To mark Israel's 75th anniversary, Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America, introduces its inaugural list of women who are shaping the future of Zionism. Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America, is the largest Jewish women's organization in the United States. With nearly 300,000 members, associates, and supporters, Hadassah brings women together to effect change and advocate on critical issues such as ensuring the security of Israel, combating antisemitism, and promoting women's health.

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The list represents the diversity of Zionism today and the many ways in which women are building bridges and making an impact, a statement read. Hadassah National President Rhoda Smolow noted, "Just as they have since before Israel's founding, women are helping to shape and guide Israel's future, both behind the scenes and in the public square. As the leading women's Zionist organization in the US, Hadassah is proud to shine a spotlight on them."

"These 18 determined women are doing essential work, individually and collectively," Hadassah CEO Naomi Adler stressed. "They are educating Jews and non-Jews about what Zionism is and is not and advocating for Zionism in the US and around the world. Everyone who cares about Israel should know their names."

We present to you the list, as presented by Hadassah. Israel Hayom cannot independently verify the details mentioned in the descriptions and links below.

1. Amy Albertson – Advocate, educator, and online activist. The recipient of the Women's International Zionist Organization's Warrior for Israel Award, Amy Albertson empowers young Jews to be unapologetically Jewish. In 2015, she made aliyah and dedicated herself to working for Jewish nonprofits. Exploring her own identity led to her current work as a consultant for the At The Well Project and an associate at the Tel Aviv Institute. It also led her to create "The Asian Israeli," which catalogs her experiences as a Chinese American Jewish woman. Get to know Amy Albertson in the special "Israel at 75" May/June issue of Hadassah Magazine.  

2. Shiva Beck – Advocate. Shiva Beck was born in Iran to a proud Zionist family who fled to Los Angeles after the Islamic Revolution. Having grown up in a close-knit Persian community knowing that the greatest safeguard to her Jewish identity was Israel, she retired after nearly 20 years practicing law to focus on advocating for Zionism in the US and around the world. Beck is a board member of the Jewish Federation in Dallas and The Jewish Agency and provides pro bono legal services to disabled children and adults. For a full bio, click here.

3. Laura Ben-David – Photographer, writer, speaker, and marketing professional. Laura Ben-David uses her talents to share her passions, among them Israel and the Jewish people, and to build bridges between people. Formerly the head of social media at Nefesh B'Nefesh, she is now the director of marketing at Shavei Israel. Ben-David, who made aliyah in 2002, is the author of Moving Up: An Aliyah Journal. For a full bio, click here.

4. Mayim Bialik – Actress, author, and neuroscientist. Mayim Bialik is well-known as a successful performer (Blossom, Call Me Kat, The Big Bang Theory) and the current host of Jeopardy! who took a break from acting to earn a BS and a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA. She is also a filmmaker who wrote and directed the star-studded feature As They Made Us and a prolific author, with two of her books reaching #1 on The New York Times Best Sellers list. She frequently contributes to Jewish publications. For a full bio, click here.

5. Daniella Greenbaum Davis – Award-winning producer and columnist. Daniella Greenbaum Davis is an Emmy Award-winning producer and columnist whose work has appeared on ABC and PBS and in the pages of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. She frequently covers stories about Judaism, antisemitism, and Israel. For a full bio, click here.

6. Rayna Rose Exelbierd – Entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and youth mentor. Rayna Rose Exelbierd is a proud Zionist and Jewish woman who, through workshops and lectures, empowers non-Jews to learn Jewish history and develop relationships with the Jewish community. She is the founder and CEO of The Rose Grows and host of a podcast of the same name during which she shares personal stories of facing and fighting antisemitism. Exelbierd has mentored thousands of students around the world and published two books, The Girl Who Said Hello to Everyone and The Girl Who Wore Two Different Shoes. for a full bio, click here.

7. Rabbi Rachel Marder – Rabbi and writer. Rachel Marder, the associate rabbi at Congregation Beth El in South Orange, NJ, graduated from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, where she was a Wexner Graduate Fellow, in 2018. Before rabbinical school, she made aliyah and lived in Israel for several years, working as a writer and editor at The Jerusalem Post. She contributed a chapter to The Sacred Calling: Four Decades of Women in the Rabbinate and holds a BA in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies and an MA in conflict research, management, and resolution. For a full bio, click here.

8. Megan Nathan – Philanthropy professional and Israel advocate. As the program and special initiatives director at Kirsh Philanthropies, Megan Nathan oversees the Shine A Light initiative, which raises awareness about antisemitism through education, community partnerships, workplace engagement, and advocacy, and helps steward Jewish and Israel grantmaking in the US. Previously, as COO of the Israel on Campus Coalition, she provided American students with the resources to support Israel on campus and in their communities. For a full bio, click here.

