World Environment Day

ICJW’s Co-Chair for Environment & Sustainable Development, Dr. Joan Lurie, explains how political compromise can destroy our best intentions to…

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Mitzvah Day Sunshine Across South Africa

The International Council of Jewish Women

Established in 1912, the International Council of Jewish Women (ICJW) is an umbrella organization representing Jewish women and women's organizations in 34 countries. ICJW has consultative status at the United Nations as a non-governmental organization (NGO) with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and maintains permanent delegations in New York, Geneva, Vienna and Paris. ICJW is also represented at the Council of Europe, the European Women’s Lobby, the International Council of Women, the World Jewish Congress, and many other international and regional organizations.

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Women’s Issues

International Agunah Day 2023

International Agunah Day is traditionally commemorated on Ta’anit Esther, the Fast of Esther, the day before Purim. This year, considering the current situation in Israel vis a vis the impending changes to the judiciary, we must be especially mindful of the plight of Agunot. It appears that the Beth Din in Israel will gain increased powers, which will disadvantage woman generally and Agunot in particular. Jewish communities around the world recite the Mi She-Berach prayer for Agunot on Shabbat Zachor (the Shabbat before Purim), uniting with communities worldwide in praying for their welfare and freedom. We cannot stand idly by while women are trapped in marriages against their will. We must increase awareness of this issue. We cannot overestimate the power of the community and our ability to unite, advocate and support. Susie Ivany OAM, Co – Chair Status of Women in Jewish Law Prayer for Agunot He Who Blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and our foremothers Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Leah, may He remember and consider favorably all the women who are agunot and who are denied a writ of divorce (mesorvot get), help, shield and save them, and release them from their confinement to grant them a new life this day.God who answers in times of trouble, who redeems and rescues in times of woe, may He answer the women who are bound in living widowhood, hear their outcries, and nullify the intentions of those husbands who refuse to give their wives a writ of divorce. For He is the God of all flesh, nothing is too wondrous for Him.Our sisters, the daughters of Israel, who are in distress and bondage, may the Omnipresent One have mercy upon them, and deliver them from distress to relief, and from darkness to light.May God who releases prisoners from their chains, place in the hearts of the judges of Israel the spirit of wisdom and insight, the spirit of counsel and valor, the spirit of devotion and fear of God, that they may free from their fetters all the agunot and women who have been refused a writ of divorce by their husbands, so that the Divine Presence will rise from her dust since whoever frees one agunah it is as though he built one of the ruins of supernal Jerusalem. And may the biblical verse be fulfilled in them, “And call upon Me on a day of distress, I will rescue you and you will honor Me” (Psalms 91:15).May the King of Kings stand at their side, exalt them, bring them recovery and healing, and may they endure no more despair and brokenheartedness. And may they merit to establish faithful homes in Israel. Because this entire holy congregation is praying on their behalf; now, speedily, and at a near time, and let us say, Amen.“Mi she-Berakh Prayer for Agunot and Women who are Denied a Writ of Divorce (mesorvot get)” was written by Dr. Yael Levine in the summer of 2006 and first published in the journal De’ot in advance of Purim 2007. The Hebrew version of the prayer was subsequently reprinted in the monumental Sefer ha-Shabbat, edited by Yonadav Kaploun and issued by Yediot Aharonot in 2011 (p. 260). The English translation was first published in The Jerusalem Post 16 March 2016

