Why Jewish women’s organisations still matter

Many Jewish women’s organisations were established at a time when women had no voice in communal institutions. This is no longer the case.

Women can and have led many of Australia’s Jewish institutions: the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies has a female CEO, the ECAJ has had numerous female presidents, and several schools have female principals.

There’s still a long way to go before women are equally represented in institutional leadership. The issue of unequal female representation at the top is one in which wider society, not just Jewish Australia, continues to grapple with.

So why do some of our most capable female leaders choose to run women’s organisations rather than lead organisations that represent the entire community? Why do these organisations still matter?

The Jewish Independent spoke to four leaders of Jewish women’s organisations in Australia. Some of their answers might surprise you.

Founded in Sydney in 1923, the National Council of Jewish Women Australia (NCJWA) is the peak advocacy body for Jewish women in the country. Lynda Ben-Menashe has been its National President since August, after being approached to take on the role. Would she have taken on the leadership of a general community organisation?

“I certainly would have considered it,” she says. “But I wasn’t approached by a general organisation, I was approached by a women's organisation.”

She also felt the NCJWA role aligned with what she wanted to do with her time.

Ben-Menashe says that at this point in history, the voices raised against the Jewish community and against Israel in the public conversation (such as the social justice and woke spaces) are predominantly female.

“Women's organisations can go into some of the most hostile spaces to Jews at the moment that are closed to mainstream organisations,” she says. She offers a hypothetical example of a conference discussing refugee women’s issues, explaining that it wouldn’t be appropriate to send in, say, the Zionist Federation of Australia.

In contrast, NCJWA is able to platform and utilise diverse Jewish voices, particularly women’s voices, in a way which hasn’t been done before. “You just have more credibility as a woman coming in there.”

Ben-Menashe stresses that the men who lead our community have done, and are doing, brilliant work. But she adds that “we are at a disadvantage as a Jewish community when our spokespeople are white men in suits.”

Ben-Menashe is clear that as a women’s organisation, NCJWA is not inferior to a general community organisation. Rather, it is “equal to, and different”. Her goal is for NCJWA to integrate and cooperate with existing peak bodies in the Jewish community, “not to work in parallel or duplication or competition”. She explains: “we are here to amplify and complement the work of other community organisations, meaning we will go into the spaces that they haven't or can't go into, we will do the work that they’re not really able or as well equipped to do.”

She also intends to use NCJWA’s 101-year-old platform and gravitas to elevate women’s voices. “I want to harness the talent of the other 51 per cent of our Jewish community, which I think hasn't always had enough of a of a chance.”

Founded in 1935, Emunah is an Israel-based social action and welfare organisation. Tali Boltin has been Co-President of Emunah Australia (previously known as Ladies Mizrachi) – which has always had its strongest presence in Melbourne – since 2019. Her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother were all involved in the organisation. “So, it’s been a natural thing for me to step into as well.”

Emunah is primarily a female-led organisation, but it provides services, including women’s shelters, daycare centres and trauma counselling centres, for all parts of the Israeli community.

Boltin is also involved in general Jewish community organisations in Australia (she’s on the executive of her children’s school), but considers it vital to have women’s organisations, which “provide ways for women to get involved in the community that can be a lot more accessible and welcoming”.

Boltin acknowledges that Emunah’s work could be carried out by men or women. But the fact that it’s mainly run by women “gives it a special sensitivity to the way it's organised”, since women are often the lynchpin of their families. Since October 7, Emunah has shifted much of its focus to its counselling centres, and is providing trauma counselling all over Israel. In addition, existing Emunah centres have been converted to dining halls and spare dormitories.

“I think women's organisations are in a unique position to understand women's needs in Israel post-October 7,” she says. Boltin explains that Emunah is addressing the difficulties faced by many Israeli families, where women are solo parenting for months while their husbands are in military service, sometimes for over 200 days. “Women are having to step up in completely different ways and under huge pressure; having to be the breadwinners and run the household and look after the children.”

Boltin says that women’s organisations also fill advocacy gaps that aren't being addressed by other organisations. “There were uniquely awful crimes perpetrated against women [on October 7], and which are still ongoing with the female hostages, that the world has largely ignored. Women's organisations are doing their best to keep highlighting these and ensure they’re not forgotten.”

She also points to Unchain My Heart, “an incredible organisation”, which provides support and advocacy for Australian women having difficulty obtaining a gett (Jewish divorce).

Michelle Spiro has been a member of the Women’s International Zionist Organisation (WIZO) Australia for almost 45 years. Founded in Israel in 1920, Australia’s first group was established in Melbourne in 1935, and WIZO now operates in 38 countries. Funds raised across Australia are sent to Israel for hundreds of WIZO-funded projects which primarily support women, children and the elderly. WIZO also has representation in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) and has been instrumental in the enacting pieces of legislation which benefit women and families.

Spiro initially joined WIZO in her 20s for social reasons, to meet other Jewish women. But over time, her love for WIZO grew. The women’s-only nature of the organisation appealed to her, as was the opportunity to “do good”.

“The general organisations can be run by anybody, but WIZO is very specific for women,” she says. Spiro became “completely involved”, holding the role of NSW Treasurer for 20 years and then becoming National Treasurer.

Spiro says there continues to be a place for women’s organisations because “we feel specifically for women, children and their families”. WIZO does a lot of looking after women in Israel, and responding to women’s issues. She gives examples of the two WIZO-funded and operated shelters for victims of domestic violence, and their two centres for at-risk girls. WIZO also supports women post-shelter.

Like Emunah, WIZO has adapted post-October 7, raising funds to build more bomb shelters in areas of need. It also fundraised to reopen WIZO’s facilities in Sderot, including funding counsellors and psychologist to help those in the Gaza envelope rebuild their lives. ”WIZO is evolving all the time.”

Founded in 2020, the Jewish Feminist Orthodox Alliance (JOFA) Australia is part of a global network of organisations dedicated to the promotion of Orthodox women in all areas of Jewish life within the bounds of halacha (Jewish law).

JOFA is unique in that there’s nothing similar in Australia dedicated to the promotion of Orthodox women and their voices. Most of JOFA’s programs are geared towards Orthodox women, but the organisation is quite flexible about who participates. Indeed, many non-Orthodox women have attended and benefitted from JOFA’s programs, and JOFA has offered courses ranging from opinion-editorial writing, to moderator training, and training kalah (bridal) teachers.

Nomi Kaltmann chose to establish and lead a women’s organisation rather than a general community organisation because “other than the odd shiur or tefilla group, there wasn’t anything dedicated towards Orthodox women in Australia”.

Kaltmann says we need women’s organisations because women can sometimes get overlooked. “I think it's with any organisation; when your specific needs are taken into account, that's much more appealing.” She gives the example of going to an event that doesn’t have her needs as an Orthodox woman in mind – the food might not be kosher, or the event might be on Shabbat.

“We've had equal rights for a while, but being with a network that gives you a supportive cohort, a sense of belonging, a group of people that you can bounce ideas off, tailored programming to your needs, that's really helpful.” Kaltmann emphasises that she has plenty of male friends and works with lots of men in different capacities. “But I feel it's a different energy when it's just women, and men don't necessarily relate to some of the issues we're facing”, such as going to the mikvah.

Kaltmann says that when she started JOFA, she expected it to be super niche. “I thought it would be for me, my friends, and my immediate friends once-removed.” She’s been pleasantly surprised that she was “completely wrong”. Since 2020, JOFA has given out more than 250 learning opportunities that have been scholarshipped or highly subsidised to women across the country, and almost all JOFA’s courses have never been run in Australia before. “It's much bigger than I would have ever anticipated.”