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10 Jewish Women from History

Karima bat-Ammar, AKA al-Wuhsha the Broker (11th - 12th CE, Cairo)

One of the few people mentioned in the Cairo Geniza with enough information to form a clear picture about her life. She was briefly married, but soon divorced and formed her own successful business in investments and loaning money. Known as eccentric and untamed, she became important enough that, despite the male-dominated society of Cairo, both her daughter and her granddaughter cited their connection to her in their own legal documents. 

Anna Hebrea (~ 1500s CE, Rome)

A beautician and cosmetician established in Rome, and one of the earliest businesswomen of her profession to be documented. She was successful and well known even outside of Rome, and had noble customers, such as countess Caterina Sforza.

Seble Wongel (? - 1567 CE, Ethiopia)

Born into a noble Jewish family from Beta Israel kingdom of Simien and a descendant of King Solomon, she was married to the emperor of Ethiopia in what was likely a major political alliance. An influential figure in the Ethiopian-Adal War, she conducted a prison exchange and brought home her son Menas, who would later become emperor in 1559. 

Gracia Mendes Nasi (1510 - 1569 CE, All Across Europe)

Born in Lisbon, Portugal, to a family of Conversos from Spain, who fled to Portugal for religious freedom but ended up forcibly converted a few years later. When he husband died, he left part of his fortune to her. Over the years, she lived in many places, including Antwerp, Venice and Ferrara, and finally Istanbul, making a name for herself as a businesswoman and provider for Jewish communities. In 1579, she established her own printing business, and became the first woman printer and publisher in the Ottoman Empire. She ended up having influence over kings, dukes, and popes, which often allowed her to create escape networks for Jews fleeing persecution. She donated towards the building of synagogues and yeshivas, and ended up getting a lease from the sultan on the region of Tiberias, which she built into a new center for refugees and others who wished to settle there in what is considered one of the earliest attempts at a modern Zionist movement. 

Asenath Barzani (1590 - 1670 CE, Kurdistan)

From the Barzani family, who were well known Kabbalists and rabbis in northern Kurdistan. Her father, a rabbi and leader of the Jewish community, taught her Torah to prepare her as his successor, since he had no sons. Her marriage was only allowed to go through once it was promised that she could spend her time as a Torah scholar. After her husband’s death, the leadership of his yeshiva passed to her. She became a well known Torah scholar and successfully ran the yeshiva for many years. She was well versed in Hebrew, Torah, Talmud, Midrash, and Kabbalah, and was also known as a poet. She became the focus of several Kurdish stories, including a story where she is able to summon angels and saves a synagogue form being burned down. 

Shinah Solomon Etting (1744 - 1822, Baltimore)

Born to a merchant in New York City, she married at the age of fourteen and soon thereafter moved to York, Pennsylvania, where she had eight children. Together with her husband, she ran a small store in York. After her husband died in 1778, she moved to Baltimore and, using her inheritance, purchased a small boarding house. The boarding house would later become successful enough that she was able to assist two of her sons in busines ventures, and become a stockholder in Union Bank. She had her portrait painted three times: twice by Charles Peale Polk, and once by John Wesley Jarvis. 

Eliza Davis (1817 - 1903 CE, London)

A Jewish woman born in Jamaica, she and her husband later moved to London after her husband bought Charles Dickens’ home. In 1863, she wrote to Dickens in protest over the portrayal of Fagin in Oliver Twist, and absurd number of times that he is referred to as “the Jew.” Although initially defensive, Dickens soon stopped the printing of Oliver Twist and changed parts of the text. In addition to Dickens, she was said to have had correspondence with several other notable individuals, including the Private Secretary to Queen Victoria. 

Sabat Islambouli (1867 - 1941 CE, Syria)

Born into a Kurdish Jewish family, she studied at the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in the United States, and, after graduating with a medical degree in 1890, became one of the first Kurdish women physicians from Syria. After she graduated, she returned to Damascus, and later moved to Cairo in 1919.  

