Shalom on the Israeli side. Each organization is autonomous and has its own activities, but together we run programs to advance peace, human rights, and women's leadership. The Jerusalem Link was formed as a result of an ongoing dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian women that began in Brussels in 1989, bringing together prominent women and peace activists from both sides. Based on these talks, a bifurcated model was created that gives expression to the principles of equality and reciprocity, thereby modeling cooperative co-existence for our respective peoples. The two parallel centres that form The Jerusalem Link - The Jerusalem Centre for Women and Bat Shalom - opened their doors in 1994, thanks to a grant from the European Union. Each centre, however, maintains its organizational and executive integrity, with its own office, staff, board of directors, bank accounts, and financial overseeing. Some programs are run jointly by both centres, while others are run sepa rately. In parallel, some grants have come jointly to The Jerusalem Link, while others are awarded to only one of the centres. Each organization has its own set of challenges. Bat Shalom is considered to be part of the peace coalition of Israeli organizations. It has a national office in Jerusalem and last year opened an office in Afula because of the very active Jewish/Palestinian-Israeli activism in the Afula, Nazareth, Kfar Ixel area of the country. We also started activities last year in the Tel Aviv area. The JCW (the Jerusalem Centre for Women) walks a fine line between maintaining their integrity as a legitimate national Palestinian organization and one that is connected to Jews. Post-Oslo partnerships are suspect because they tend to imply "normalization" which is not on the Palestinian or Israeli agenda. We do not speak in terms of "normalization" but in terms of "dialogue"— the difference being that normalization does not require the Israeli side to acknowledge the history of theother, the violations committed against the other, or the need for compensation to the other. Dialogue does insist upon the above as a pre-condition for partnership. Tern/ (last name withheld) is the new director of Bat Shalom. A WOMEN'S JOINT VENTURE FOR PEACE: The Jerusalem Centre for Women and Bat Shalom We call for the struggle for justice to continue so that women everywhere may live lives free of violence, poverty, oppression, and racism. For us, Palestinian and Israeli women, finally ending the occupation is a critical part of that struggle. We protest and demand the end to the violence and oppression of Israeli settlement expansion, house demolitions, land confiscation, and all human rights violations. We, Israeli and Palestinian women, are united in a joint vision of peace and a joint struggle for justice as steps toward a future peace that will guarantee good neighbourly relations. We call for the immediate resumption of negotiations toward a final settlement by September 2000. A resolution of the issues of final borders, settlements, refugees, water rights, and Jerusalem must be based on international law and legality that will guarantee parity and a two state solution. The vision we share as women, of a world free of violence, rac ism, oppression and inequality, is one which is inextricably linked to a just settlement of the conflict in our region. And may we, Palestinian and Israeli women, then begin creating an intentional and sustained culture of peace, with women at the heart of reconstruction and reconciliation. NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Feature Categories of extermination: The hour of the rooster, the hour of the owl by Catherine* The following prose poem was delivered at the Am Tikva (a lesbian/gay organization) Yom Hashoah services in Boston April 14,1988 at the Mass Institute of Technology. Yom Hashoah is an annual commemoration of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, one of many acts of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust. Yom Hashoah is also considered a day of mourning for the six million Jews who were murdered during WWII and for the survivors. The poem originally appeared in Voices of Jewish Lesbian Daugthers: Past & Present,! 997. artwork by Sima Elizabeth Shefrin On Yom Hashoah I expected to be safe at the podium of this great university, this liberal institution at which many liberal events take place. But on Yom Hashoah, even as I stand before you, I am not here. Maybe I was assimilated, maybe I was underground, maybe I was outspoken. It didn't matter. I was a Jew. I was murdered in 1933 because I was considered mentally defective. Maybe I was retarded* or maybe I was mentally ill. Maybe I was psychiatrized against my will. It didn't matter—I was useless to the state. Maybe I was also a Jew. I was murdered in 1934 because I was considered handicapped*. I was in a wheelchair and although I was mentally fine, it didn't matter—I was useless to the state. Maybe I was also a Jew. I was murdered in 1935.1 was an activist who bore witness to atrocities against the Jews. I spoke against the government or had anti-nazi newspapers printed. It didn't matter. Maybe I was also a Jew. I was murdered in 1936.1 was frightened and hungry and tried to leave for a safer place. It didn't matter. Maybe I was also Jewish. I was murdered in 1937. I thought I would be safe if I pretended to like the nazis. I agreed publicly with all their Jew- hating policies but privately spoke with outrage against the atrocities suffered upon the Jews. It didn't matter. Maybe I was also a Jew. I was murdered in 1938. While my family waited outside, I bought cigarettes in a Jewish store. It didn't matter. Maybe I was a Jew. I was murdered in 1939.1 was a diabetic, but I was forbidden to buy medicine. It didn't matter. Maybe I was a Jew. I was murdered in 1940.1 was a communist. I was a Gypsy. I was considered misshapen, or deformed. I was too fat to work the way the nazis wanted. I talked with an accent. I said maybe the Jews didn't deserve what was happening to them. I was gay. I didn't have a passport. I was circumcised. I was a transient. I was penniless. It didn't matter. Maybe I was a Jew, anyway. I was murdered in 1941. I hid in the cellar of my good friend who had been given all of my jewellery to pay for the trouble I caused. It didn't matter. I was a Jew. I was murdered in 1942. With my mate, my elderly grandparents and young siblings. I was caught trying to escape the country. Forbidden to travel, I believed my blue eyes and blond looks would save me from torture and violent death. It didn't matter. I was a Jew. I was murdered in 1943. Along with women and men of every physical age and description. Of every ethical, moral, religious and cultural investiture. Of every financial status—rich as well as poor. Of every lifestyle—lesbian, gay, celibate, prostitute. Of every level of religious observance. Those who were good Germans, those who never lit the Sabbath lights, those for whom the yarmulke was critical, those who had not known bat or bar mitzvah. Those who were outspoken, those who were silent. Those who were strong, born destined for longevity, those who were frail. I was murdered in 1944 along with those who wore their six-pointed star, those who refused. Those with smashed windows, those who passed among the nazis for a time. Smart ones, educated ones, university graduated ones, land-owning and rabbinical ones. Rebellious ones, rousing, scheming, threatening, no longer mild ones, plotting and planning and willing to kill ones. It didn't matter. I was a Jew. We were all Jews. I was murdered in 1945. Along with one of my siblings, along with three from the village close to ours, along with girls whose bodies were assaulted by the nazi guards, along with those who stole an extra bread crust to pass to a dying friend's hand, along with those whose last rebellion was to refuse to go quietly, along with those who raised their eyes equal to their captors, along with those who gave aid to a fallen friend. A Jew helped a Jew and was murdered. In 1945 I was murdered early in the year, on New Year's eve, on New Year's day, on the Sabbath, on Sunday, in the hour of the rooster, in the hour of the owl. I was murdered as the snow fell and again as the first bud on the few wild flowers promised hope. I was murdered while I slept, worked into the 11th hour of my day. Was murdered a few short hours from my barrack's liberation. Was murdered by the calculated scheme of starvation, by the master plan of annihilation, by the merest misstep, by the cruellest of fates, by the unalterable destiny of the past, by the whim of chance, by luck gone awry. By the good church standing silently by, by the refusal of others to believe, to comprehend, by the silence, by the silence, by the long and murderous silence. By those abroad who knew, by those who were glad, by those who wanted proof, who wanted pictures, who didn't care, who remained silent, who had other things to do, who thought it didn't matter. We were Jews. I was murdered in 1945. Before my liberation from the death camps, I was sent marching to nowhere. I weighed less than 75 pounds. I had rags wrapped around my feet for cover. I wore the striped cloth of the prisoner—of the Jewish prisoner, of the prisoner promised to death. I had tuberculosis, I had the many diseases of starvation, I had lost my sibling, my neighbours from the nearby village. I had no eyeglasses, no hearing aid, no walking stick for the pain of my hip. I was bereft of worldly goods, of jewellery, of property, of convenience, of health, promise, pride, pleasure. Maybe I had will. Maybe I had faith. Maybe I had my covenant with g-d. Maybe today I had hopes for the quixotic maybe of tomorrow. I have been murdered many times since 1945. By the catholic church that aided nazis to relocate. By the american government who brought nazis here to recommence life, yet offered fewer than 1000 refugees sanctuary. By the austrian nation who elected, then consciously reconfirmed a nazi criminal as their leader. By governments and individuals who were silent. By see MURDERED next page NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Feature from MURDERED previous page governments and individuals who continue a tradition of intolerance for those different than themselves. Upon them I bestow the mantle of shame, which is bequeathed in mourning and in rage. Today I mourn four times. Today I mourn for those, Jewish or not, who were also murdered and whose names are not remembered by anyone here. I pray that somewhere a candle is lit in their memory. Today I mourn for members of the lesbian and gay community who think that they, Jewish or not, are safe and keep silent in the false hope of preserving that safety. I pray that there will be someone who will light a candle for the lesbians and gay men who are silent. Today I mourn for RU 20563, a genuine nazi-given number, preceded by a genuine nazi-given pink triangle. A real person who was murdered for a commonplace life choice among members of today's audience. Today I might look out in the audience and see Jewish lesbians and gays wearing this symbol. But many women and men in the lesbian and gay community wear the pink triangle with no comprehension of its origin. In the understanding that women always have had a level of invisibility, I believe that this number belonged to a man. It might have belonged to a wealthy man, one who had position and power and maybe authority while the state allowed him to. Today, in the Auschwitz exhibit, his number is travelling in a display of patches worn by non-Jews whom the nazis say committed crimes against the state. I pray this is the last time the death of a lesbian or gay person is remembered by a dehumanized number. Today as I look out among the mourners here, I do not see my parents. But I join them in the bottomless sorrow of their loss. I cherish, even in mourning, the names of my paternal grandparents, Joseph and Ida, and my maternal grandparents, Alice and Jacob. All murdered sometime between 1933 and 1945. For my mother's family, I carry one sister's-and my unknown aunt's- name. Shy and comfortable between my first and last names, she survives where the only record I can have of her is kept safe. For my father's family I carry the name, never given in marriage, never altered. For both families I carry the physique of heredity. How many diabetics would there have been? How many would have had breast cancer? How many would have lived to see 80? 