From Annie Leibovitz to Amy Winehouse and Ofra Haza: New book on Jewish heroines, created by three feminist Swedish Jewish women, offers an answer to antisemitism
What do Amy Winehouse, Anne Frank, Estée Lauder, Rosa Luxemburg, Ofra Haza and Marilyn Monroe have in common? They were all Jewish (Marilyn converted), they were all heroines, and now, all six are among the 120 Jewish women in the new Swedish-language book "Jewish Heroines." The book, which targets both young readers and adults, not only tells the heroines' stories but also uses them to pose questions that have become more urgent in the post-October 7 world.
"Jewish Heroines" is the work of three Jewish Swedish women. The text was written by Anneli Rådestad, the editor of the Jewish-Swedish culture magazine Judisk Krönika, and Karin Brygger, a poet and author who also writes for the Swedish media. The heroines were illustrated by Joanna Rubin Dranger, a graphic artist and also an illustration professor at the University of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm. She's also a winner of the Nordic Council's Literature Prize for her latest graphic novel.
"The three of us come from very strong feminist backgrounds," says Rådestad, who's also a former journalist for Swedish public radio. She notes that Rubin Dranger has been working with feminist issues since the '90s, while Brygger has being studying women's history and literature for around 25 years. Rådestad is the editor of Judisk Krönika, which launched a series of articles about Jewish women, "partly because the magazine has been male dominated since its founding in 1932. Through these articles, we tried to contribute to a correction of Jewish-Swedish history by bringing women out of the shadows."
The idea to turn the project into a book came during the pandemic, while Rådestad was reading to her daughter, who was 5 at the time. "The book I was reading was the Swedish version of 'Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls' [by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo], and I thought it would be great if there was a book dedicated to Jewish heroines. Jews are a small minority in Sweden, and the stories of Jewish women … have left very little mark." Rådestad says that when she told Rubin Dranger about the idea, "she was enthusiastic and very surprised that a book like this didn't already exist."
I spoke with the three authors in Stockholm's Old Town after the book's launch party at a local bookstore. They say that when they checked if there was already a book on Jewish heroines, they found a few in English, but on a smaller scale. And they discovered the Jewish Women's Archive in the United States – a great source, but it's not a book. Rubin Dranger notes that they aimed to rise above the local context. "I wanted to make a book that would not only be for the Jewish community in Sweden but would suit everyone, including people in other countries," she says.
Brygger adds that "Jewish Heroines" could also play a role in academic debates. "It can be part of women's history and women's literary history studies. I've been involved in women's studies for a long time and I've been writing life stories and texts that give women a voice," she says. "These stories are missing in the academic world. In fact, a large part of the ability to do this now exists thanks to women like those we wrote about in the book, such as Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan and Susan Faludi."
These last three are among a long line of American women in "Jewish Heroines," including Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, thinkers such as Susan Sontag, Judith Butler and Masha Gessen, and artists of various stripes such as Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler and Annie Leibovitz. The book also portrays women from totally different backgrounds – Nobel-winning scientists such as Israeli Ada Yonath and Italian Rita Levi-Montalcini – as well as actresses, dancers, heroines from Middle Eastern history and even biblical figures such as Esther, Ruth and the Four Matriarchs: Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel. "Jewish Heroines" weaves them into a tapestry of inspiring women from different eras all over the world.
Your book features a wide variety of countries of origin, eras and ethnic groups, but some are more widely represented than others. For example, there are many women from Sweden and the United States and only a few from Israel including Golda Meir, Ofra Haza, Ada Yonath, Ester Rada and Robi Damelin of the Parents Circle – Families Forum. How did you make your choices?
Brygger: "When we found women we wanted to have in the book, we made presentations for the others … and the others took some time to think and learn, and we made a decision. The three of us had an equal part in 'finding' the women." Then came the greater work of research, writing and illustrating. "This ongoing conversation was the most fabulous part of working on the book," Brygger says. "We were in constant contact, sending messages, photos and articles to each other in a flow of creative desire to write and portray as many great women as we could."
Rubin Dranger adds about the women they chose: "For Israelis, it's quite clear that Jews can be anything – religious or secular, Asian, white or Black – but for Swedes it's not so clear. Many people have never met a Jew but they have an image of Jews. Often, they think of a Jew as a religious man with a hat and payes [sidelocks]. They don't always realize that this is a flexible identity."
According to Rubin Dranger, this is why the book also features a Black American rabbi, writers, journalists and spiritual women from Algeria, New Zealand, Egypt and Cuba, not to mention a Mexican poet and actresses from India. Rådestad adds: "In a way, this book is a response to things like the report published in 2021 about antisemitism in schools in Malmö, a city that has become notorious in this context. The report showed the way students and teachers understand the word 'Jew': an Orthodox religious white man or a figure in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
Brygger notes that the world of the past – and unfortunately still the present – is filled with prejudices. So the book "not only offers a wonderful possibility of finding a character who is similar to you, who can give you strength or inspire you. It's also a tool for breaking down stereotypes and fighting antisemitism."