Jerusha Jhirad (1891 - 1984 CE, India)

An Indian physician from the Bene Israel Jewish community of India. After graduating from Grant Medical College in Bombay in 1912, she became the first women to be given a scholarship by the Indian government to study abroad. She attended school and later worked in London, specializing in obstetrics and gynaecology. From 1920 to 1924, she was a leading medical officer at a maternity hospital in Bangalore, and from 1929 to 1947 was a leading officer at a hospital for women and children in Mumbai. She was a founding member of the Bombay Obstetric and Gynaecological Society and president of the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India, and for ten years was the president of the Association of Medical Women in India. She was a supporter of sex education. In 1950, she presided at the sixth All India Obstetric and Gynaecological Congress in Madras. In addition to her medical accomplishments, she also founded a congregation among the Bene Israel community with her sister in 1925. 

Polina Gelman (1919 - 2005 CE, Soviet Union)

A flight navigator in the women’s 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment in World War II, she was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union in 1946. After the war, she continued her career as a military officer, and graduated from the Military Institute of Foreign Languages in 1951. At some point in her career, she served as an advisor and translator to Cuba. She finally settled in Moscow in 1957, where she taught political economy in college until 1990. 

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10 Jewish Women from History

Karima bat-Ammar, AKA al-Wuhsha the Broker (11th - 12th CE, Cairo)

One of the few people mentioned in the Cairo Geniza with enough information to form a clear picture about her life. She was briefly married, but soon divorced and formed her own successful business in investments and loaning money. Known as eccentric and untamed, she became important enough that, despite the male-dominated society of Cairo, both her daughter and her granddaughter cited their connection to her in their own legal documents. 

Anna Hebrea (~ 1500s CE, Rome)

A beautician and cosmetician established in Rome, and one of the earliest businesswomen of her profession to be documented. She was successful and well known even outside of Rome, and had noble customers, such as countess Caterina Sforza.

Seble Wongel (? - 1567 CE, Ethiopia)

Born into a noble Jewish family from Beta Israel kingdom of Simien and a descendant of King Solomon, she was married to the emperor of Ethiopia in what was likely a major political alliance. An influential figure in the Ethiopian-Adal War, she conducted a prison exchange and brought home her son Menas, who would later become emperor in 1559. 

Gracia Mendes Nasi (1510 - 1569 CE, All Across Europe)

Born in Lisbon, Portugal, to a family of Conversos from Spain, who fled to Portugal for religious freedom but ended up forcibly converted a few years later. When he husband died, he left part of his fortune to her. Over the years, she lived in many places, including Antwerp, Venice and Ferrara, and finally Istanbul, making a name for herself as a businesswoman and provider for Jewish communities. In 1579, she established her own printing business, and became the first woman printer and publisher in the Ottoman Empire. She ended up having influence over kings, dukes, and popes, which often allowed her to create escape networks for Jews fleeing persecution. She donated towards the building of synagogues and yeshivas, and ended up getting a lease from the sultan on the region of Tiberias, which she built into a new center for refugees and others who wished to settle there in what is considered one of the earliest attempts at a modern Zionist movement. 

Asenath Barzani (1590 - 1670 CE, Kurdistan)

From the Barzani family, who were well known Kabbalists and rabbis in northern Kurdistan. Her father, a rabbi and leader of the Jewish community, taught her Torah to prepare her as his successor, since he had no sons. Her marriage was only allowed to go through once it was promised that she could spend her time as a Torah scholar. After her husband’s death, the leadership of his yeshiva passed to her. She became a well known Torah scholar and successfully ran the yeshiva for many years. She was well versed in Hebrew, Torah, Talmud, Midrash, and Kabbalah, and was also known as a poet. She became the focus of several Kurdish stories, including a story where she is able to summon angels and saves a synagogue form being burned down. 

Shinah Solomon Etting (1744 - 1822, Baltimore)

Born to a merchant in New York City, she married at the age of fourteen and soon thereafter moved to York, Pennsylvania, where she had eight children. Together with her husband, she ran a small store in York. After her husband died in 1778, she moved to Baltimore and, using her inheritance, purchased a small boarding house. The boarding house would later become successful enough that she was able to assist two of her sons in busines ventures, and become a stockholder in Union Bank. She had her portrait painted three times: twice by Charles Peale Polk, and once by John Wesley Jarvis. 