90? How many cousins would I have had? How many tall, short, bald, buxom, swarthy, smart, loud, quiet, nearsighted, proud, fat, how many cousins would I have had? How many lesbians, doctors, scholars, teachers, mothers, authors, artists, tai lors ... how many cousins would I have had? I remember in some depthless grief, those whose names I have never heard, and probably will never know. I mourn with all Jews, in any station of life and in any world setting, for the loss of the 6 million Jews, who remain nameless at ceremonies like today's. Today I mourn for the millions more who lived, but did not survive. Today I mourn for the lives of Jews and Jews and Jews ... and Jews. *[These derogatory terms were specifically used by the nazis to justify the murder of innocent people by constructing them as 'abonormal'. Kinesis does not endorse these terms.J Catherine* (last name withheld by request) is a member of the Jewish Lesbian Daughters of Holocaust Survivors. Passing Over That topaz-gypsy soul in me feels at certain times of year the coming of events: A storm in Mississippi a mud slide in the West at best, I sense disaster at worst, I can't predict it. Shaken by these world events there is sleeplessness, a worry when a "thing" is about to occur. Mine has been a basic life except for knowledge felt of cataclysm; flood, for instance, earthquake in Ankara. Too many Passover sea partings, too much Charlton Heston flinging those heavy Commandments to cavorting ingrates dancing around a golden calf. And way too many muscular calves in technicolor shorts tall, togaed extras women and men a thousand and one running, running from calamity carrying children and chairs possessions of the centuries their saved firstborns on their backs. And buckets, all those bucketfuls of blood! Lamb's blood, people's blood. Splashed, spilled slathered on the houses sloshed through cracks in windows marked, like blessings, above all the doors in all the villages of the righteous. — Brenda Serotte Brenda Serotte has published many poems and Ladino translations from her full-length collection, Dance Into Your Sultan's Heart, in literary journals and anthologies. She has recently published an excerpt of a memoir in progress, "Turkish Delights, and Other Fattening Recollections," in Hopscotch Cultural Review, Duke University • Press. She teaches writing at Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Feature The impact of WWII on Jews: We will never forget by Shelly Crow as told to Lisa Wulwik The following is an excerpt from a discussion between two Jewish women from different generations on the impact of World War II. Lisa: How and when did you first learn about the Holocaust? Shelly: I'm not sure. I was really quite young. My first real memory would probably have been when I was in grade two. There was a story that we were reading about a family in Europe and there was a little child in it who talked about having to run away from the Germans. Lisa: How did the Holocaust affect your family? Shelly: My father's family is from Frankfurt, Germany, and his parents, my grandparents, were killed in Auschwitz. Many relatives of my mother also died. Around 100 members of my family were murdered altogether. Lisa: Where were your parents in the Second World War? Shelly: My mother was born, and always lived, in England, although her family was from Poland. She married my father just before the war; he was a refugee from Germany. He escaped Germany in 1937. Lisa: What happened to him once he came to England? Shelly: He met my mother in England and they married, but because she was a woman he could not automatically become a British subject. He had not been in England long enough to be a naturalised British subject and when the war broke out he was regarded as an alien. As an alien he had to report to the police station on a regular basis. Then in 1940 he was asked to report to the police station and was told he might be there overnight. My mother did not hear from him again for a very long time. Lisa: What had happened to him? Shelly: He had been sent to and interned inAustralia. He remained there until 1943. Lisa: Did your father talk at all about what it had been like for him in Australia? Shelly: Yes. When I asked him directly he talked about having a terrible time on the ship going over to Australia. They left from Liverpool and the captain was particularly cruel and would flog some of the passengers and would even make some of them walk the plank. Lisa: Were all the passengers German Jews? Shelly: Yes. Only males were sent to the internment camps. Jews from Germany and Austria were sent to camps in Quebec, Canada and Australia. None of them had been forewarned about what was going to happen. Lisa: What happened ' 'ien your father got to Australia? Shelly: They were placed in a camp that had been built by the Australians in an area remote from Melbourne. The Australians eventually allowed them to have contact with the Jews in Melbourne who provided some books and study material. The The changes that had happened to my father during the war, and the murder of his parents in Auschwitz, made him become quite negative, which affected his relationship with my mother. He was also bitter because although England had 'accepted' him, by the time his parents tried to seek refugee status the English government was no longer accepting Jewish refugees. only thing they could do was study Jewish theology and religion. Lisa: The separation must have been really difficult for your father and mother. Shelly: It was very difficult and when my father returned he acknowledged he felt quite different. It had been a very hard time for him. He came back as a very orthodox Jew. Also, when he came back he met his son for the first time. When he had been taken away he did not know that my mother was pregnant. Lisa: How do you think the experiences of the Holocaust and WWII affected your family life and yourself growing up? Shelly: A lot of family knowledge about my ancestors was lost. There was a kind of feeling of being rootless in my family. There was this feeling of being a smaller unit without the larger extended history that one usually has with a family. /TV mm 1 e t them in either which is where his sister lived. Therefore, they were stranded in Germany, and were killed. We also anglicized our last name because my father wanted to start up his own business and he found it very hard to obtain the necessary papers and get the banks support with a Jewish name. In Germany my father had trained to be a judge but in England he became a salesman. Lisa: Do you feel that your sense of safety is somewhat fragile because you're Jewish? Shelly: My family came from Frankfurt and they had been there for several hundred years. Although they were fairly religious they had assimilated into society in many ways and did not feel they would be at risk. Germany had been their shelter and home for hundreds of years. So when I think about that I think that one can never be 100% certain about the future. Here in Canada I would define myself as a Jewish Canadian and not a Canadian Jew, because in times of intolerance people will just notice the label of Jew regardless of your nationality. Lisa: Living in Canada, specifically Toronto, what would you say about anti - Semitism today? Shelly: It still exists today. It saddens me when I hear stories of young people who have become part of some anti-Semitic group and desecrate tombstones, or you see the sign of the swastika. Recently there has been less and less on the news regarding anti -Semitism but it always goes in waves and there is always an undercurrent of it. There are people who are 'revisionist' historians and don't believe in the Holocaust and there are others who are firmly anti-Semitic and who talk constantly in terms of stereotypes. Lisa: Have you ever experienced anti- Semitism personally in Canada? Shelly: Yes. There are comments like, "Are you really Jewish? You don't appear to be Jewish. You don't seem very interested in food all the time. I thought all Jewish mothers were always cooking and things." There are quite a lot of stereotypical thoughts. I also attended a club in Toronto that, three years before I entered, had a quota on Jews. Lisa: As a social worker within the school system, what do you think are some ways people can combat anti- Semitism? Shelly: It is important to remember that education is a great tool if used appropriately. As well as teaching anti-racism in school, a section on anti-Semitism should be taught. The identity of Jews is often erased in mainstream society and is left out of anti- oppression education It is also important to look at history and to remember not just the Holocaust but the horrors that occurred in Rwanda and the Balkans. We need to remember any type of threat to any race by another race whether it be because of religion or colour— whatever the reason is— we need to remember it so that in the future we can be more tolerant. Shelly Crow is a pseudonym. NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Feature A mother's perspective Questioning Jewish ritual by Drora The following is an excerpt from Questioning Circumcision: a mother's perspective. Maybe if I had been younger I would have done it without thinking twice. I'd never done anything "Jewish" without thinking about it—a lot. So there I was, 40 years old, pregnant and faced with the decision of whether or not to circumcise my baby, if it should be a boy. Not because it was medically correct, not because I wanted him to look like his father, but because by birth he would be Jewish. Because, for generation after generation, to be a Jewish man is to undergo Brit Milah (circumcision)—to enter a physical covenant with God. To be a Jewish mother is to allow this when our male babies turn 8 days old, not yet old enough to choose or speak up for themselves. Despite statements like Harold Krushner's that, "[a boy child] does not have to become Jewish through a ceremony", there are much stronger views that say otherwise. They bore down on me