9. Zoya Raynes – Wall Street leader. A 20-year career in finance has taken the Kyiv-born Zoya Raynes to Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, and now Bank of America, where she is a managing director advising hedge fund, asset manager, pension, insurance, and sovereign wealth fund clients. Raynes is on the board of several major Jewish philanthropies, was one of The Jewish Week's "36 Under 36" and has been honored by the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York and the Jewish Heritage Program. Get to know Zoya Raynes in the special "Israel at 75" May/June issue of Hadassah Magazine

10. Tabby Refael – Award-winning editorial columnist. Born in Iran after the Islamic Revolution, Tabby Refael received US refugee asylum in the 1990s after fleeing Iran with her family. Also a survivor of the Iran-Iraq War, she is known for writing about Iran, Israel, Jewish identity, women's rights, and Mizrahi advocacy in her column for The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Refael co-founded 30 Years After, America's only civic action organization for Iranian American Jews. Get to know Tabby Rafael in the special "Israel at 75" May/June issue of Hadassah Magazine.

11. Danielle Rugoff – Nonprofit management and policy professional. Danielle Rugoff believes in community-building, civic engagement, and the power of individuals to change the world. Now Senior Director of Movement Programs for Starts With Us, which fights extreme political and cultural divisions, she has more than 20 years of experience focused on the US-Israel relationship, American foreign policy, and Jewish peoplehood. For a full bio, click here.

12. Ana Sazonov – Communal professional and entrepreneur. Born in Ukraine to a non-Jewish mother and a father who repressed his Jewish identity, Ana Sazonov uncovered hers through a program of the IDF and The Jewish Agency and converted to Judaism. Now the executive director of the Columbia Jewish Federation in South Carolina and an advocate for Ukrainian refugees, Sazanov, who holds an MA from the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program at Brandeis, founded JewBer, a startup that delivered kosher meals to medical professionals, low-income seniors, and Holocaust survivors during COVID. For a full bio, click here.

13. Emily Schrader – Israeli human rights activist and journalist. A senior Ynet correspondent known for giving her more than 175,000 social media followers concise answers to tough questions about Israel's political and historical reality, Emily Schrader established herself as the leading voice for the Iranian people in Israel with her coverage of the ongoing Iranian uprisings. In 2022, she was named one of The Algemeiner's Top 100 People Positively Influencing Jewish Life and the Sixth Most Influential Israeli Woman on Twitter by Raash Digital. For a full bio, click here.

14. Naava Shafner – Social activist and strategic consultant. Naava Shafner, who made aliyah at 12 years old, has spearheaded changes in Israeli legislation, most significantly, legislation allowing flexible paternity leave. Named one of Israel's top 50 social activists in 2016, she has pioneered social initiatives focused on women's rights. These include ImaKadima, which advocates for family-friendly workplaces. Shafner, a strategic fundraising consultant for nonprofits in the social-change sphere, was part of a successful appeal to the Israeli Supreme Court demanding women's rights in the mikvah. For a full bio, click here.

15. Leah Soibel – Founder and media advocate. Leah Soibel has spent more than 15 years in Israel, the US, and Latin America empowering global Latino journalists and media influencers. In 2012, she founded the Emmy Award-winning Fuente Latina, which ensures accuracy in Spanish-language reporting on Israel, the Jewish world, and the Mideast. She recently launched Activista Media, the first English/Spanish digital news brand to engage the next generation of English-dominant, non-Jewish US Latino journalists, influencers, and online news consumers about Jews, antisemitism, and Israel. Get to know Leah Soibel in the special "Israel at 75" May/June issue of Hadassah Magazine.

16. Margot Stern – Entrepreneur, strategic thinker, and visionary. For more than 15 years, Margot Stern has advised companies on global strategic management, private equity, consulting, growth plans, and business strategy. Since moving to Israel in 2006, she has worked at the World Jewish Congress, the European Jewish Fund, and the Jewish Diplomatic Corps. She is the chief strategy officer and acting CFO for ReaGenics Ltd., an Israeli biotech company, and the founder of StellarNova Ltd., an award-winning Israeli children's edutainment company focused on science education. For a full bio, click here.

17. Chaya Leah Sufrin – Educator and community builder. Whether spending time at the Shalom Hartman Institute, leading trips to Israel for young Jews and non-Jews, or advocating for Israel on campus, Chaya Leah Sufrin is not afraid to have tough conversations about the issues facing Israel and the Jews. She also has the unusual ability to simultaneously inhabit the Hasidic world of the Chabad community and the secular world of modern Jews. The executive director of the Long Beach Hillel in Long Beach, Calif., Sufrin cohosts the podcast Ask a Jew, which covers culture, politics, humor, and life. For a full bio, click here.