Eliza Davis (1817 - 1903 CE, London)

A Jewish woman born in Jamaica, she and her husband later moved to London after her husband bought Charles Dickens’ home. In 1863, she wrote to Dickens in protest over the portrayal of Fagin in Oliver Twist, and absurd number of times that he is referred to as “the Jew.” Although initially defensive, Dickens soon stopped the printing of Oliver Twist and changed parts of the text. In addition to Dickens, she was said to have had correspondence with several other notable individuals, including the Private Secretary to Queen Victoria. 

Sabat Islambouli (1867 - 1941 CE, Syria)

Born into a Kurdish Jewish family, she studied at the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in the United States, and, after graduating with a medical degree in 1890, became one of the first Kurdish women physicians from Syria. After she graduated, she returned to Damascus, and later moved to Cairo in 1919.  

Jerusha Jhirad (1891 - 1984 CE, India)

An Indian physician from the Bene Israel Jewish community of India. After graduating from Grant Medical College in Bombay in 1912, she became the first women to be given a scholarship by the Indian government to study abroad. She attended school and later worked in London, specializing in obstetrics and gynaecology. From 1920 to 1924, she was a leading medical officer at a maternity hospital in Bangalore, and from 1929 to 1947 was a leading officer at a hospital for women and children in Mumbai. She was a founding member of the Bombay Obstetric and Gynaecological Society and president of the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India, and for ten years was the president of the Association of Medical Women in India. She was a supporter of sex education. In 1950, she presided at the sixth All India Obstetric and Gynaecological Congress in Madras. In addition to her medical accomplishments, she also founded a congregation among the Bene Israel community with her sister in 1925. 

Polina Gelman (1919 - 2005 CE, Soviet Union)

A flight navigator in the women’s 46th Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment in World War II, she was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union in 1946. After the war, she continued her career as a military officer, and graduated from the Military Institute of Foreign Languages in 1951. At some point in her career, she served as an advisor and translator to Cuba. She finally settled in Moscow in 1957, where she taught political economy in college until 1990. 

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This is so precious!

Look at this lovely 1970s kids' Yiddish primer I found on the Internet Archive.

Yiddisher Kinder Alef by Joseph Mlotek, published by The Workmen's Circle, (now The Workers Circle) 1971.

The plot lines aren't that compelling but the illustrations are delightful.

Here's a seasonal one for Sukkot.

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Date: 6/13/25

Note: Why are people like this

“Stay out of our valley. We will destroy your synagogues. Hamas lives on. You all burn in hell.”

They sent this to Friendship Circle Las Vegas

Our Mission

Friendship Circle provides a fully-inclusive and non-judgemental environment that nurtures relationships and helps to create lifelong friendships for individuals with disabilities.

Friendship Circle is founded upon the belief that within each person is a soul; and that soul is equal and worthy of boundless love. Everyone is deserving of friendship, and everyone can be a friend.

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❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

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Happy Pride Month!

Queer rights are a Jewish value!

And, to my fellow LGBTQ+ Jewish folks out there, I know this is a hard year and we’re all facing a lot of personal and difficult decisions about participating in Pride. I see you. And no choice you make will be the wrong one so long as it feels right to you. I’m proud of you all.

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This is why I defend Dawn Summers so hard.

‘It’s sooo annoying that this traumatized child character is not being super rational and emotionally stable about the horrendous things they’re experiencing with that even a well adjusted adult would struggle to deal with’ is possibly the most infuriating take on the internet and i want to beat you all with hammers.