with all the threats of a scorned God. A big one for me appears in the Torah, which reads, "the uncircumcised male shall be cut off from his people". Yes, my son would be Jewish, but the thought that he might be ostracized tore at my heart. The pressure I felt was from years of awakening in the social justice, human rights and peace movements. As a feminist, my values are rooted in peace, choice, community and the right to self-determination. They are rooted in the human rights val ues of the Jewish community, which bore witness to those that suffered so greatly from the anti-Semitic horrors of the past, and continues to bear witness to the atrocities of ethnic cleansing today. How could I reconcile these values if I colluded with the culturally sanctioned practice of cutting off a piece of my child's body 8 days after his birth? Although expert mohels [person who performs the circumcision] claim to the contrary, there is evidence that circumcision can cause the infant both physical and emotional pain. Some people marvel at how the Jewish custom to circumcise lands on the eighth day of a child's life, which miraculously is when the body's ability to clot blood increases. From a gendered perspective, this may also be a time when it is more difficult for a woman to gather her energy, be assertive and demand a halt to the ritual. When I informally surveyed women I knew, about their experiences with their son's bris [circumcision], I was amazed at how many of them said it was horrible. They were in pain for their sons, aching to rush in and provide comfort and relief. Some had to stay outside of the room. All felt they had no choice but to go along with the ritual. Why aren't we, as women and mothers, talking more openly about this? Contrary to popular belief, there are no medical advantages to performing routine circumcisions, and it is not recommended by the Canadian, American, British or Australian pediatric societies. Searching for information and reassurance, I arranged a visit to the female Rabbi at the synagogue we had been attending. I asked her if she would perform a naming ceremony for my child if it turned out to be a boy. She shattered my assumptions about a woman Rabbi being more open by saying that she absolutely would not perform the ceremony if I had not circumcised my son. I felt hurt, marginalized and angered at her inability to see that if it wasn't for Jews who were willing to rethink old ways, she would not be in her position. As my mind raced from one scenario to the next, I carefully informed various members of my family of my decision. What if they were changing my son's diapers and he became aware of their shock by what they saw? What if they rejected him? What if he was attending kindergarten at a Jewish school and the other kids made fun of him? What if he wasn't allowed to have a Jewish name? I was well aware that this was not simply a decision about my beliefs, but about my son's future. I wonder what it will take for the Jewish community to broaden the discussion on circumcision and to notice that Jewish custom has already changed with the times. Circumcision was originally a rite practiced by Pagan tribes, and later adopted by Jews. Originally the Jewish practice was to cut only the tip of the foreskin, called milah. This custom lasted about 2000 years. During the Hellenistic period, many young Jews concealed their circumcision by drawing their foreskins forward. Some Jews chose not to circumcise their sons at all. Circumcision was challenged again in the 1840s during the Reform movement in Germany, when Jewish parents, physicians, and leaders opposed circumcision. The rabbis of the time then changed the requirements of the procedure so that a circumcised male could not possibly conceal his circumcision. This was the start of periah, removing the entire foreskin. So why not a more fundamental change, a shift to a more gender-inclusive perspective that produces practices that are rooted in the human rights values of our Jewish story? Surely with 613 commandments in the Torah, we can turn our focus to those which are not solely centred on the acts of Abraham that are intended to ritualize the patriarchal times in which he lived. As a Jewish woman and mother, my wish for my son is that he finds his Jewish identity in the celebration of Jewish life, community and thought, and not in a part of his body which has been given all too much importance. Drora is a mother who normally writes using her English name but would prefer to protect her son's identity until he can enter this discussion on his own. from BRIDGES page 23 as editors encourage new and thoughtful writing on these issues? Similar issues are raised by the fact that the founding editors are all Ashkenazi, of Eastern European or Russian descent. In some ways, the most obvious, and the most hidden, of "multicultural" issues for Jews may be the differences between Sephardic (originating in Spain), Mizrahi [Arab and North African], and Ashkenazi [European] Jews. We assume that our readership includes Jews and non-Jews; Jews immersed in Jewish learning and Jews with limited Jewish education; secular and religious Jews; Jews who are, and are not, familiar with Yiddish, Hebrew or Ladino. We make every effort to edit work to be accessible and interesting to this diverse readership. We italicize and define every word that cannot be found in a standard English dictionary and describe Jewish holidays and rituals each time they are mentioned. When we publish in Yiddish, Hebrew, or Ladino, we try to print transliteration as well as translation. Bridges unique commitment to Yiddish women's writing has highlighted one of the most subtle differences among Jewish femi- nists: there are those who relate to Jewishness primarily in a religious sense and those who understand Jewish identity primarily through history and politics. Hundreds of women were published in the Yiddish press over the past century, and this writing was, by definition, largely secular and political. In addition, most of the Yiddish publications which were interested in publishing women were sponsored by secular, political movements. This was precisely the writing which Jewish feminists, who look to history as their source, are most interested in. Secular Jewish women are urgently concerned with learning about and from the social and political lives of these Jewish women writers and activists: their life choices, the nuances of their political affiliation, their real life experiences and their insights on family, nation, ethics, and religion. Religious Jewish feminists, on the other hand, are busy making up for a millennium of lost time. They are rewriting, expanding and expounding upon the huge canon of texts that make up the religious Jewish heritage; reconceptualizing God and prayer; and recovering past Jewish women's spiritual experiences. Secular and religious interests are by no means exclusive and I imagine most Jewish feminists, if asked, would express interest in all of these things. The differences in orientation toward Jewish identity are real, however, and when writing for a diverse audience, assumptions cannot be made about Jewish readers' religious practice and knowledge, belief in God, or interest in prayer and scripture. This is not an easy task. While we obviously seek work partially based on the contexts from which a woman is writing, we do not propose any single definition of feminism or Judaism. Our goal for Bridges is to create the forum in which diverse women speak for themselves and engage in dialogue with each other One of our central questions remains: how can non-Jewish women be allies to Jewish women? What are the insights non- Jewish women take from our experiences? What will be the sound of non-Jewish voices which take our lives as seriously as we do? For the future we plan to pursue soliciting more non-Jews to review books by and about Jewish women. As I write these last lines about creating more connections of understanding and support between Jewish and non-Jewish women, I am reminded of the complex reasons I joined New Jewish Agenda in 1982, and eight years later helped found an independent Jewish feminist journal: my political urgency; my joy and passion in being a lesbian; my joy and passion in being Jewish; Reagan's attack on unions and low income workers; war between Palestine and Arab countries; the gathering winds of the specifically homophobic religious right. These complex factors and many others led me to be deeply critical of U.S. society and to personal isolation. Helping to build Jewish feminist organizations that value diver sity has definitely ended my isolation, but progress on the political goals has been elusive. While I think Bridges is contributing, however slightly, to reshaping the definition of Jewishness, we've barely begun on the objective of building alliances with non- Jews that could affect political values and the priorities of society in general. We will continue to work from our assumption that learning more about Jewish experiences in the world will lead us to connect with others. We know that Jews are not all middle-class, or all white. We know that Jews are from Asian, Middle Eastern, African and European cultures,and that they have mixed heritages of all sorts. Knowing who we are as Jews in our complexity and difference is necessary for us as well as for our allies. The questions remain as urgent as ever: who are Jewish feminists and what are we doing in our own communities? Who are our political allies? How do we discover them? How do we become allies to others? How can others become political allies to us? Clare Kinberg lives in Eugene, OR and is Managing Editor of Bridges. Subscriptions to Bridges are $15/one year/two issues. Send all subscriptions and corresponence to Bridges PO Box 24839, Eugene OR 97402. phone 541-343-7617. NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Feature Celebrating the mask of the physical: The epiphany of Purim by Andrea Cohen-Kiener Purim is the deepest holiday. Every year a new understanding emerges of what it means to hide behind a mask or to enter a frame of mind in which one cannot distinguish the hero from the villain. What does it mean to be joyous at the edge of destruction? Why do we practice seeing God's hand in a story that does not mention God? There is a pun about the depth of Purim: "Yom Kippur is a day like Purim/Yom Kippurim yom k'purim." What an amazing comparison to make! Every other day of the Jewish calendar we practice an exquisite balance between the body and the spirit. We eat food (a bodily need) and we bless before and after (a spiritual need). We enjoy sexual contacts, but not just with anyone, not any old time. There are limits. We humans are allowed to cater to all of our appetites—all within limits. Yom Kippur and Purim are different. On Yom Kippur, we make believe that we do not have a body. We enter our own afterlife, do our life review, dress in the white robes in which we will be buried. We wear the wings of our tallit all day long. We don't eat; we sing and pray as the celestial host does. On Yom Kippur, we serve God from a place of pure spirit. On Purim, just the opposite; we enter that holy time by drinking and eating and telling a ribald story. On Purim, the name of the