Anat Hoffman (; born April 2, 1954) is an Israeli activist and the former executive director of the Israel Religious Action Center, also known as IRAC. She is the director and founding member of Nashot HaKotel, also known as Women of the Wall. Hoffman is a former member of the

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

City Council. In 2013, the Israeli newspaper ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

'' named her "Person of the Year", noting the award reflected "the prominence that she has achieved across the Jewish world over the past 12 months". ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...

'' listed her fifth, among its list of 50 Most Influential Jews, for forcefully and successfully bringing the issue of women's rights at the Kotel to the "forefront of the consciousness of world Jewry".

Early life and education

Hoffman is a sabra born in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, 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 metropolitan area i ...

in 1954. Her mother, Varda Blechman, was the first child born at Kibbutz Ramat Rachel (Hebrew: רָמַת רָחֵל, lit. Rachel's Heights). Her American-born father, Charles Weiss, served as a

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

correspondent in Israel. She attended the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design. Between 1967 and 1973 she swam competitively and placed consistently among the top female swimmers in Israel. In 1972 she won seven medals in the Israel national championships, including 4 gold. In the 1973 Maccabia Games she won two silver medals. In 1974, after she had completed her service in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

, she and her husband at the time, Michael, left for the United States to study. She graduated from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

in 1980 with a B.A. in

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

. While at UCLA, she was connected to Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life and started the Israeli Student Organization. She was exposed to

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...

and realized for the first time that Judaism was not limited to

Orthodoxy Orthodoxy () is adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream- or classically-accepted creed, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical co ...

. She later pursued graduate study at Bar Ilan University.

Activism

Returning to Israel, she became an activist for religious pluralism, becoming involved in the founding of Kol HaNeshama, a Reform or progressive synagogue in Jerusalem. She served on the Jerusalem City Council from 1988 to 2002, representing the Civil Rights and Peace Movement. In the late 1980s she led a consumer-rights campaign against

Bezeq Bezeq () is an Israeli telecommunications company. Bezeq and its subsidiaries offer a range of telecom services, including fixed-line, mobile telephony, high-speed Internet, transmission, and pay TV (via Yes (Israel), Yes). The company is tra ...

, the Israeli telecommunications monopoly, over its refusal to offer its customers itemized bills. Hoffman complained, on behalf of consumers, that they were paying for items they had not used. In the end, she prevailed and Bezeq issued itemized bills to customers. Anat Hoffman is chair of the Domari Society of Gypsies in Jerusalem. Additionally, prior to the 1993 Oslo Accords, Hoffman was the chairwoman of Women in Black, an international women's anti-war movement with an estimated 10,000 activists around the world. The first group was formed by Israeli women in Jerusalem in 1988, following the outbreak of the First intifada. She was a member of the group that started Women of the Wall in December 1988. Women of the Wall is a group of women from around the world who are working to secure the right to pray in their fashion at the

Western Wall The Western Wall (; ; Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: ''HaKosel HaMa'arovi'') is an ancient retaining wall of the built-up hill known to Jews and Christians as the Temple Mount of Jerusalem. Its most famous section, known by the same name ...

, wearing prayer shawls and other religiously significant garments, singing and reading from the Torah collectively. When Israel's Supreme Court ruled in favor of Women of the Wall, Orthodox leaders and rabbis protested the decision. Arrested multiple times for wearing a prayer shawl at the Wall, Hoffman was defended by the Anti-Defamation League, which issued a statement saying that reports of her treatment, at the hands of Israeli police, were especially disturbing. From 2002 to 2022, Hoffman served as executive director of the Israel Religious Action Center, which was founded in 1987 as the public and legal advocacy arm of the movement for Progressive Judaism in Israel. It is dedicated to promoting equality, justice, religious freedom. After certain incidents involving female passengers being asked to move seats on flights so Orthodox Jewish men need not sit next to them, Hoffman initiated a campaign encouraging women not to give up their seats for religious sensibilities. She believes airlines are required to comply with non-discrimination laws. Hoffman also opposes state-financed religious councils.Battle Looms in Israel Over 'Mixed' Religious Councils, ''The New York Times'', 2 December 1998
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Awards

In December 2024, Anat Hoffman was included on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's '' 100 Women'' list.

References

External links

Women of the wall website

Official website of the Israel Religious Action Center

Official website of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffman, Anat 1954 births Living people 20th-century Israeli women politicians 21st-century Israeli women politicians Bar-Ilan University alumni City councillors of Jerusalem Israeli feminists Israeli Reform Jews Jewish Israeli politicians Jewish women politicians Jews and Judaism and pluralism Jews and Judaism in Jerusalem Kibbutzniks Reform Jewish feminists University of California, Los Angeles alumni Jewish women activists