Marcia Judith Freedman (; née Prince; May 17, 1938 – September 21, 2021) was an American-Israeli

activist Activism 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 common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

on behalf of peace,

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), 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 c ...

, and

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...

. 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, refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for Radical politics, radical and Liberalism, liberal reforms on women's issues created by inequality between men and wom ...

in the 1970s. She was a member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

from 1974 to 1977.

Biography

Born in to a Jewish family in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, on May 17, 1938, Freedman received a BA from

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont, United States. Founded as a women’s college in 1932,

and an MA from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. She was active in the American Civil Rights Movement between 1960 and 1967. In 1969 she

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

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 (; 27 December 1927 – 24 January 2014) was an Israeli politician. She founded the Ratz (political party), Ratz party, was leader of the Meretz party, Leader of the Opposition (Israel), Leader of the Opposition from 1988 to 1990, ...

'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 Legislative elections were held in Israel on 31 December 1973. Voter turnout was 79%.Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) ''Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I'', p125 The election was postponed for two months because ...

, and Freedman became a member of the

. Ratz soon merged into

Ya'ad – Civil Rights Movement Ya'ad – Civil Rights Movement (, ''Ya'ad – Tenoa'a LaZkhuyot HaEzrah''), commonly known as just Ya'ad, was a short-lived political party in Israel. It is not related to the other party by the name of Ya'ad, which existed during the ninth Kne ...

, but Freedman and

Aryeh Eliav Aryeh "Lova" Eliav (; 21 November 1921 – 30 May 2010) was an Israeli politician, author, intellectual and peace and social activist. He served as a member of the Knesset for several factions in three spells between 1965 and 1992. Biography ...

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 The following elections occurred in the year 1977. Africa * 1977 Afars and Issas Constituent Assembly election * 1977 Algerian legislative election * 1977 Gambian general election * 1976–1977 Guinea-Bissau legislative election * 1977 Malagasy ...

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 votes that a candidate or political party requires before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can operate in various ...

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 is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

incest Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...

, 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 A shelter is an architectural structure or natural formation (or a combination of the two) providing protection from the local environment. A shelter can serve as a home or be provided by a residential institution. It can be understood as both ...

for battered women, established in 1977 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 ...

. 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 Feminism, feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining Social constructionism, social and cultural constructs of gender; ...

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 Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, also known as Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace, was an organization of American Jews and describes its members as "deeply committed to Israel's well-being through the achievement of a negotiated settlement to the long-st ...

, a pro-Israel and pro-peace organization which merged into

J Street J Street () is a nonprofit liberal Zionist advocacy and lobby group based in the United States whose aims include strengthening Jewish democracy in Israel, promoting a diplomatic end to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict with a two-state ...

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 summ ...

. She was married to Bill Freedman in 1961 and the marriage ended in 1975; they 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.

References

External links

Marcia Freedman papers
held b

at

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

Digital exhibit on the Marcia Freedman papers
held b

at

Brit Tzedek v'Shalom legacy website

Memorial for Marcia Freedman
Sinai Memorial Chapel, San Francisco {{DEFAULTSORT:Freedman, Marcia 1938 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American Jews American feminists American Zionists Israeli feminists Jewish feminists Jewish socialists Jewish women politicians Members of the 8th Knesset (1974–1977) American emigrants to Israel Women members of the Knesset Pacifist feminists Lesbian Jews LGBTQ members of the Knesset Israeli anti-war activists Writers from Newark, New Jersey Ratz (political party) politicians Ya'ad – Civil Rights Movement politicians Independent Socialist Faction politicians American lesbian politicians Lesbian memoirists Israeli lesbian writers Israeli lesbian politicians American lesbian writers LGBTQ people from New Jersey Women's Party (Israel) politicians American women memoirists American memoirists Bennington College alumni New York University alumni American civil rights activists Jewish Israeli politicians Jewish women activists

Biography

See also

References

Further reading

External links