Holy One is not invoked. It is a day of hiding and games, a day of extra layers, not a day of increased exposure. These two days are alike because they are completely dissimilar. They are both days of imbalance; they balance each other within the year. Every year I am blessed with a Purim moment. It's always a little different—always a little work to get there. One year, my Purim moment came compliments of a local gemara teacher who came to our party as a giant blue Smurf. "Hag Sameach," he wished me. At that particular moment, I had just enough vodka in my system to provoke the Purim moment. "Good Yontiff" from a big blue gemara blasting Smurf. Ahhh! The year before, it was different. Our shul had just initiated the custom of banning hard liquor at the Purim party. Talk about saving those attendees who did not have the foresight or moxy to bring their own. I had quite a few l'chayims that night and only a vague memory of getting home. That Purim was the deepest of the deep! I danced religious oppression! I delight in breaking unjust laws. My Purim disguise that year was that of a barmaid. I brought my own l'chayim, cleverly disguised as wine. It took quite some mixing of the blue and red food coloring to tinge the vodka just right, a worthy effort, though! I was not alone in my ruse. Taking Purim this seriously, I had the company of several in the Chabad camp who had good use for the giant pockets on those kapatas. My Chabad buddies and I went around in circles all night long: alone, with my soul-sisters, with the little girls from the Chabad families. I danced in circles for hours and hours on a stomach full of vodka and I did not throw up. Enough to make one believe in God, don't you think? The next morning I woke up with an exquisite sense of cleanliness. It felt as if all the circles had aligned me with the cosmic dance. As I spun, I had opened myself to the flow. I had washed my channels. The oLu*xci/pxxxi&> room was still spinning when I awoke and for several hours that morning. I was useless at work, a blob of marvel and joy. I couldn't move into mundane time. An extended Purim moment. Last Purim I reached a new level of understanding of the phrase "until you don't know." I Purim is a time of paradoxes. We are commanded to blur the distinction between the blessing and the curse, between the good guy and the bad. All proceeds from God. What shall we curse? Who shall we bless? On Purim we live at the edge. We practice expecting the transformation that will flip our difficulties into miracles. Ten days before Purim in 57571 had a total mastectomy for the treatment of breast cancer. This was my first mortality brush and I was still in the grips of fear. I was desperately seeking advice of all kinds—diets, herbs, exercise, chemotherapy. I was afraid for my life. Every phone call and every book held hope. Maybe this would be the information that would save my very life. The morning before Purim, I spoke with a woman who had cured herself of advanced bone cancer. "Macrobiotics saved my life," she announced bluntly. Later that day, a dear friend, also a breast cancer survivor, called me and said "Meat, meat, meat, at every meal." The advice could not have been more dissimilar. I went into the spiritual equivalent of the fetal position: I sat on my meditation pillow and tried to pull back from the edge of anxiety. After a few unsuccessful moments, I was sobbing in sorrow and desperation. What should I do? How would I know? What if I do exactly the wrong thing or do the right things in the wrong order? My life is at stake! I want to live! My husband came in mid-sob (how do they know these things?). He held me for a while as I choked out my questions. "You don't get to know," he said simply. "You have to do everything that you can, try your very best to figure this out, but you do not get to know." "Ad d'lo yada," until you get to the point of not knowing. 5757 was the hardest Purim I've had so far. My mind was aching for assurances and answers. Tearing away from my desire to know was like ripping off my skin. I felt raw and alive. I heard the whole megillah that night. I drank, I danced, I came in a costume. I came as a patient and my whole family came in surgical scrubs. I came in a costume that was new for me, the Needy One, the one that had previously been hiding. I celebrated with wilful determination. The insight of that Purim was that sometimes we just don't get to know. Sometimes we simply choose to dance at the edge. Andrea Cohen-Kiener has degrees in Hebrew Literature, Education and Pastoral counselling. She works as a teacher, guide and author in the fields of spiritual development, communication skills, and intergroup dialogue. NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Feature Redefining women's sexuality: In the image of Eve by Lysa Smythe I have always sensed an ambiguous attitude regarding women's sexuality in orthodox rabbinic Judaism.The ambiguous attitude is of woman as "good" mother and woman as "bad" seductress. In some way it seems that women are feared as erotically seductive and thereby dangerous to the well-being and piety of [m]an. My objective here is to explore the construction of the negative perception of female sexuality within the Jewish creation myth of Genesis. I chose this myth because I believe that it both reflects and has perpetuated a patriarchal perception of female sexuality within rabbinic culture through history. Within the story of Genesis, Eve was created as the first woman. As the first woman, she was also the archetype of the universal Mother. The bestowing on her of this role is revealed in her Hebrew name "Chavah" or "Life" signifying her place as the mother of "all living things". As the model of mother and the first earthly female, she was commanded to "be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 1:28). By the decree of this commandment to reproduce, Eve's sexual activity is positive, virtuous and even sacred. Eve is "good". Her "goodness" is not in dispute until she eats of the forbidden Tree of Knowledge. Still, even after her "sin", she maintains her status as the universal mother. What we do see when Eve sins is the change in her role from mother to child. Within this story, Eve's sin was that she did not obey God's commandment. This myth is very much a story about humanity's childlike relationship with the parental Source of creation. I mention this to show that Eve's sin was innocent and at this time had no connection with her sexuality. The myth of Eve as the embodiment of carnal and sexual sin was developed approximately 1100 years later based on new interpretations concerning her punishments in Eden. It was not until the time of the post- biblical interpretations of the second century rabbis, that Eve was transformed from the archetypal mother and wife to the symbolic source of evil and sin, responsible for the downfall of man. The rabbis justified their reconstruction of Eve based on particular passages in Genesis that they took out of context to substantiate their views. First, the rabbis argued that Eve's greatest sin was using her new knowledge of sexual prowess to_seduce and entice Adam into sin as well JAs a result of her actions, Eve's first punishment was that "her desire, (sexual), would be for her husband and he shall rule over her" (Genesis 3:16). Furthermore, the rabbis argued that Eve's second punishment - "in pain, she shall bring forth children" (Genesis 3:16), was issued because Eve used her sexual wiles for evil and not for the good of procreation. Interestingly, when the rabbis interpreted the creation myth, all of their focus was on Eve as the perpetrator of Adam's downfall and exile from Eden. Yet Adam was also given the Divine gift of free will. If he had the freedom to choose, why did the rabbis put so much emphasis on recon structing Eve as the evil seductress? Tribble argues that within the creation myth, Eve is represented as more intelligent, more sensible and wiser than Adam. She is the one who was able to converse with the snake, understand and deliberate the consequences of her actions and then make a decision on her own to eat from the tree. In this way, she threatened patriarchal power by challenging the premise of male intellectual superiority. The early inter- pressed Eve. They justified their suppression by defining Eve as the inferior sex, the sex in close communication with, and easily influenced by, demonic forces. Once Eve was redefined as the embodiment of carnal sin, the whole creation myth also underwent a metamorphosis. The story changed, from a myth regarding loss of innocence and the knowledge of good and evil, into a fable about the evilness of carnal pursuits. It appears that the rabbis focused on three points to justify this development. First, the fact that the primary conscious realization of Adam after he ate of the fruit was that he was naked (Genesis 3:10); second, that he was ashamed in his nakedness which implies that nakedness was no longer innocent but sexual (Genesis 3:10); third, that intercourse in the garden was never referred to until after he ate the fruit, was exiled and then "knew" his wife (Genesis 4:1). The rabbis used their new fable as a moral guidebook to teach and perpetuate their own patriarchal values and attitudes concerning the power of women and female seduction. Over time, the fable became established and accepted as an authoritative truth passed on to successive generations. In this way Eve has had vast existential implications on contemporary perceptions of woman within Orthodox Judaism. Throughout history, she has been a model by which religion and society at large have constructed a perception of women and female sexuality. I believe that the model of Eve reflects the ambiguity of the desire of men's own sexual gratification coupled with the fear of women's autonomous thought and their potential rise in status and power. In order to repress female power, the rabbis used this myth to implicate women as sexually licentious and evil. Within rabbinic culture, these views have been used to subjugate women and exclude them from many areas of ritual and ceremo nial practice. Perhaps it is time to reconstruct Eve again as a mother and a powerfully autonomous woman. It is time to change HIStory to HERstory. Lysa Smythe is a community programme developer/community educator and was raised in a traditionally observant Jewish household in Toronto. She is proud of her Jewish spirituality and is proactive in trying to raise a feminist awareness within modern orthodox communi- NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 __ Feature Revolutionizing spirituality through feminism: Let us strengthen each other byTamar Malino This sermon compares the journey of liberal Jewish feminists to the ancient path of the people of Israel as recounted in the Torah. It was delivered at Hebrew University College. Religious terms in Hebrew are defined in the sidebar. Hazak, Hazak, V'nithazek (be strong, be strong, and let us strengthen each other). This phrase is chanted first by the congregation, and then by the Torah reader each time a book of Torah is finished being read aloud in the synagogue. In current discussions, the term 'feminism' has many definitions and connotations. My own view is that it is