Woman Leadership in Time of War

November 30, 2023, 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

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Temple Israel Center, 280 Old Mamaroneck Rd, White Plains, NY 10605
Free Admission. Register Here

Speaker Biographies

Moran Zer Katzenstein
Moran is a lecturer, strategy and communication expert, social activist, one of the leaders of the women’s struggle, the initiator of the coalition of women’s organizations and equality and the founder of the Bonot Alternativa (Alternative Builders) movement. In 2023, as part of the protest against the legislation reform in Israel, Bonot Alternativa initiated the “Handmaids’ Protest”, which drew inspiration from Canadian author Margaret Atwood’s book, “The Handmaid’s Tale”. The protest included hundreds of women across the country marching in silence in red robes. The handmaids became a symbol of the protest against the legislation reform and led to the breakthrough of the movement, with Zer Katzenstein at the forefront of the struggle. She frequently speaks at demonstrations held at Kaplan St. in Tel Aviv and throughout the country. Since 10/7, Bonot under her leadership, has shifted to become one of the leading organizations providing support and relief to the evacuees in the South and North of Israel, with an emphasis on providing physical and emotional support to women nation wide.

Ronit Snir
Ronit is the secretary general of the Hashomer Hatzair movement, the first Zionist youth movement. She is the first woman to serve in this position since the War of Independence. Co-founder of the Hashomer Hatzair graduate movement, which includes hundreds of young men and women living in communes and urban Kibbutzim throughout the country and engaged in education and social action. She is a feminist activist and chair of the Committee for the Promotion of Gender Equality and the Prevention of Sexual Violence in the Council of Youth Movements in Israel. Ronit holds a B.A. in education and a teaching certificate in history and citizenship from Beit-Berl College. She is a senior instructor for educational journeys to Poland and in the field of Holocaust education and mother of two who lives in the urban kibbutz in Harish, a young kibbutz whose goal is to develop education and civil society in this new and diverse city. Since 10/7, Hashomer Hatzair has mobilized its educators and funds to support the evacuees in the South and North of Israel, and to the victims from the Kibutzim surrounding Gaza, most of which are affiliated with the Movement.

Prof. Yifat Bitton
President, Achva Academic College. Legal scholar and activist for equality, focusing on gender and origin. Ph.D. The Hebrew University; LLM, Yale University; Visiting Researcher Harvard University (Fulbright Fellow). Visiting Professor, University of Chicago, NYU, and Peking University, China; Associate professor, The College of Management Law School, Israel. Throughout her career, Prof. Bitton has been a staunch advocate for equality, both within and beyond the academic realm; Her innovative academic research has shed light on pressing gender-related issues, leading to practical solutions and policy recommendations. Bitton founded “Tmura”, The Israeli Center for Equality, where she litigated for 20 years human rights torts cases, a field initiated and developed by her. For her long-lasting human rights work, Bitton has won myriad awards and prizes, among them: Minister of Social Equality Award for Fighting Violence against Women (for Tmura); “Honoris Causa” Israeli Bar Association Award; Nominated Forbes’ 50 Most Influential Women in Israel for 2015 and more. Bitton was shortlisted twice for Israel’s Supreme Court, making history as the youngest woman and the first of Mizrahi descent to ever appear on the list. Under her leadership, Achva College models and embodies gender equality in every possible aspect, starting from its leading management members and board and following with its percentage of female students, being the highest in Israel (89% female!). Bitton lost 2 of her relatives in battle on 10/7, and since then has been focusing on providing support to her students at Achva College, one of the few academic establishments in the Negev, and working with the Civil Commission on Oct. 7th Crimes by Hamas against Women and Children. She is one of the
survivors who met with President Biden on his recent visit to Israel during the war.