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Bahá'í Garden in Haifa, ISRAEL

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Lmao

🩵🤎🖤🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷 🩷🩵🤎🖤❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ 🤍🩷🩵🤎🖤🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡 💛🤍🩷🩵🤎🖤💛💛💛💛💛 🤍🩷🩵🤎🖤💚💚💚💚💚💚 🩷🩵🤎🖤💙💙💙💙💙💙💙 🩵🤎🖤💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

happy pride

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really bold of antisemites to come onto jumblr and try to win an argument. like we are professional arguers. get clowned on. we have been arguing about stuff for fun for like 2,500 years. I dare you to win an argument. my family has had arguments about everything from the capabilities of shrimp to categorizing napkin positions. our religious texts are full of ditch digging specifications and property law and how deep one should bow in (x) situation. You cannot talk to a rabbi without getting at least one book recommendation. Come on give us a challenge instead of screaming buzzwords. You have to say we are lying because that is the only way for you to compete. Smh ...

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this is Keshet Casarotti-Kalfa. his name means “rainbow,” and since his murder, everyone who knew him has spoken about how he was a child of light. his mother, Natalia, has been trying to share his story and keep that light alive.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C2Z3CnkrEgh/

My name is Natalia Casarotti, I’ve been lucky for 21 years that I’ve been the mother of an angel named Keshet, rainbow.

Keshet was murdered by Hamas while he was escaping from the massacre at the Nova festival. The monster terrorists shot him straight in his pure heart. He died immediately. He didn’t suffer before he died. Keshet was with Orion Hernandez, who was kidnapped to Gaza, and Orion’s girlfriend, Shani Louk, who was murdered too and her body was kidnapped by Hamas.

Keshet liked music festivals. He liked to travel around the world, getting to know people, and drinking wine.

Keshet had a special touch for people. If you met him - you will never forget him. His light shined from the other side of the dance floor. He was a people magnet, especially women, for people from all over the world, never mind their age.. They all fell in love with him, but he was like a bird, a free spirit.

My son had a heart of gold. He always helped people and always gave a helping hand.

He became close to the religion during his last 2 years of life. Even when he was living in a kibbutz in the desert, he used to put on Tefillin every day.

I’m sure that God wanted him close to him, otherwise I can’t understand why he took him so early.

I would like people to remember my son by doing good things on behalf of his life. Not only one time. Something that happens at least once a week.

Remember him by having a glass of wine and drink for life, L’chaim.

Remember Keshet by music, art and dancing.

And look up to the sky on a rainy or sunny day, he may send us a hello as a beautiful rainbow.

may his memory be a blessing, may his spirit continue to shine brightly, and may his mother find healing and joy in all the love she has to give.

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(many of the responses he got to this are gross, but I don’t feel like putting you all through seeing that right now, it’s the op’s message that matters)

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Every political situation in the Middle East the US gets involved in is not automatically like Iraq.

People saying it's a "lie" that the Iranian government could have nukes are seriously underestimating Khamenei's genocidal regime and slapping every Woman Life Freedom protestor who has continuously warned about the regime's aspirations in the face.

That doesn't mean Trump's actions are all "good" either- bombing nuclear facilities can have deadly consequences for civilians living nearby. It is also concerning that a leader like Trump can decide to go to war without other parts of the government ok-ing it.

But the amount of sanitizing of the Iranian regime- which has murdered, tortured, and raped countless dissidents- is unacceptable.

[edenfenixblogs]

american men are hyper-focused on the draft because in rough descending order 1. it allows men to do gender oppression cosplay and stick it to those feminists. "see, I'm oppressed for being a man! I might have to go to war! feminism disproved!" 2. americans and especially american men are incredibly solipsistic and if they are against something they on some level have to make it about themselves to care. 3. the idea of a draft is legitimately scary, even if it is totally irrational and dumb as hell. 4. both the left and the right get to do the "I'm not dying for the zionists" performance piece.

[edenfenixblogs]

🩵🤎🖤🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷 🩷🩵🤎🖤❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ 🤍🩷🩵🤎🖤🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡 💛🤍🩷🩵🤎🖤💛💛💛💛💛 🤍🩷🩵🤎🖤💚💚💚💚💚💚 🩷🩵🤎🖤💙💙💙💙💙💙💙 🩵🤎🖤💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

happy pride