Advocacy Highlights - January 2025

Body-Positive New Year’s Blessing by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg

This is a time of year that people talk a lot about their bodies, so I will remind you:

Your body is a wondrous thing.

It has lungs that help bring oxygen into your bloodstream.

It has a heart that pumps blood through the circulatory system.

It has skin to protect your tender inside bits.

You probably have opposable thumbs! How cool is that!

You have a mouth and tongue to help you talk, if you’re able, taste food, kiss.

You exist in this miraculous vehicle for experiencing the world in all of its messy, impossible magic, and for sharing your own exquisite gifts and love.

Every day, cells in your body are dividing and dividing again, renewing themselves. Renewing you.

You woke up this morning. That’s incredible. Ponder the sheer number of things that had to go right in order for that to happen. A miracle worthy of great gratitude.

Jews traditionally say a blessing after leaving the bathroom. Because everything working correctly—with all of the open parts staying open and the closed parts staying closed—is truly no small feat to take for granted.

As the artist Mx. Glenn Marla put it, “There is no wrong way to have a body.”

Bodies come in all sizes, all shapes, all ability levels, all genders, all sorts of ways of moving and existing and manifesting, all holy and beautiful and each and every one made in the divine image, in its own way.

I want to bless you with finding gratitude, self-compassion, and tenderness in your engagement with your body, and with radical amazement at all that it can do.

The results of our Everyday Antisemitism: Women's Stories survey are in. Two-thirds of the Jewish women Hadassah surveyed said antisemitism is affecting their lives, relationships and work.

Our new report, From Fear to Resilience: Women Facing Antisemitism tells harrowing stories. Too many Jewish women have been isolated and excluded by people they used to call friends. Their businesses have been abandoned by customers. Their children are being harassed at school. They feel unsafe showing symbols of their faith publicly.

• 62% felt unsafe
• 52% hide being Jewish
• 33% experienced hate speech
• 22% were excluded from groups or events

But women are finding resilience and empowerment, standing up against this rising tide of hate. We need your help. Here are three things you can do to fight antisemitism together with Hadassah:

Read and share Hadassah's new report, From Fear to Resilience: Women Facing Antisemitism.
Write to your lawmakers to demand action to counter antisemitism.
Help us tell this story. Donate to support Hadassah’s critical work.

Thank you for helping us combat antisemitism.

Hadassah’s Advocacy Impact In the 118th Congress (2023-2024)

Throughout the 118th Congress, Hadassah members made their voices heard, with nearly 400 advocates meeting with 25 legislative offices in Washington DC and in their home congressional districts to advocate for policies to advance the US-Israel relationship, combat rising antisemitism and improve women’s health.

At the recent Toast to Hadassah Advocacy event, hosted by Hadassah’s national grassroots advocacy team, 65 advocates celebrated the over 50,000 people who sent more than 146,000 letters to members of Congress, the Biden Administration, the UN and others to secure critical legislative wins during the 118th Congress.

Strengthening the US-Israel Relationship
Thanks to the efforts of Hadassah members across the country, several key measures supporting the US Israel relationship and crucial national security aid, following Hamas’ attacks on October 7, 2023, were passed by the 118th Congress.

Hadassah members helped secure:

• A $95.3 billion security assistance aid package with $26.4 billion in critical security assistance for Israel amid escalating conflicts with Iranian-backed terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

• Key funding in the National Defense Authorization Act for US-Israel programs, including $500 million for missile defense cooperation, $80 million for anti-tunneling cooperation and $47.5 million for emerging defense technology.
• The Regional Integration and Normalization Act (RINA) of 2023, which established the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for the Abraham Accords to lead diplomatic efforts to strengthen and expand normalization in the Middle East.

Combating Antisemitism

Hadassah members were also crucial in the fight to combat the alarming rise in antisemitism witnessed across the US and around the world after October 7. Hadassah advocates helped advance:

• The proposed transfer of the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History to the Smithsonian Institution, establishing a path for the Smithsonian's first museum focused exclusively on Jewish American stories.
• Reauthorization of the Never Again Education Act through 2030, which requires the Holocaust Memorial Museum to provide teachers with resources and training to teach students the important lessons of the Holocaust.
• The Antisemitism Awareness Act, requiring that the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights take into consideration the IHRA definition of antisemitism when reviewing or investigating complaints of discrimination. This bill passed in the House and Hadassah will continue to push for this policy during the 119th Congress.

Championing Women’s and Public Health
Amid constant threats to necessary and important reproductive healthcare, Hadassah advocates were also busy advocating for women’s and public health initiatives, including:

• The Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act of 2024, which pushes for evidence-based approaches to reduce incidences of stillbirth.
• The Women and Lung Cancer Research and Preventive Services Act of 2024, which addresses the unique impact of lung cancer on women through enhanced research, preventive services, and public awareness. This bill passed in the House and Hadassah will continue to support this policy during the 119th Congress.
• Additional support for H.Res.345, a resolution Hadassah drafted calling for policies to increase infertility research, improve treatments and expand access to infertility services.

After years of Hadassah’s strong advocacy surrounding the study, funding and awareness of women’s health issues, the Biden Administration made significant strides in women’s health and proposed new funding of $110 million to support women’s health research and innovation.

Thank you to everyone who took action to support these important measures in the 118th Congress!