18. Melissa Weiss – News editor and strategic communications expert. Melissa Weiss, who made aliyah in 2022, is the executive editor of Jewish Insider, the daily newsletter at the nexus of politics, philanthropy, business, and the Jewish community. Before joining JI, she spent nearly a decade working in strategic communications in the nonprofit sector, heading strategy at The Israel Project and the Israel on Campus Coalition before restarting the Simon Wiesenthal Center's campus outreach program. For a full bio, click here.

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I have been anxiously awaiting Hanukkah for quite some time now. Not just because I love presents, the delicious seasonal treats, and the vibrant communal celebrations, but because I see the "Festival of Lights" as the perfect platform for enlightening my peers about their crucial roles in securing our Jewish future. Hopefully, Jewish Gen Z can take a page from Hanukkah itself, a holiday that celebrates our national strength and publicizes a collective miracle, to find their voice, share their light with the world and save Jewish philanthropy.

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Within just a few years, Gen Zers (like me) will be the directors of our schools, synagogues and community centers. We will be the dynamic do-gooders, the status quo-challenging change makers, and the ones ensuring that the most vulnerable members of our communities are supported and empowered. But we can only carry the torch if we make a habit of sharing our motivations for doing good, ensuring that education becomes an indispensable part of our charitable actions.

From what I've seen, the most outspoken leaders of my generation around the globe wouldn't even think about completing a charitable action before informing others about their positive impact on society. Using social media as their stage, Gen Z influencers teach everyone who will watch and listen about their chosen acts of kindness. But they're doing more than just amassing "likes"; they are transferring the power of giving to other charitable activists-to-be who can then become more intentional, purposeful, and deliberate with their own actions.

While most members of my generation follow this methodology, members of the Tribe tend to operate on a different wavelength. For us, compassion is part and parcel of Jewish life, so much so that we do acts of charity almost by rote. Children complete bnei mitzvah projects, teenagers volunteer at community organizations and adults give generous monthly tithes because that is just what's done.

While this is beautiful, I worry that giving is so deeply embedded in who we are as Jews that we are forgetting the most important part of the process: education. Only with a profound understanding of the "why" will these acts of kindness continue for generations. To truly impact society for the long term, we need to have real conversations about the kinds of giving that excite us, inspire us and move us all forward. Without education to fuel the fire of generosity, our Jewish joy for giving will fizzle over time.

From my own experiences, I've found that taking the time to publicize our passion projects is the best investment we can make – in our communities and ourselves. There is a fine line between bragging and inspiring, but we have no choice but to walk that line to ensure the survival of Jewish philanthropy.

Walking this very line, I chose to do my national service with ADI, an organization that cares for and empowers children and adults with severe disabilities, provides advanced rehabilitative care to anyone touched by disability, and puts a special emphasis on educating the masses about the importance of disability inclusion, equity, and access. Everyone at ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran and ADI Jerusalem could (and should) be bragging about their world-changing work all the time, but instead, they look for opportunities to strengthen the ADI family, which in turn become openings to inform and inspire.

For example, while I am one of the first national service volunteers to work with patients undergoing rehabilitation at the Harvey and Gloria Kaylie Rehabilitation Medical Center at ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran, the first-ever rehabilitation hospital in southern Israel, I try to help out in other areas whenever I can. With the weather getting colder, I pitched in to help the staff raise funds to purchase new winter clothing for our residents with severe disabilities. Every Whatsapp message and e-mail I sent to friends and family became a conversation about what I was doing at ADI and, most importantly, why I was doing it. It was thrilling to recruit new supporters, but even more exciting to share my passion with others, encouraging them to find their own philanthropic spark.

I believe that the key to upgrading our culture of giving is emphasizing intentional and authentic conversations about the causes we care so deeply about. Donating, volunteering, and putting in the physical work are no longer enough. We must learn to explain why we feel so strongly about the impact we are making in the world to properly effect change.

Jewish Gen Z is bright, determined, and dynamic, but if we don't start to illuminate our charitable motivations and rally our community around mindful giving, we may soon find that there is no community left for us to lead.

Kayla Grodner made Aliyah from Houston, Texas, and now serves as a National Service volunteer at ADI (www.adi-israel.org), an Israeli organization that empowers children and young adults with severe disabilities and provides cutting-edge therapeutic and recovery services for anyone touched by disability.

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The measures require those released to report every day to the police and spend the night at the nearest police station for months, drastically limiting their freedom of movement.

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Amnesty International says Tuesday that over 400 people are currently on probation, having to stay at a police station from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. every night. Otherwise, they risk new full detention, criminal charges and possibly imprisonment.

Recently freed activists Alaa Abdel-Fattah, Ahmad Maher and Mohammed Adel – key figures in the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak – are among those under probation.

Amnesty's Magdalena Mughrabi says authorities rely on such measures "to intimidate peaceful activists into silence."

The post Report: Egypt using probation measures to silence pro-democracy activists appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.