Jewish issues

Passover Greeting from the President

Passover is the quintessential family celebration in Judaism. We remember the liberation of the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt, that is, the creation of the people of Israel, the formation of a people as such.” In the weeks leading up to Passover there is an important movement in any Jewish house, we clean, tidy, and remove from our homes anything that may contain chametz, the Jewish mother will always be busy preparing everything for her family to spend a Kasher Passover vesameach. Many are the messages and learnings of the feast, however, today I would like to highlight the importance of two of many of our mitzvot: The first is that when we take care of extracting the chametz from our homes, we concentrate on also removing from our lives everything that “inflates”, that grows in our lives and makes us “slaves” such as pride, sadness, anger, in short, we clean and leave in our lives only those feelings and attitudes that help us to be free, to rise and be better every day. The second is the importance of “Vehigadeta le binjá bayom hahu”, we begin the seder with the obligation to tell and tell our children the years of slavery and the miracle of the departure from Egypt, from our freedom. The Jewish woman, in the day to day fulfills this great mitzvah in each action, in each dinner, every time she lights the Shabbat candles and party, every time she strives and with much love and affection gathers her family around a table transmitting in each act, the essence of our people and the transmission of our values in the family. Let us continue to enjoy our physical and emotional freedom and sow in our children and grandchildren the pride of being Jewish, of being part of this great nation, of this great people. Passover Kasher vesameach. Lilian Grinberg, President, ICJW Pésaj es la celebración familiar por excelencia en el judaísmo. Recordamos la liberación del pueblo hebreo de la esclavitud en Egipto, es decir, la creación del pueblo de Israel, la formación de un pueblo como tal”. Las semanas previas a Pesaj hay un importante movimiento en cualquier casa judía, limpiamos, ordenamos y sacamos de nuestras casas cualquier cosa que pueda contener jametz, la madre judía siempre estará ocupada en preparar todo para que su familia pase un Pesaj Kasher vesameaj. Muchos son los mensaje y aprendizajes de la fiesta, sin embargo, hoy quisiera resaltar la importancia de dos de muchas de nuestras mitzvot: El primero es que al ocuparnos de extraer de nuestras casas el jametz, nos concentremos en sacar también de nuestras vidas todo aquello que “infle”, que crezca en nuestra vida y nos haga “esclavos” como la soberbia, la tristeza, el enojo, en fin, limpiemos y dejemos en nuestras vidas solo aquellos sentimientos y actitudes que nos ayuden a ser libres, a elevarnos y ser cada dia mejores. El segundo es la importancia de “Vehigadeta le binjá bayom hahú”, iniciamos el seder con la obligación de contar y relatar a nuestros hijos los años de esclavitud y el milagro de la salida de Egipto, de nuestra libertad. La mujer judía, en el día a día cumple con esta gran mitzva en cada acción, en cada cena, cada vez que enciende las velas de Shabat y fiesta, cada vez que se esfuerza y con mucho amor y cariño reune a su familia alrededor de una mesa transmitiendo en cada acto, la esencia de nuestro pueblo y la transmisión de nuestros valores en familia. Sigamos disfrutando de nuestra libertad física y emocional y sembremos en nuestros hijos y nietos el orgullo de ser judíos, de ser parte de esta gran nación, de este gran pueblo. Pesaj Kasher vesameaj.

ICJW EVENTS

Important Events in Geneva

Mary Liling and Léonie de Picciotto represent ICJW in Geneva. Here are their reports on just two of the events that they have attended recently. CEDAW Report Launch Mary and Léonie were invited by Prof. Ruth Halperin-Kaddari to attend a launch event on May 12, 2023, for the second edition of “The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and its Optional Protocol – A Commentary”, edited by four experts on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination (CEDAW): Patricia Schulz, Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, Beate Rudolf and Marsha A. Freeman. The volume reflects the developments during the decade following the publication of the first edition in 2012. It is a full overview of the work of the CEDAW Committee, including all of its decisions, inquiry reports, and general recommendations. It is one of the most important anti-discrimination and women’s rights instruments, based on the jurisprudence and practice of the CEDAW Committee. Each speaker put the spotlight on a different CEDAW articles. Prof. Ruth Halperin-Kaddari from Israel, in charge of Article 16 on family law, underlined that it represents four years of her work. The challenge was “to recapture what happened since a decade”. Until 2008 there was insufficient focus on family relations as threats to women’s rights, maintaining patriarchal laws; “there has been an impressive evolutionary process since ”. Hilary Gbedemah, a Ghanaian lawyer, stressed the importance of education to achieve women’s equality. “Education is not only a human right but is also a gateway to other human rights”. Prof. Dr. Beate Rudolf from Germany spoke about Article 13 on women and the economy, with its diverse ramifications (labor, self-employment, right to food, right to transport, social security) as “an orphan” dealing with “leftovers” from other Articles. They have been impacted by austerity measures due to the pandemic, economic measures in crisis situations, the Ukraine war etc. There has been a shift of perspective by CEDAW over the years: all speakers mentioned the importance of intersectionality in analyzing the diverse discriminations that women face. At present, there are 37 recognized intersectional discriminations which need to be addressed. The UN Watch Annual Summit for Human Rights and Democracy On May 16, Mary and Léonie attended the opening of UN Watch’s 15th annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights, an introduction to the May 17 full-day Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, where we were also present. We heard moving, heartbreaking testimonies, from brave and courageous human rights defenders, often very young, many of whom had personally suffered from torture and imprisonment; others spoke up for innocent relatives detained by autocratic regimes, such as Russia, China, Iran Afghanistan N. Korea, Zimbabwe. Victims and witnesses of Human Rights abuses in their countries, that need global attention! This yearly events’ purpose is giving “a voice to the voiceless”, who are never heard at the Human Rights Council’s 3 yearly sessions. We were inspired by their messages of hope, and impressed by their determination and resilience. As representatives of ICJW, we particularly welcomed the Summit’s presentation of its 2023 International Women’s Rights Award to Shima Babei, an exiled women’s rights activist and former political prisoner, in tribute to the courageous women and girl protesters of Iran. Mary and Léonie at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on Wednesday, May 17, 2023.

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