an ideology based on the belief that both men and women are entitled to full social, political, religious, and economic equality, and that there is a mandate to work actively to achieve that equality. As a person of faith, I believe this is part of the work of creating a society that lives up to God's expectations. In the contemporary Reform community, we have escaped from the bondage of Mitzrayim (Egypt). We no longer begin our prayer services with men reciting the blessing "shelo asani ishah" (thank you, blessed God, for not making me a woman). We no longer believe that "kol b'isha erva," (hearing a woman's voice), constitutes revealing nakedness. We no longer have mekhitzot in our sanctuaries which separate women from the Torah. We no longer believe that a man who teaches his daughter Torah teaches her licentiousness. We no longer believe that women are too feebleminded to be witnesses. We no longer believe that a woman is not person enough to be obligated to pray and thus be counted in a minyan. We also no longer believe that a woman who speaks words of Torah in front of the community violates "k'vod ha-tsibbur," (the honor of the public), because it implies that there are no men capable of offering wisdom. We no longer hold these beliefs, and a hundred others that would confine us, both men and women, to narrow gender roles and expectations. We have made a commitment to dismantle the gender inequalities embedded in our tradition, both in ideology and in practice. We challenge traditional stereotypes which portray men as the pursuers, while women are the pursued; men as ra- We are in the midst of an unfinished revolution, working to fulfill God's expectations. tional, while women are emotional; men as the actors, while women are the enablers. We have broken free of these bonds, which constrain personal growth, achievement, self-image, and self-esteem. Although I am one of those fortunate women who has reaped the benefits of the second wave of feminism, I have experienced both the constraints of discrimination and the exhilaration of liberation from Mitzrayim. In my journey towards ordination, I lived as a closeted lesbian at the Jew- Si Theological Seminary. When I transferred to Hebrew Union College, I experienced a great transformation. At JTS, I had no dreams, no visions of the future. I could only think of "making it through" rabbinical school with my mental health intact. The world was an unfriendly place, and it was exceedingly difficult to maintain a modicum of self-respect in a community where I could not be accepted or seen for who I was. I lost a sense of my own creativity and my own imagination. I was narrowly defined, forced to conform to what I was not. When I was able to come out publicly at HUC, I felt an exhilarating sense of freedom. I still bear the scars of the JTS experience, but have regained my ability to dream, to imagine the future, and to explore fully the kind of rabbi that I want to become. We, at HUC, have reached Har Sinai, the mountain of Sinai. We have heard the revelation: [w]omen are equal to men and as such should lead meaningful personal and intellectual lives in which they are each free to be creative in any way they choose. We are willing to try to construct a world in which the biology of human beings is separated from their social destinies. If most of us had not heard this call, we would not be sitting here. HUC has reached a time when about half of its students are women. Just as importantly, we have recently created a chair for feminist studies on the faculty. We have begun to include women in every aspect of leadership in the Jewish community. We have begun to listen to the silences of women's experience in our recorded history. We have begun to change our liturgy, and have created myriad rituals which reflect the stages in women's life cycles as well as men's. We have published works of feminist theology and anthologies of women's spirituality. One of our recent graduates has even founded a feminist yeshiva in Jerusalem. Just as revelation of Torah inspires ongoing interpretation of its teachings, so feminism has its own Torah sheb'al peh, Oral Torah. We have mahlokot: debates about how best to actualize our newly- found understanding. The mahlokot of feminism are many: debates over sexuality, over pornography and censorship; over conflicts between the duties of citizenship and the duties of motherhood; over the compatibility of feminism and nationalism. But perhaps the most central debate concerns women's identity formation. Do we view gender differences as an entirely social construct, nurtured by the ways in which we interact with one another, or are gender differences part of our essential nature as human beings? Related to this question is the issue of all-women's spaces, such as Rosh Hodesh groups. Are these see TORAH next page FEATURING lively, controversial articles, Reviews, Stories, Poems on • Canada and the World • Israel and the Middle East • Jewish Culture • World Peace and Social Justice from a Jewish, Secular, Humanist Perspective. Notes and Glossary Mekhitzot (dividers) The traditional wall or curtain which separates men from women in the synagogue. The Torah is always on the men's side. Minyan Traditionally a quorum of ten men needed for public prayer. Har Sinai (the mountain of Sinai) This is the place where God revealed theTorah to the people of Is- Mahlokot I'shem shamayim (debates for the sake of Heaven) This is an important concept in traditional Jewish law, and refers to a legal dispute where both sides may be considered right. Yericho (Jericho) According to biblical text, this is a holy site on the edge of the land of Israel. Dor Hamidbar (the generation of the desert) This refers to the generation of Israelites who experienced the Exodus from Egypt, but died in the desert before they reached the land of Israel. Tradition teaches that this needed to happen so that those who founded the society in Israel would be a younger generation that truly understood independence and freedom. Mishneh Torah (the repeated teaching) This is a traditional name for the book of Deuteronomy. Lo alechah.. (It is not your responsibility...) This is a quote from rabbinic literature, The Ethics of the Fathers, Chapter 2:21. NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Feature wayfarer wayfarer wanderer border crosser cultural misfit nomad exile traveler stranger transgressor mixed race melange a quarter this a third that one half split down the middle into blood quantum equations incredulous questions uninvited assumptions "you're Jewish?" "you must be an Indian Jew, right?" "what do you mean you're Ashkenazi?" "1 can't believe your grandparents were from Russia and Lithuania!" "you're so dark, you don't look mixed race." "your grandmother's white? Wow, cool!" blood quantum and skin color don't always add up correctly brown skin black hair dark eyes see their eyes searching for European Jews that must be hiding behind some reluctant pore waiting to burst out in a sea of oozing protest at having to be locked away behind skin so dark darker than the Lithuanian sky under which she was born great-grandmother mythical dark haired figure pale skin barely yellowed by sepia coloring barely stained by pigments darker than her own but not as dark as the man who married her daughter foreigner heretic non-believer follower of Mohammed, worshipper of a strange god named Allah whose name was sacred in some far off land too far off to bridge the distance between a mother's love and racial prejudice religious intolerance for a brown 'goy'* who dared to marry an orthodox Jewish girl causing her family to disown her and never inquire after the half-breed grandchildren two oceans away growing up in a world alien 'foreign' devoid of any traces of Jewish faith or cultures devoid of a heritage rich in knowledge rich in instinct and possessed with the acid memories of genocideblood soul eating pogroms persecuted for not belonging for being wanderers wayfarers for being your brown ashkenazi great granddaughter — Amal Rana *goy: a 'not so pleasant' term for a person who is not Jewish Amal Rana is proud to be a Pakistani, Ashkenazi lesbian. Like all her people, she knows the secret of survival. This piece is dedicated to the bravest warrior I know, my grandmother, Olga Bernhard- Zubair. The Mikva Bath (An Immersion Ritual) Depth, purity, restoration, transformation, my renewal, Going back to the womb. As in a new beginning, the Chacham, the Wise man, said: to reorder and rearrange body sequences that may have gone astray, In those few moments, while totally submerged you will experience complete protection from any evil which causes pain, or hurt, or distress. The Soul then, the "Neshama," the Chacham explained, takes control of the Body. It then has the power to heal, to make whole again. Any evil design is then exorcised, removed. Possible openings to negativity, the Klippot, the veils, as crumpled shells, exist no more. You are now aligned with primal sources creative channels of sweet energy, sparks that command you from your Soul. To the Body which is Mind, to heal To restore every cell to its original heavenly plan, the Chacham then said. But how? I asked, my Body is now in pain. This, he said, once in the Mikvah you immerse. — Berta Savariego BertaSavariegois l— a poet and transcriber of Sephardi literature in Miami Horida. from TORAH previous page valuable forums for empowering and educating women, or do they work contrary to the goal of integration and equality of the sexes? As we go through the process of change and interpretation, it is clear that everyone's needs in this feminist quest are not the same. There is certainly diversity within the feminist community. These debates remain mahlokot 1'shem, Arguments for the Sake of Heaven. So, given all that we have accomplished, have we reached Israel? Are we truly in the post-feminist age? Or have we stagnated, still lost in the desert? On our feminist journey, I believe we are atYericho (Jericho). We've moved through dor hamidbar, the generation of the desert. We're on the hills, overlooking the land of Israel. We're on the edge of something new. We're ready to hear the Mishneh Torah, the repetition of the terms of our covenant with God with new additions and with a new perspective. But our work is not yet complete. We are in the midst of an unfinished revolution, working to fulfill God's expectations. And so, just as we attempt to integrate Torah and Judaism into every aspect of our lives, so should we integrate feminism. "Lo alaikhem, v'alaikhen ham'lakha ligmor, v'lo lihibatel mimena" (it is not your obligation to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it).We have chosen to become Jewish professionals because we are serious people, and because we want to confront issues of central importance in our lives. Feminism is one of them. Let us use the power of our thoughts and our actions to be at the forefront of change. So what is the ultimate goal? What does Yisrael look like? I am not exactly sure, but I imagine that it is an era in which con sciousness will become so truly androgynous that the adjective 'feminist' itself will be obsolete. Just as the Torah imagines that the Israelites might be able to enter the land, and engage in a peaceful