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Elluminate E-News March 2024
Message from the CEO
Each year, Elluminate convenes its Visionary Circle to select our new group of ten Collective fellowship members. These remarkable Jewish women will participate in the sixth cohort of our signature leadership program.
As a new CEO now in my sixth month in the role, it is my first time participating in this decision-making process. The 45 women who make up the Visionary Circle have enhanced their knowledge about funding through a gender lens, social action, and a range of issues that our candidates are passionate about. They have learned from Ruth Messinger, social justice leader and Elluminate Senior Advisor; Susan Weidman Schneider, Editor-in-Chief of Lilith Magazine; Bess Rothenberg, Senior Director of Strategy and Learning at the Ford Foundation; Rabbi Felice Herman from SAR: and other illustrious Jewish women leaders.
It is wonderful to see the journey of each one of our Visionary Circle members as they are introduced to a fabulous pool of Jewish entrepreneurial women working on a range of critical issues all worthy of support. They apply their learning, are inspired and reach consensus as they choose the women while ensuring a diverse group of change makers who will fit well together.
This is hard work. The conversations around the table are uplifting, yet difficult, as each cause is worthy and each candidate amazing! This experience is both head and heart and it is exciting to see each of the participants engage and care. We are grateful to all of these women, themselves visionary leaders!
My time at Elluminate has underscored for me that Tikkun Olam is alive and a central Jewish value. As we begin Women’s History Month, it is worth remembering and noting that women continue to lead the way to ensure that no matter the challenges in the geopolitical world, they will continue to be solution-oriented to make the world a better place.
Warmly,
Melanie Roth Gorelick
Elluminate CEO
P.S. I am sharing a picture of the leaders of the Jewish Women's Funding Network from our Retreat in Baltimore, Jan. 31 - Feb. 1.
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Elluminate Briefs Rabbis
Elluminate held a small lunch briefing for ten rabbis from congregations across New York City on February 26th to discuss its five years of work and impact creating a dedicated space for Jewish women leaders and advancing social change through a Jewish and gender lens.
“Elluminate is reaching deep into the community to showcase and uplift our work, expand our network of Jewish women leaders, create allies and form partnerships,” said Elluminate CEO Melanie Roth Gorelick. “We thank the rabbis who visited with us, who recognize the importance of our individual and collective voices as Jewish women with vision and passion leading change.”
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Reserve Your Spot at Elluminate’s 2024 Annual Luncheon, May 7th in NYC
Join with the Elluminate community of Jewish women working toward an equitable society in the US, Israel and around the world at our Annual Luncheon on May 7, in New York City. This year is unlike any other, with our Israeli JEWELs stepping up to lead and care for Israeli civil society at this critical moment. Elluminate will honor them, and their clear demonstration of the power of Jewish women’s vision and leadership.
We also will honor Aela Morgan, our long-term and cherished Executive Board member, visionary philanthropist, leader and artist — who in her own words proudly “stands up and speaks out in service to the women who light the world.”
We will gather at 583 Park Avenue, a beautiful event space in midtown Manhattan, beginning at 11:30 am. Thank you to our 2024 Luncheon Co-Chairs Madelyn Bucksbaum Adamson, Debbie Cosgrove, Nikki Silver and Linda Yarden for their tireless work and vision for this seminal event.
RSVP by April 15
Join Elluminate’s 2024 Annual Luncheon Host Committee
We invite you to join the Host Committee for our 2024 Annual Luncheon on May 7th in NYC, and help us create and promote one of our signature events of the year at a critical moment for the Jewish community, Israel, and transformative Jewish women’s leadership. To learn more and to sign up for our 2024 Annual Luncheon Committee, click here.
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Crown JEWEL Conversations Spotlight
Register for the upcoming Crown JEWEL Conversation with Rabba Sara Hurwitz — Co-Founder and President of Maharat — on Thursday, March 7th from 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET.
Rabba Sara and Maharat are opening doors to Orthodox women’s leadership and elevating the broader community with a wider array of voices and perspectives. Rabba Sara is the first Orthodox woman to be publicly ordained, and Maharat is the first institution to ordain Orthodox women as clergy. Register to join today!
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Did you miss the first two episodes of our 2024 Crown JEWEL Conversations series?
