H eadlines
Jewish Feminists Divided on Women’s March
L O CAL
SELAH MAYA ZIGHELBOIM | JE STAFF
“LORD, GIVE ME the
strength to bend the arc of the
universe towards justice.”
More than 20 women and
a handful of men sang that
and other verses together at a
Jewish gathering before one of
Philadelphia’s two iterations of
this year’s Women’s March on
Jan. 19.

At “Before the March: A
Jewish Gathering to Fortify Your
Heart & Stomach,” the group
met at an apartment near the
Art Museum, where they min-
gled and sang songs, including
one that drew on Martin Luther
King Jr.’s famous words.

Of the two marches in
Philadelphia, the Jewish gath-
ering’s attendees went to the
one held on the steps of the
Philadelphia Museum of Art by
Philly Women Rally, the local
group that organized the march
the last two years. The other
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4 JANUARY 24, 2019
march, held at Love Park, was
organized by Women’s March
Pennsylvania, a chapter of the
national Women’s March Inc.,
an organization that has come
under fire for anti-Semitism
and mismanagement.

In its third year, controversy
has embroiled Women’s March
Inc. and its leaders. One in par-
ticular, Tamika Mallory, has
refused to condemn the words
of Louis Farrakhan, the Nation
of Islam leader who has called
Jews termites among other
comments, after appearing at
one of his events.

As a result, many women
in the Jewish community who
support the march’s mission
had mixed thoughts on attend-
ing this year.

In the end, the women at
the Art Museum gathering
had decided to show their
support, at least for the Philly
Women Rally march. Women
at the gathering expressed that
the answer to dealing with
anti-Semitism is not to sit out
of the conversation.

“I’m there. It matters to me,”
said Molly Wernick, assistant
director of community engage-
ment at Camp Galil, who orga-
nized the gathering. “I want to
organize with sisters and allies
and people from varying identities
other than my own, as well as sup-
port my own community. I’m not
going to wait for permission, for
someone to tell me that I belong
there or not, because I know that
I do. I’m not going to remove
myself from that table. I want to
be at that table, and I don’t need to
agree with everybody at that table
about everything.”
Wernick and Miriam
Steinberg-Egeth, director of the
Center City Kehillah, welcomed
attendees, who then joined a
discussion on anti-Semitism
led by Jen Anolik of Moving
Traditions, created Tu B’Shevat-
themed trail mix or learned
about a variety of different
organizations that were tabling.

Steinberg-Egeth said she
had no qualms about attending
JEWISH EXPONENT
From left: Rachel and Rose Zuppo are a daughter and mother who
attended the Philly Women Rally march to “be respected and give love to
the community, regardless of faith. We can’t be divided,” Rose Zuppo said.

Photos by Selah Maya Zighelboim
Rabbi Annie Lewis speaks on the stage set up at the bottom of the
Philadelphia Museum of Art stairs.

the locally organized march,
especially since it was run
independently of the national
Women’s March
group. (She added that were she in
Washington, she would have
been on the fence about attend-
ing that march.)
Steinberg-Egeth pointed
to Supreme Court Justice Brett
Kavanaugh’s confirmation as one
of the incidents over the past year
that motivated her to show up.

“I know a lot of people who
have participated in Women’s
Marches in the past who are not
participating this year because
of a variety of issues, but we
can’t stop,” Steinberg-Egeth said.

“We can’t stop because things
are hard. We can’t stop because
things are complicated.”
At 10 a.m., the group left for
the museum, where they joined
a stream of others. Beyoncé’s
“Who Run the World (Girls)”
thrummed as the crowd marched
toward the museum’s steps.

As others joined, the crowd
bounced to the rhythm and
occasionally sang along as a
medley of other pop ballads,
such as “Raise Your Glass” and
“I’m a Survivor,” played out.

The speakers at the Philly
Women Rally march spoke
about gun violence, immigrant
rights and women’s issues,
among other subjects. Speakers
included Attorney General Josh
Shapiro, Philly Women Rally
Founding Board Member Beth
Finn and Rabbi Annie Lewis,
director of rabbinic forma-
tion at the Reconstructionist
Rabbinical College.

“On this Sabbath morn-
ing, Jewish people around the
See March, Page 22
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