domestic existence, feminist victory is quiet. It consists of allowing all people, women and men to live their lives in freedom, with normalcy and confidence to be fully themselves. Every year, we read through the books of the Torah again. We go through the process of liberation and change over and over. Each time, let us take more people with us. There are people at all of these milestones along the jouraey. There are those still living in Mitzrayim, and those in the midst of their travels. Those on the peak of the mountain, and those pushing over the final hills which obscure the horizon. Each person's step, every woman's, and every man's, is of value. Each small step carries us closer to Israel. Let's move toward the day when we can be gathered together, each one of us equally honored, and holy. Hazak, Hazak, v'nithazek: May we be strong, be strong, and may we be strengthened by God, and by each other. Tamar Malino is a fourth-year rabbinical student at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, and works as a rabbinic intern at Beth Am, The People's Temple. She lives with her life partner, Elizabeth Goldstein, in Brooklyn. NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Feature A journey into Jewish mysticism: Kabbalah: the art of receptivity by Mitra Makbuleh Kabbalah, sometimes spelled Qabala or Cabala, is a Hebrew word meaning 'Receiving.' The first time I ever heard the word "Kabbalah" was upon a. my arrival at the Lod Air- A port in Israel in March of I \ 1972. The eyes of the i! J clerk checking my II m passport sparkled as u# soon as he saw my name: "Are you from a family of Kabbalists?" he asked in excitement. I had no idea what he was talking about. Noticing the be- wildered look on my face, the passport clerk explained as I listened impatiently: "In Hebrew your family name is from the root of Kabbalah, and it could mean that your ancestors belonged to a line of "Mekubalim" or ancient Jewish mystics." It took me many years to realize just how inwardly rich my Kabbalistic ancestors had been, and what priceless treasures were hidden in my own backyard. » JaT Book & . J Wr Art Emporium Western Canada's Lesbian & Gay Bookstore Open Daily 10am to 1 lpm Our Books/Our Issues Gay Fiction Lesbian Fiction Our Magazines & Journals AIDS/Health Humour Erotica Queer Theory Feminist Theory Biographies, Essays, Poetry Religion & Spirituality Art & Photography Community Little Sister's Book & Art Emporium 1238 Davie Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6E 1N4 (604) 669-1753 Phone Orders 1-800-567-1662 Internet Address: http://www.lsisters.com The Jewish mystical tradition, or the Kabbalah, teaches that humanity has a very crucial role to play in the affairs of the universe. Humanity is the sole agent capable of receiving divine inspiration and applying it to the task of mending this broken world. The Kabbalah provides certain guidelines for harmonious physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual development, so that human beings can evolve into integrated and balanced individuals. Most importantly, in our search for clues to the mystery of Jewish creativity, Kabbalistic principles seem to offer a pathway towards greater receptivity to intuitive ideas and creative inspiration. The historical beginnings of the Kabbalah are obscured in a maze of conflicting evidence. Some believe that the Kabbalah, or at least its major written texts, appeared during the 13th century, while others believe that as a secret mystical doctrine the Kabbalah has been in existence from very ancient times. For centuries, the Jewish mystical tradition held a central and venerated position in the minds of the Jewish people. In certain periods of Jewish history, the Kabbalists were revered and ranked among the top religious and cultural elite in Jewish communities around the world. It was only with the advent of the Age of Enlightenment and the tragic fate of self-proclaimed Kabbalistic Messiahs, such as Shabtai Zvi, that the study of the Kabbalah receded into the background of Jewish religious life. In the late 19th century, the Kabbalistic spirit was reborn in a popularized form within a new movement which has come to be known as the Hasidic movement. During the past few centuries a certain number of ill-suited individuals were attracted to the Kabbalah and the subsequent abuse of the tradition in the hands of these self-serving individuals gave rise to a distorted image of the Kabbalah as a dangerous and superstitious belief system. There is no doubt that the Kabbalah is a powerful, inspirational, and practical tool; however, in the hands of those who have not transcended their own egotistical limitations it can be quite harmful. There is an impressive body of evidence indicating that some of the world's greatest minds and creative geniuses were interested in the principles of the Kabbalah. In Literature and the Occult Tradition, Professor D. Saurat concludes that virtually all great poetry in English owes its quality to the injection of a certain mystical influence, and traces this influence to the Kabbalah or Jewish mysticism. The study of Kabbalah has recently attracted not only the attention of high profile public figures such as Hillary Clinton, comedienne Roseanne Barr, and Madonna, but is fast becoming a major field of investigation in mainstream academia as well. The downside of this torrent of popular and academic Kabbalistic teachings is that, without the proper discipline and preparation, even the most sincere seeker can easily drown and be sidetracked for many years. In such times, one is well advised to exercise serious caution and to remember that "[wjhen a student is ready, a teacher appears". Mitra Makbuleh was born in Persia and came to the United States in 1970. She has taught many courses on the psychology of religious beliefs, alcoholism, comparative religion, and Jewish Mysticism. Dr. Makbuleh is currently working on a book titled The Mystery of Jewish Creativity. At CCeC Credit Union %/^^ I I can now have direct access to ■ Vr %0 your account through the ATMs and from anywhere, anytime you want to put your finger on your financial affairs, there's... Sm8 Member | Link Mn Em Your personal 24 hour ^H H touch-tone tele-banking system Keeping our money working in our community since 1976! CC6C iwrrfi'/iTflg 2250 COMMERCIAL DRIVE, VANCOUVER, B.C. V5N 5P9 TEL: 254-4100 FAX: 254-6558 NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Arts Ipwish wonu) Sometimes Sometimes I let my heart soar, it flies over the seas. Then stops at a great, green field, in the country. It yells and screams, and allows all its energy to go free. Then I arrive and start spinning. All by myself, no one can join me, because it's where my soul lies. I lay on the ground and gaze at the stars in the sky. They're all so beautiful in their solitude, where everyone can see them. I can't wait till I'm as free as those stars, spinning in that great green field is where I become free. - Talia Eylon Talia Eylon is a high school student and an aspiring feminist They Died (as a Voices of JLDHS: Past & Present) Madeline Helga Zadik is a Jewish Lesbian daughter of holocaust survivors, who lives, gardens, and creates art in western Massachusetts. A recent book review of Zlata's Diary, a diary of a fourteen year old girl who is being referred to as 'Ihe Anne Frank of Sarajevo", mentioned that Anne Frank died in Bergen- Belsen. That sparked me once again to think about this issue and jot down my feelings. They died. How many times Have I said it myself My mother's sister Helga Died. In Ravensbruck Ann Frank Died. In Bergen-Belsen. The historical revisionists are winning Winning Because it really is Too difficult To face the truth Every day To face the truth Every moment It's too hard To always say They were murdered. They were murdered. And to always remember That they did not just die. — Madelaine Zadik Thicker than Water Something nostalgic has been pursuing me for weeks. I miss Israel and I hardly know her. Smells, drafts, wrappers, accents remind me of her everyday living. She's my mother, true, but I didn't care for her much in infancy, Stills and stories without sentiment on my part. She summoned for me a few times after I had left. I returned, true, seeing her only in passing; there were too many distractions, cold rejecting distractions, blown up and fat distractions, ridiculed and dividing distractions. Last spring when death summoned, I returned as an adult, as an individual, as a decider as well as an outsider unwilling to participate in distractions. And I heard her and smelt her and threw her and breathed her everyday living. I left without knowing how much I'd miss her. This passionate gnawing, its her summon again however compelling the urge to rush to her side, circumstances will not permit me...yet. .. - Tamar Eylon Tamar Eylon is a feminist artist and writer who lives in Vancouver. Tragic Figures We are tragic figures dancing in a circle, and a tragic thread passes through us unnoticed, not understood. The One who made us so similar to each other sits on his throne and ridicules our flaws. And his entourage, cherubs of fire, chants hallelujah for his wonderful creation: "How great are Your deeds, Lord!" And the flavour of human agonies breathes out of their pure lips. And I wonder if He knows my personal, tragic story. A story that haunts me on moldy nights and gloomy mornings. A story in which I play the main character of a b-movie, that even Hollywood rejected ex post factum. a Eylon DinaRipsman Eylon, a feminist scholar and writer, is the founder and editor of Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal. NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 KINESIS Bulletin Board Bulletin Board listings have a maximum of 50 words. Groups, organizations and individuals eligible for free space in the Bulletin Board must be, or have, non-profit objectives. Other free notices will be items of general public interest and will appear at the discretion of Kinesis. Classifieds are $8 (+$0.56 GST) for the first 50 words or portion thereof, $4 (+$0.28 GST) for each additional 25 words or portion thereof and must be prepaid. Deadline for ail submissions is the I 8th of the month preceding publication. Note: Kinesis is published ten times a year. Jul/Aug and Dec/Jan are double issues. All submissions should include a contact name and telephone number for any clarification that may be required. Listings will not be accepted over the telephone. Kinesis encourages readers to research the goods and services advertised in Bulletin Board. Kinesis cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information provided or the safety and effectiveness of the services and products listed. Send submissions to Kinesis, #309-877 E. Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC, V6A 3YI, fax: (604) 255-7508, or email: kinesis@web.net. For more information call (604) 255-5499. FEMINIST FUNDRAISERS WANTED VSW is seeking enthusiastic, energetic and creative women to join the Finance and Fundraising Committee. If you enjoy raising money for a great cause, organizing events, or just want to have fun, call Audrey at (604) 255-6554 today! KINESIS MARKETING GANG Interested in being on the hottest committee at VSW? Then check out the Kinesis Marketing Gang. We're looking for women who have experience or are interested in learning advertising and marketing. The Marketing Gang works as a collective to strategize on innovative ways to promote and raise the profile of Kinesis. The gang meets monthly. Training and support will be provided by Kinesis marketing coordi- nator Jenn Lo. Call her at (604) 255-5499. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Empower your community while developing job skills. The British Columbia Persons with AIDS Society needs volunteers. There are opportunities for all interests and skills. Particularly needed now are people with law, administrative, research or data entry skills. For more information, contact Gillian Barber at (604) 893-2298. NVOLVEMEN INQUIRING MINDS WANTTO KNOW! Do you ever wonder how the pages of text in the newspaper you're holding get lined up so neatly? Want to know the fastest way to get wax off your hands? How about all the cool things you can do with a scanner? Does thinking about the right dot pattern keep you up at night? Or do visions of rubylith enter into your dreams? If so, then you definitely need to come down and help put Kinesis together. Just drop by during our next production dates and help us design and lay out Canada's national feminist newspaper, and all your questions will be answered. Come and join us. No experience is necessary. Training and support will be provided. If this notice intrigues you, call us at (604) 255-5499. Childcare and travel subsidies available. WANNA GET INVOLVED? With Kinesis? We want to get involved with you too. Help plan our next issue. All women interested in what goes into Kinesis— whether it's news, features or arts—are invited to our Story Meetings held on the first Tuesday of every month at 7pm at our office, 309-877 E. Hastings St. For more information or if you can't make the meeting but still want to find out how to contribute to the content of Kinesis, give Georgina a call at (604) 255-5499. Both novice and experienced writers are welcome. Childcare and travel subsidies available. VSW IS LOOKING FOR YOU! If you want to learn to do referral and peer counselling work, at VSW we are offering a great opportunity to women interested in volunteer work during the day. Come answer the phone lines, talk to women who drop in, and help connect them with the community resources they need. For more information call (604) 255-6554. Childcare and travel subsidies available. GROUPS JAPANESE QUEER GROUP A new group has started up in Vancouver for lesbians, bisexual women and transgendered women of Japanese heritage. Meetings will be every third Thursday. We will provide you with a safe and joyful place to meet others. For location and more info call Tomiye at (604) 728-0097; or contact Aki on her pager at (604) 708-6867 or by email at aking1976@hotmail.com NAC YOUNG WOMEN'S CAUCUS The National Action Committee on the Status of Women presents its Young Women's Caucus for women between the ages of 16 and 30. It is imperative that young women have space where their voices are validated, celebrated and honoured. The NAC Young Women's Caucus is committed to providing that space, as well as demanding it! Please join in the struggle. For more info contact Rachel at (416) 755-9605, email: thedivas@pathcom.com; or Kelly at (905) 525-0629, email: hwetl-pr@interlynx.net OTTAWA RAPE CRISIS CENTRE The Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre is looking for committed volunteers to work on its crisis line, or Public Education and Fundraising program. Ottawa RCC is a volunteer-based organization which relies on over 8,000 volunteer hours a year. Volunteering can and often does lead to paid work. As part of the Centre's diversity plan, priority will be given to women from diverse ethno-racial/cultural backgrounds. If you would like to join the Ottawa RCC in building a fully inclusive anti-racist service, call (613) 562-2334, ext. 24 for an information package. SURVIVORS FOR SURVIVORS Survivors for Survivors, a self-help group run by and for women survivors of childhood sexual abuse, offers referrals and weekly support meetings. The group aims to maintain a warm, safe and judgement- free environment in which women can speak about their lives, be heard by open ears, and move towards healing. Meetings take place in the North Vancouver area. For meeting dates or more info call Maya at (604) 987-6486. All calls held in strictest confidence. PRIDELINE The Centre's Prideline offers information, referrals, and peer support to lesbian, gay, transgendered and bisexual people 7 days a week from 7-1 Opm. In the Lower Mainland call (604) 684-6869. Elsewhere in BC call 1-800-566-1170. BI-WOMEN'S GET-TOGETHER A bisexual women's get-together in Vancouver is being held once a month for conversation, munchies, laughs and the occasional bi-related movie. For more info and to get on the email list, call (604) 734- 9407 or email Liane at angelbum@netcom.ca BWSS SUPPORT GROUPS Battered Women's Support Services in Vancouver offers a range of support groups for women who are in or who have been in abusive intimate relationships. Women meet to share common experiences and to receive emotional support, information and practical help on resources. BWSS has various drop-in groups, including a custody and access support group, a group for Japanese women, a group run through the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre, and 10-week groups. Bus tickets and on-site childcare or childcare subsidies are available. For more info call (604) 687- 1867. SATRANG If you are into drama, theatre sports, et cetera, and feel strongly about issues affecting South Asian women, come and check out the South Asian Theatre and Networking Group. Satrang is about enthusiasm and having fun with your creativity in a positive scene. Meetings are every Monday from 3:30-5pm at the South Asian Women's Centre, 8163 Main Street, Vancouver. For more info call Anu at (604) 592-0013 or Sonia at (604) 325-6637. MENOPAUSE AWARENESS GROUP The Surrey Women's Centre is sponsoring a Menopause Awareness Group which meets the 4th Monday of each month for informal discussions around menopause issues. The group starts at 7:30pm and will be held at the centre. For location or more info call Janet or Sharon at (604) 589- 1868. BUILDING BLOCKS Building Blocks Vancouver offers information and support for Spanish-speaking, Vietnamese and Aboriginal women living in the Grandview Woodlands area expecting their first baby or with newborns under three months old. The program has a great team of Home Visitors to assist women. For more info call Mosaic at (604) 254-9626 or the Vancouver Aboriginal Family and Child Services at (604) 251-4844, local 311. WOMEN ABUSE SUPPORT GROUP Battered Women's Support Services in Vancouver is offering a support group for women who are in or have been in abusive intimate relationships with women. The group provides emotional support, legal information and advocacy, safety planning, and referrals. The group is free and confidential. Bus tickets and childcare subsidies are available. For more info (604) 687-1867. COMPULSIVE EATING SUPPORT A drop-in support group for women with issues of compulsive eating is held twice a month at the Eating Disorder Resource Centre of BC, St. Paul's Hospital, Room 2C-213, 1081 Burrard St, Vancouver. Drop- in times are 7:30-9pm every 1 st and 3rd Wednesday of the month. Facilitated by Colleen Hyland and Cynthia Johnston. For more info call (604) 631-5313. RAPE RELIEF VOLUNTEERS Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter needs women who are interested in volunteering for their 24-hour crisis line and transition house for women and children. Volunteer training sessions are held Tuesday evenings. For more info and a training interview call (604) 872-8212. SHAKTI Shakti (meaning "strength") is a self-help group in Vancouver for South Asian women who have experienced the psychiatric system. The group meets every 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month 1-3pm at South Asian Women's Centre, 8163 Main Street, Vancouver. Join the group for outings, discoveries, peer support, and non- traditional therapies. Participation is free. For more info call Helen (604) 733-5570 (for English). Sponsored by the Vancouver/ Richmond Mental Health Network. LESBIAN SOCIAL GROUP In the Company of Women, a social group for lesbians in the Lower Fraser Valley meets one Friday every month in the Surrey/Langley area to plan social activities. For more info call Jill at (604) 576- 8107. MOTHERS IN TRANSITION Mothers in Transition Support Group holds regular coffee meetings for mothers who have lost custody of their offspring due to mental illness. Come meet other moms of like mind and situations. Share experiences and interests. We hope together to lessen the burden of living without our offspring. We create friendship. Private meetings are also available. For more info call Dawn at (604) 871-0151. OPENING FOR PRACTITIONERS Pam Fichtner, registered massage therapist, is pleased to announce the new location of her practice: The Sephira Healing Centre. The primary focus of the practice is women's health with a focus on massage therapy, cranial sacral therapy and sematoemotional release. Pam Fichtner serves a diverse population of women and is interested in addressing bisexual and lesbian health issues. Complimentary health practitioners interested in joining the centre should call (604) 434- 9943. BREAST SCREENING CENTRES The Screening Mammography Program of BC is pleased to announce the opening of 3 new breast screening centres in Vancouver: St. Paul's Hospital (604) 660-3639, 5732 Victoria Drive (604) 321-6770, or #505 - 750 West Broadway (604) 879- 8700. For more info or to get a list of existing centres, call (604) 660-3639. FREE LEGAL SERVICES FOR ABUSEDWOMEN Free legal services for abused women are being offered by Battered Women's Support Services (BWSS). This program is coordinated with other BWSS services. For more info call (604) 687-1867. LTBI DISCUSSION GROUP A drop-in discussion/social group for lesbian, transgendered, bisexual women and their women allies will be held every Friday from 6:30-8:30pm at The Centre, 1170 Bute St. For more info call (604) 684- 5307. NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 Bulletin Board EVENTS NURSING CONFERENCE ON ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN The Nursing Network on Violence Against Women presents the 10th International Nursing Conference on Ending Violence Against Women: Setting the Agenda for the Next Millenium on Jun 1-3, UBC, Vancouver, BC. This conference is designed for health professionals working in the area of violence against women. For more info call (604)822-0054 or 1-800- 663-0348. WOMEN SCIENCE &TECHNOLOGY On Tues Apr 11 Professor Indira Samarekera will speak on Women and Engineering - A Challenging Frontier. The talk begins at 5:15 pm and are held in Lecture Hall Room 1080 at 2111 Lower Mall, UBC. For more info call (604) 822- 8781 or (604) 822-8788. WOMEN IN PRINT Toronto writer Catherine Gildner will be reading from her first book, Too Close to the Falls, on Tues Apr 4 at 7:30p.m. Penn Kemp and Pat Keeney will come together to present a unique evening of theatrical poetry that explores the theme