Marcia Judith Freedman ( he, מרשה פרידמן; née Prince; May 17, 1938 – September 21, 2021) was an American-Israeli
activist
Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
on behalf of peace,
women's rights
Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
, and
gay rights
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Notably, , 3 ...
. In 1969, she immigrated to Israel where she helped establish and lead the
feminist movement
The feminist movement (also known as the women's movement, or feminism) refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for Radical politics, radical and Liberalism, liberal reforms on women's issues created by the inequality b ...
in the 1970s. She was a member of the Knesset from 1974 to 1977.
Biography
Born in to a Jewish family in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.BA from
Bennington College
Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont. Founded in 1932 as a women's college, it became co-educational in 1969. It claims to be the first college to include visual and performing arts as an equal partner in ...
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
. She was active in the
American Civil Rights Movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the United ...
between 1960 and 1967. In 1969 she
immigrated
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
to Israel, and soon became involved in activism and politics. She became famous from her desire to modify abortion laws and raise awareness to the civil rights movement.
In 1973, the feminist movement decided to support
Shulamit Aloni
Shulamit Aloni ( he, שולמית אלוני; 29 December 1928 – 24 January 2014) was an Israeli politician. She founded the Ratz party, was leader of the Meretz party, Leader of the Opposition from 1988 to 1990, and served as Minister of Edu ...
's Ratz (the Civil Rights Movement), and Freedman was given third place on the Ratz slate. She caught Shulamit Aloni's attention based on her passion, commitment, and enthusiasm for the movement. Aloni asked Freedman to be the third seat on the party. The party won three seats in the 1973 Israeli legislative election, and Freedman became a member of the
Knesset
The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
. Ratz soon merged into Ya'ad – Civil Rights Movement, but Freedman and Aryeh Eliav broke away to form the Social-Democratic Faction (later renamed the Independent Socialist Faction). Freedman served in the Knesset from 1974 to 1977. She became a strong advocate for Gay Rights movements because she came out as a lesbian to her daughter and her daughter started to isolate from her.
Prior to the 1977 elections Freedman formed the Women's Party, though she did not stand as its candidate. The party failed to cross the 1%
electoral threshold
The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...
though it did succeed in attracting public support for women's issues. While a member of the Knesset, Freedman was outspoken on women's issues and brought to public attention issues that had never been discussed publicly in Israel, including
domestic violence
Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...
,
breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...
,
rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
,
incest
Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...
, and teenage prostitution. In addition, Freedman became increasingly involved with the discussion on peace with the Palestinians. However, in her interview in 2015 with the American Jewish Peace Archive, she stated that she "was drawn into what I would call foreign policy issues because I was a member of Knesset, and that was totally accidental and unplanned" (about her involvement with the Palestinian conflict). Freedman was an early supporter of the creation of a Palestinian independent state. She was involved in communications with the Palestinian Liberation Organization and supported what is now known as the two-state solution.
Freedman helped create an advocacy and support network for women in Israel. She was a co-founder, together with Barbara Swersky and others of Israel's first
shelter
Shelter is a small building giving temporary protection from bad weather or danger.
Shelter may also refer to:
Places
* Port Shelter, Hong Kong
* Shelter Bay (disambiguation), various locations
* Shelter Cove (disambiguation), various locatio ...
for battered women, established in 1977 in
Haifa
Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
. Freedman left Israel and returned to the United States in 1981. She again lived in Israel from 1997 to 2002, and founded the Community of Learning Women, which provided education in
women's studies
Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppress ...
and computer literacy.
Freedman wrote an article titled "Feminist Publishing in Israel" for the Women's Studies Newsletter in 1980. She spoke about different bookstores involving feminist books in Hebrew and the six publishers that allows feminist works to be published. She also spoke about how few books on feminism were originally written in Hebrew and the minimal efforts there were to publish feminist writings.
Freedman wrote a memoir entitled, ''Exile in the Promised Land'', and was dedicated to her father. She stated on the dedication page, "whose example I have largely followed." She was also the author of many articles and reviews.
Freedman was the founding president of Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, a pro-Israel and pro-peace organization which merged into J Street in 2010. She was also a past president of the
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival is the oldest Jewish film festival in the world, and currently the largest with a 2016 attendance figure of 40,000 at screenings in San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, San Rafael, and Palo Alto. The three-week summe ...
.
She was married to Bill Freedman in 1961, and had one daughter. Freedman died on September 21, 2021 at the age of 83. As of 2021, she remains the only openly lesbian woman to have served in the Knesset.
See also
*
List of peace activists
This list of peace activists includes people who have proactively advocated diplomatic, philosophical, and non-military resolution of major territorial or ideological disputes through nonviolent means and methods. Peace activists usually work ...
Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, ...
Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, ...