Brygger, who lives in Gothenburg, adds that she received warm responses when she presented the book at cultural institutions in the city. "They said, 'We don't need more reports, we already know that there is antisemitism here. We need tools to deal with the problem.' They were enthusiastic about the book and wanted to use it as an educational tool."
And the issue of Jewish diversity isn't taken for granted in the Jewish community.
"Today, when you look, for example, at the school photo of the Jewish school in Stockholm, you can find the whole world in them," Rådestad says. "People get married in all kinds of ways, and it's important to represent everyone."
In Brygger's opinion, the book's diversity of Jewish identities includes "a way to deal with prejudices and racism that exist even in the Jewish community." Rubin Dranger adds: "But it's not just the representation. It's not just pointing out the fact that there is someone in the book who is adopted or someone who is Ethiopian. It's a presence that's truly broad, not an example or two who are chosen just to serve as an alibi."
Beyond the choice of specific characters, the creators stress the significance of the content being available in a physical book, sold nationwide, rather than just being information in an internet archive or a Jewish publication. "In a country where the Jewish minority is tiny, we shouldn't underestimate the fact that a large non-Jewish publisher released the book in Swedish," Rådestad says. "This makes a statement that this book is for everyone – Jews and non-Jews, young and old, library visitors and school students."
She and her two co-authors are aware that the book is being published in stormy times globally for both women and Jews. The book links these two identities. Many of the profiles are of women who stood – or are still standing – at the forefront of such troubles, from Russian-American anarchist Emma Goldman, through Hannah Szenes and women fighters in WWII ghettos, to young Ethiopian-American activist Naomi Wadler. The impression is that, beyond its heroines' scientific and artistic achievements, the book celebrates the struggle against tyranny, racism and the patriarchy.
"We have seen and continue to see a retreat in women's rights in the world," Brygger says. "It keeps returning. In the book, we connect Jewish history with women's history." Rådestad continues: "We are connecting in many ways with other struggles, like that of the LGBTQ community. The Jewish feminist movement and the Jewish LGBTQ movement walked hand in hand. "Take Steven Greenberg, for example, the first openly homosexual Orthodox rabbi. His interpretation of the Biblical verse forbidding male intercourse is that it is a prohibition against degrading another man. Doing so lowers him to the status of a woman, which in biblical times was seen as inferior. Greenberg's interpretation connects the two struggles – striving for equality in both male-male relationships and male-female relationships. It's a common struggle."
The authors acknowledge that the book's significance has changed somewhat since October 7. Work on the book was finished before the Hamas attack. However, says Rådestad, quite a few more Jewish female heroines have emerged since then. "Take, for example, Rachel Edri from Ofakim, who saved her own life and that of her husband," she says. "She became famous for giving cookies and coffee to the terrorists, thus preventing them from murdering more people. Another example came after the terrible Eurovision week in Malmö. I think that Eden Golan not only carried Israel on her shoulders but also Sweden's Jewish minority. A young woman stood high when so many older people around her went so low. She really showed great strength, while many Jews around the world felt pressure and fear. Her character gave me strength, too."
"We couldn't have imagined these circumstances when we wrote the book. We presented it, on the eve of its publication, at the Gothenburg International Book Fair the week before October 7," Rådestad recalls, referring to the largest cultural event in Scandinavia and one of Europe's largest book fairs. "The transition from being on an important international cultural stage to October 7 was very stark. It was a terrible fall. It shook the ground beneath the feet of Israelis and Palestinians – and Jews worldwide.
"I realized a few months later that the meaning of some of the book's heroines had changed for me. For example, Dona Gracia. When I wrote about her, I saw her as a powerful historical figure who faced the Inquisition 500 years ago. Today, I understand that there are still many who live as crypto-Jews – I have friends worried because they gave their children Jewish names. Now, they don't know what effect this will have.
In the reality of cultural and educational boycotts, a Jewish name can lead to serious consequences. At the same time, I feel that the resistance, the strength and the resilience of Jews are an important part of this book. As a people, we've been through this many times for hundreds of years. Some of the heroines here withstood the test. They gave what they created to themselves, to their families, to their people and to the world."
Rådestad mentions a common sentiment among Jews around the world today: "Israelis have become more Jewish and Jews have become more Israeli since Since October 7. The pogromist terror of October 7 evoked something that previously only happened in the Diaspora and that Israel was supposed to prevent. The security of independence and having agency was shaken. Israelis got a taste of what it was like to be a minority in Russia a couple of hundred years ago in the most terrible and terrifying way."
She observes that many Jews worldwide are suffering for the same reason Israelis are suffering. She says they see erstwhile friends and partners, such as the international cultural communities and feminist movement, being silent and turning their backs. "It's become very important for some Jews to stand up for Israel and Israelis in a world where haters are targeting Jews and Israelis alike," she says. "So when Israel is framed as a pariah state and a controversial country, the women we profiled provide strength that children and teenagers need."
