Like Esther, today’s Jewish women make a difference

Most Jewish women have at least one childhood memory of wearing a Queen Esther costume for Purim. Esther’s image is ubiquitous in the collective Jewish consciousness, not only as the character in the Purim story who outwitted the villain Haman in order to save the Jewish people from annihilation, but as a symbol of a strong and intelligent woman. No wonder so many little girls want to dress up as Esther.

Like Esther before them, there are plenty of modern-day Jewish women leaving a strong mark on our society. Admittedly, the following list only scratches the surface of Jewish women making a difference, but here is a sampling of those who have made headlines for channeling their inner Queen Esther.

Iris Yifrach, Bat-Galim Shaar, Rachel Frenkel: mothers turning tragedy to unity

After Hamas’s kidnapping and murder of Israeli teens Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar, and Naftali Frenkel last summer, their mothers, despite their overwhelming grief, decided to campaign for Jewish unity. Since then, Iris Yifrach, Bat-Galim Shaar, and Rachel Frenkel, in partnership with Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, have launched the Jerusalem Unity Prize in memory of their sons.

The prize of up to 100,000 shekels (approximately $25,600) will recognize “the efforts of organizations and individuals in Israel and the Diaspora who actively work to advance unity throughout Jewish communities and Israeli society.”

“For many years, Eyal talked about unity and connecting to others,” Iris Yifrach said. “The most appropriate way to pay tribute to his life is to commit ourselves to these ideals.”

Scarlett Johansson: principled actress 

Jewish-American actress Scarlett Johansson took a principled stand last year when she stepped down as a global ambassador for the non-governmental organization Oxfam International, which had criticized her for serving as a pitch woman for SodaStream, the beverage-carbonation company that has a factory in Judea and Samaria.

Johansson said in an interview with the British Observer newspaper that she was “aware of that particular factory before I signed [with SodaStream]. And it still doesn’t seem like a problem—at least not until someone comes up with a solution to the closing of that factory and leaving all those people [working there] destitute.” She added that the SodaStream factory, which employs many Palestinians and has an on-site mosque, is “a model for some sort of movement forward in a seemingly impossible situation.”

Or Cohen: female Israeli Naval commander

Israel Defense Forces Capt. Or Cohen, who is currently a navigation officer on a missile boat, will become deputy chief of a patrol boat pending final confirmation by the Israeli Navy’s commander Maj. Gen. Ram Rothberg, who gave the initial approval in November 2014. This is the first time a woman has been appointed as a vessel commander in the Israeli Navy.

“My life’s dream is coming true,” Cohen said. “I’m very excited and I’m grateful for the opportunity and the trust the senior command has in me. As an IDF officer, I believe in the integration of women into meaningful combat roles and I’m glad that I’ve been given the chance to have influence.”

Gillian Rosenberg: anti-Islamic State fighter

Canadian-Israeli Gillian Rosenberg, 31, stunned the world last November with the announcement that she had joined Kurdish forces in their fight against the Islamic State terror, becoming the first non-Iraqi woman to do so.

Rosenberg later put fears to rest by denying reports that Islamic State had captured her.

“[The Kurds] are our brothers. They are good people. They love life, a lot like us [Israelis], really,” Rosenberg, a former Israel Defense Forces soldier, told Israel Radio.

Leora Maccabee Itman: community-builder

In August 2014, NEXT: A Division of Birthright Israel Foundation and the Natan Fund announced three recipients for the 2014 Natan/NEXT Grants for Social Entrepreneurs. Among the winners was Leora Maccabee Itman, founder of TC Jewfolk, a start-up that uses social media and community-based journalism to connect, engage, and inspire young Jews in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minn.

TC Jewfolk promotes what it calls “a thousand ways to be Jewish,” bringing myriad Jewish voices together to reflect and forge diverse connections to local and global Jewish life. Itman is also an attorney at Maslon, Edelman, Borman & Brand, LLP. 

The late Bess Myerson: only Jewish Miss America

The only Jewish Miss America, Bess Myerson, died last December at the age of 90. Myerson is known not just for winning the 1945 Miss America crown, but for defending her Jewish identity during the competition. Organizers asked Myerson to change her name to Betty Merrick, but she refused. Later on in life, Myerson campaigned against anti-Semitism for the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and was named ADL’s Woman of the Year in 1965.

Hessy Taft: ‘Aryan’ baby

Eighty years ago, 6-month-old Hessy Taft’s picture was selected by the Nazis, reportedly chosen by Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels himself, as the image of the ideal Aryan baby. The picture was distributed on postcards far and wide, and nobody—the Nazis included—ever discovered that this puffy-cheeked baby was actually Jewish.

Perhaps the sweetest revenge of all is that Taft is still alive and still working, as a professor of chemistry in New York. Taft, 80, never intended to be a symbol for the survival of the Jewish people, but she has become just that.