In January, our guest was Nina Smith, a member of Elluminate Collective Cohort IV and Founding Chief Executive Officer of GoodWeave International. Nina described how she founded GoodWeave International to end child, forced, and bonded labor in global supply chains by bringing visibility to workers, restoring childhood … and raising consumer and company awareness of exploitation issues so they can make informed purchasing decisions. Watch Rachel and Nina here.
And last month, Rachel’s guest was Dana Talmi, also a member of Elluminate Collective Cohort IV, and Founder and Executive Director of Yahel — Israel Service Learning, which trains, supports and inspires individuals and organizations to take part in responsible and sustainable volunteer projects in Israel alongside community members, and to equip them with the skills and initiative to become leaders of social change. Watch Rachel and Dana here.
Our monthly Crown JEWEL Conversation webcast series hosted by Rachel Weinstein, Elluminate’s Immediate Past President, highlights a member of The Collective and focuses on challenging societal issues and innovative solutions developed by Jewish women leaders.
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Highlights from the Field:
Award-Winning Film Profiles Elluminate
JEWEL Rabbi Tamar Manasseh
A new documentary film, Rabbi on the Block, profiling Rabbi Tamar Manasseh is making the rounds at film festivals, picking up prestigious awards and garnering press attention along the way. Rabbi Tamar, a JEWEL and member of our second Collective cohort, is the Founder of MASK (Mothers/Men Against Senseless Killings) in Chicago and uses her journey and rabbinate to strengthen alliances between Jewish and African-American communities, to challenge assumptions about Jews of Color, and to power her unique neighborhood activism and social justice work on Chicago’s South Side. Watch the Rabbi on the Block trailer, read coverage in the Forward, and look for possible release on streaming services.
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Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel Details October 7th Sexual Violence by Hamas
The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel — led by Elluminate JEWEL Orit Sulitzeanu — outlines in excruciating detail the systemic sexual violence committed by Hamas terrorists on Israeli women on October 7th and afterwards in a well-publicized report submitted to the UN last month.
An ARCCI statement says of the 35-page report: “(it) clearly demonstrates that this is not a ‘malfunction’ or isolated incident, but a clear operational strategy involving systematic, targeted sexual abuse.” Orit has become a strong international voice keeping gender-based sexual violence high in public consciousness and calling on international organizations to condemn it and seek accountability.
“Silence is no longer an option,” Orit said. “We expect international organizations to take a clear stance; we cannot stand on the sidelines. Silence will be remembered as a historical stain on those who chose to remain silent and deny the sexual crimes committed by Hamas.”
Elluminate JEWEL Sarah Levin, Executive Director of JIMENA in San Francisco, lifts up the experience of the Sephardic community in a piece featured in eJewish Philanthropy. To read the op-ed, Empowering Sephardic Perspectives as We Navigate Antisemitism in Education, click here.
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Upcoming Programs:
Thursday, March 14th, 4:30 PM -
Israel Briefing Series by Israeli Women, Featuring Tamar Shwartz, CEO of Women’s Spirit
Join us for a briefing by Tamar Shwartz, CEO of Women's Spirit, which works to empower women survivors of physical, sexual, emotional and economic abuse in Israel. Tamar will talk to us about the effect of crises — such as October 7th — on women in vulnerable situations, and share her experience speaking to the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Tamar is a participant in Elluminate’s Women in the C-Suite, which convenes Jewish women CEOs from the US and Israel each month as they navigate the particular challenges of Jewish women’s leadership. The in-person briefing will take place at 130 East 59th Street. To attend by Zoom or in-person, we request that you RSVP here.
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Wednesday, June 5th, 7:30 PM - We’re Broadway Bound!
The fight for gender equality is at the center of our work, so we thought it appropriate to organize an Elluminate outing to Suffs, the new Broadway musical. The show boldly explores the victories and failures of our matriarchs' struggle for equality that’s far from over.
Ticket Details: Prime Orchestra seats are $225.57 each, and Side Orchestra seats are $143.17 each.
To RSVP and pay by credit card, click here.
To RSVP and pay by check, email Eva Stern at eva@elluminatewomen.org.
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Please consider making a generous gift to support Elluminate’s work and programming during this critical and challenging time. | | | | | |