"It's not just children," Brygger adds. "When I look through the book, I'm inspired and feel strength and joy. Already when we were writing it, when we discovered women we didn't know about, it made us happy. But now the joy is different. In the past, it was the euphoria of discovering something new – like the Jewish actresses who starred in Bollywood. But today, under the shadow of October 7, the book also gives us the strength we need."
Another layer to the book is the flexible definition of Jewish identity. Some figures were not born Jewish and converted (like Marilyn Monroe, who underwent a Reform conversion to Judaism ahead of her marriage to playwright Arthur Miller, and called herself "a Jewish atheist"). Some had a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother. Some weren't born Jewish but were adopted by Jews. Some of the heroines didn't identify as Jewish growing up, but as adults were foced by others to grapple with their Jewish identity.
By way of example, Brygger points out Marianne Cohn, a member of the French Resistance during World War II. She saved many Jewish children by smuggling them over the Swiss border. She had no active Jewish identity whatsoever during her childhood in Germany. It only developed upon emigrating to France with her parents. Rubin Dranger talks about Lotte Laserstein, a German painter whose family had converted to Christianity. But the Nazis considered her Jewish and forbade her to work as an artist. She found refuge in Sweden. "In a way, her story connects to my own experience," she says. "I grew up assimilated and only embraced my Jewish identity after a priest in my Christian confirmation process made me feel singled out and attacked me because of my Jewish heritage. I know that many today share this experience. After October 7, many people are rediscovering their Jewish identity and they start searching for a community they may have already forgotten."
"In the current global climate, words like "minyan" and "shtetel" may take on a new meaning," Rådestad observes. "In progressive Judaism, at least, you can find a women's minyan. The term shtetel may represent a safe place." This is needed because there are already American publishing houses who say "No to sexism, no to racism and no to Zionism." Says Rådestad, "Jews may once again be forced to publish their books alone, until the world rediscovers them."
What sets a Jewish heroine apart from general heroism, and what is the uniqueness of women's heroism?
Brygger: "It's about persecution. The heroism in our book is related to the strength of coping with and resisting persecution, antisemitism and exclusion. In general society, there is a struggle against patriarchy and glass ceilings of all kinds. Here we need to add another struggle – the struggle that Jewish women have had to wage throughout history."
Rubin Dranger: "Part of it is that many Jewish women fought for the rights of other minorities, like African Americans or indigenous peoples in the United States. They weren't content with fighting for their own interests."
Rådestad: "It's part of Jewish values and Jewish tradition. Telling truth to power is part of what Jews do. So is the attempt to make the world a better place, tikkun olam. Although this characterizes American Judaism, it's not only in the United States. We wrote, for example, about the Iraqi-born philanthropist Flora Sassoon. She funded and promoted the use of vaccines against terrible diseases in India and fought against deprivation and discrimination."
Given the chance, who'd you like to meet from among the heroines you profiled?
Rubin Dranger: "The American cryptanalyst Elizebeth Smith Friedman, who cracked the Nazi codes. Code cracking and intelligence defense fascinates me, and the fact that Friedman's work wasn't known until quite recently. For many decades, her files were kept confidential and were lost to history. Elizebeth wasn't Jewish by birth but married a Jewish man, a U.S. Army cryptographer." It is important to talk about this type of Jewishness, exactly because not everybody considers them Jewish, she says.
Rådestad has a hard time choosing. She starts with Shifra and Puah, the biblical midwives who disobeyed Pharaoh's order to kill Hebrew children. Then she moves on to the young Jewish women who were part of the anti-Nazi resistance movements and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising fighters. She finally chooses Asenath Barzani, a rabbinical scholar who was active in 17th century Kurdistan. Barzani's father was a yeshiva head in Mosul. She became a yeshiva head herself. "Barzani's story changed my view about how progress happens," she explains. "It gives perspective on what the West used to be and what Iraq used to be."
Brygger also mentions several women. She says her encounter with Susan Sontag "not only shaped my academic life, but also my personal life since I was a teenager." She also recalls the story of Charlotte Salomon, the Jewish-German artist who was murdered in Auschwitz. "It's a story with a lot of pain," she says. "Salomon sent her works to a friend with instructions to 'keep this safe, it's my whole life.' Salomon reminds us how important it is to write and document our lives even today, how important it is to leave traces and testimonies."
"I hope that if a young person feels alone or lost, they'll be able to find what I found in these women that changed my life so radically," she adds. "I hope our book will give them role models in these turbulent and terrible times. Perhaps they'll even find a soulmate, even if it's someone who's no longer alive or someone who's far away. It's so hard to find and mold your identity. I'd never have made it through my teenage years without these women who made me a reading and writing person, with a life goal. As usual, I went all in and really tried to learn everything about many of them. Some of them are much closer to me than 'real people.' The world opens up to you when you relate to texts and books. These writers and artists also give you a hand to hold throughout life."
דיויד סטברו 