of mother/ daughter/goddess/lover on Tues Apr 18 at 7:30 p.m. Performance poet Zaffi Gousopolous will read from The Bride of English and local writer Maureen Medved will read from her first novel The Tracey Fragments on Tues Apr 25 at 7:30p.m. Women in Print is located at 3366 West 4th Ave. For more info call (604) 752-4128. All events are free. HIP HEALTH CLUB The Hip Health Club's monthly women's nude-friendly indoor spas are in danger! If forty women can make reservations by April 4 for the Sat Apr 8 Spa, this highly social, fun, healthy series can continue. Phone Joan at (604) 687-7637 with your reservations now. If you don't reach her in person, please record the date you will attend, your name and phone number. Spas are on the 2nd Saturday of the month, 7:30-9:30pm, 700Templeton Drive. All women welcome with your daughters, also bring sons not older than 10. $4 admission for adults. SMCK DANCE PREMIERS "THE STILL PROJECT" SMcK Dance presents the culmination of choreographer Susan McKenzie's longstanding fascination with silk, movement and lighting experiments begun by American Dance pioneer Loie Fuller. Roundhouse Community Centre (Pacific at Davie), Apr 5-8 at 8:00pm. Tkts $16 ($12 students, seniors). Pay what you can Matinee Apr 8 at 2:00pm. Tkts and info (604)-893 - 8875. IN FRIENDSHIP WITH CUBA Join the 8th "Ernesto Che Guevara" Volunteer Work Brigade for a 3 week program leaving at the end of July 2000. Develop an intimite understanding of Cuba and her people, learn about Cuba's achievements and resistence to the blockade, make new friends. Cost: $1,700, includes airfare from Vancouver, all meals and lodging. For more info contact Nino Pagliccia at (604) 831-9821 or email che_guevara_brigade @ yahoo.com QUEER FAMILIES CELEBRATION Sun Apr 2 at 11am-7pm. Brunch at Harry's Off Commercial, 1716 Charles St, 11am-12:30pm. Parenting workshops and a family dance at Britannia school, 1pm- 7pm. On-site childcare throughout the day. Everyone welcome! Call (604) 684-5307 for free registration. EVENTS 30TH ANNIVERSARY ORGANIZING COMMITTEE VSW will be 30 years old in 2001. Our birthday party is going to be soooo big that we have to start planning NOW! If you want to be part of planning this exciting extravaganza come to a pre planning meeting on Mon May 15 at VSW @ 6:30 pm. Call Audrey at (604) 255-6554 to RSVP. Bus fare and refreshments will be available. VSW MEMORABILIA SOUGHT To help us showcase our 30 years in the women's movement, VSW hopes to compile a visual display of our last three decades. If you have pictures, VSW-made signs, t-shirts, posters, a copy of our 1975- 76 annual report, funny stories to share, we want to hear from you. Contact Audrey at (604) 255-6554. SWING INTO SPRING DANCE The Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers' and Caregivers' Rights invites you to their fundraising Swing Spring Dance on Sat Apr 29. Tickets are $10/person and include a free swing lesson, 8pm-12 am, Heritage Hall, 3102 Main St., Vancouver. For more info call Julie or Lorina at (604) 874-0649. MULTICULTURAL FAMILY CENTRE CELEBRATION Apr 8 mSSLi the 4th anniversary of programs for women of African descent at the Multicultural Family Centre. For more info and upcoming events call MFC at (604) 254-6468. TRAVELLING FILM SOUTH ASIA 2000 A festival of South Asian Documentaries is here in Vancouver for the first time. A group of students from SFU has made it possible to host the festival and the public screenings on Apr 7-9 at the Broadway Cinemas (1660 East Broadway at Commercial). Complete festival info is available at: http://www.sfu.ca/~nvp. For more info email: tfsa2000@yahoo.com or call (604) 298-4704/604-320-0824. SUBMISSIONS SUBMISSIONS HEALTH NETWORK The Canadian Women's Health Network invites submissions for its quarterly newsletter, Network. If you'd like to contribute or wish to suggest a topic we should cover, please email the editor at news@cwhn.ca or contact the editor at CWHN Network, 203-419 Graham Ave, Winnipeg, MB, R3C 0M3. For more info visit: www.cwhn.ca SFUWOMEN'S STUDIES LOGO DESIGN CONTEST Simon Fraser University Women's Studies Department is offering a $1,000 prize for the winning submission of a logo to be used on office stationery, flyers, posters, advertising and events sponsored by the Women's Studies Department. The Department envisions the logo to be dynamic and encompassing elements of both diversity and inclusivity. The logo should lend itself to reproduction in both black & white and colour. Deadline for submissions is Apr 15. Logos should be submitted to Billie Korstrom, Departmental Assistant, Women's Studies Department, SFU, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, B.C. V5A 1S6. PHOTOS OF GAY AND LESBIAN FAMILIES A Safer World, a National Film Board documentary/animation project, is looking for a diverse array of out gay couples and their families to share their photos or to be photographed. For more info or to make a submission, call Chris at (604) 255-0057. CARE ADVOCACY Dr. Susan Prentice, professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Manitoba, is seeking submissions for an edited text on the history, politics and practice of child care in Canada from 1945- 1995. The aim of the anthology is to identify the particular ways that child care mobilization has contributed to the development of policy and services in Canada. For suggested topic ideas or if you wish to submit a paper, contact Susan Prentice at: Department of Sociology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3R 2N2 or call collect at (204) 474-6726, fax: (204) 261-1216, e-mail: sprenti@cc.umanitoba.ca. The submission deadline is Jun 2000, but is flexible. ZINE FOR WOMEN/LESBIANS Let it be Known - Experiences of women/ lesbian activists. Seeking stories (500- 2000) words, drawings or photographs in any of the following imperialist languages: english, trench, Spanish or german. Submissions can be mailed, emailed or faxed to Let it be Known c/o Student Environment Centre, sub, 6138 Student Union Blvd., Vancouver, BC, fax: (604) 822- 9019 (attn. Let it be Known), email: letknown @ vcn. bc.ca CLASSIFIEDS SEA KAYAKING FOR WOMEN You can learn to sea kayak with Bonny Glambeck of Rainforest Kayak Adventures in Tofino, B.C. No experience necessary! Join us for LunaSea, A Women's Solstice Journey, working with the Elements of Nature, we will embark on a gentle journey of healing and rejuvenation. On our Women Who Run with the Waves course, you will learn the basic skills necessary to do trips on your own. For more info call toll-free 1(877)422-WILD, or check out: www.rainforestkayak.com. Lodge-based staff or board retreats, custom trips all in Clayoquot Sound. Go wild! ORRECTION FEBRUARY 2000 ISSUE Kinesis would like to apologize for accidently leaving out the photo credit for Dana Gluckstein's photo "Women In Grainary, Haiti, 1984" Photo credit: Copyright Dana Gluckstein Photo courtesy of Paul Kopeikin Gallery, Los Angeles, California (^CLASSIFIEDS CITYVIEW CO-OP Cityview Housing Co-op is accepting applications for its short waitlist for one, two and three bedroom suites. Carpets, blinds, appliances, parking and laundry room. Children and small pets welcome. Friendly and multicultural! Participation required. Please send a business size SASE to Membership Committee, Cityview Housing Co-op, 108-1885 E. Pender St, Vancouver, BC.V5L1W6. MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION FOR WOMEN This meditative approach to working with stress, pain and illness is offered in introductory classes, eight week courses or individual sessions. For more info call Deborah Prieur at (604) 733-6136. LESBIAN AND GAYTRAVEL SPECIALIST The Travel Clinic is Vancouver's full service gay owned and operated travel agency. We offer women-only guesthouses, trips and cruises, as well as, adventure and eco- tours. We can help you plan your next vacation or business trip. Call Tara at (604) 669-3321 or email: travelclinic@uniserve.com WOMEN'S SELF-DEFENSE Women Educating in Self-defense Training (WEST) teaches Wenlido. In Basic classes, you learn how to make the most of mental, physical and verbal skills to get away from assault situations. Continuing training builds on basic techniques to improve physical and mental strength. By women, for women. For info, call (604) 876-6390. SOUNDS & fURItS PRESENTS: Sun April 9, 8pm FERRON in Concert With Darni Sieber on electric cello and Opening Act Erika Luckett, Latinjazz musician, originally from Mexico and Venezuela. Norman Rothstein Theatre, ]CC, 950 W. 41st Ave. Tixs $18-522 sliding scale at Little Sisters, Women in Print, Urban Empire. Info: 253-7189. Advance tix recommended. Sun April 16, 8pm 50+ Rocking Blues Guitarist ELLEN MCllwaine plays the WISE Hall, 1882 Adanac St with Lee Oliphant, bass and Pat Stewdrd, drums. Tixs $14-520 at Women in Print and Urban Empire. Another sell out! Get tickets now! April 24 - May 8 Women's Magical Tour In Glastonbury, Avetury, Cornwall travelling through time to ancient pre-christian sites with author Cheryl Straffon. Celebrate Beltaine at the Obby Oss Pagan Festival in Padstow. Includes visiting holy wells, fogoues, stone circles with Cheryl Straffon. Tour starts in Glastonbury. Duly 23-30 14th Annual BC Witchcamp Sept 7th - Annual Sappho Lesbian Retreat Oct 13 - Heather Bishop in concert at WISE Flail Nov 14 - Holly Near in concert at VECC (tentative) 1990-2000: 10 years ot women's entertainment and culture with Sounds & Furies. NISSAN, ADAR 5760/APRIL 2000 We may not be Kosher but we love to ham it up at Kinesis. <& samantha; will y00 never see.' they are not kosher, so let me pe.' How can Jewish kids celebrate with green eggs and ham? So, in honour of (and with apologies to the estate of) Dr. Seuss, here is a new ending: I Witt NOT EAT GREEN EGGS ANP HAW. I Wilt NOT EAT THEM, SAMANTHA-I-AM. POT Hi EAT GREEN EGGS WITH A PISCOlT. OR I Will TRY THEWV WITH SOME PRISKlT. &0 ANP IN A POAT UPON THE RIVER, 111 EAT MY GREEN EGGS WITH CHOPPED LIVER/ SO IF YOO'RE A JEWISH PR. SEOSS FAN, WHO'S TROOPlEP PY GREEN EGGS ANP HAM, LET YOOR FRIENPS IN ON THIS GREAT SCOOP. GREEN EGGS TASTE PEST WITH CHICKEN SOUP! WONPERlNG WHAT ELSE TO SERVE WITH GREEN EGGS? HOW APOOT A COP OF ORIGINAL FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES COMPlNEP WITH CREATIVITY ANP FLAIR? TASTE THE POSSIPILlTlES.' SOPSCRIPE TO KINESIS TOPAY.' SUBSCRIPTION O One year $20 + $1.40 GST O Two years $36 + $2.52 GST O Institutions/Groups $45 + $3.15 GST Orders outside of Canada add $8 Vancouver Status of Women Membership (includes Kinesis subscription) O $30+$1.40 GST PAYMENT o Cheque enclosed O Renewal o Bill me O Gift o New O Donation 0 Visa 0 Mastercard Card #: © For individuals who can't afford the full amount for Kinesis subscription, send what you can. © Free to women prisoners. Expiry date:
Preceding title: Vancouver Status of Women. Newsletter. Date of publication: 1974-2001. Frequency: Monthly.
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English
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Vancouver : Vancouver Status of Women
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Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. HQ1101.V24 N49
Women--Social and moral questions
Feminism--Periodicals
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