Lions of Judah program explores the life of RBG

On Jan. 28, more than 20 of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island’s Lions of Judah enjoyed a virtual tour of the life and times of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, hosted by the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. 

Much of the virtual tour focused on Ginsburg’s fight for women’s rights and gender equality.  As she famously said, “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.” 

Early in her career, Ginsburg was rejected from jobs because of her gender. She made it her mission to ensure that no other women would be denied access to the education they wanted, or the job they wanted; in other words, they would have the same rights and privileges as men.

The exhibit also featured artifacts and stories from Justice Ginsburg’s groundbreaking rise from an apartment in Brooklyn, New York, to the Supreme Court to cultural icon.

Many of the participants shared their own stories of how Justice Ginsburg impacted them.  One spoke about hearing her speak at Temple Beth-El, in Providence, and how she was gracious, charming and unassuming.  Another woman showed an RBG action figure that she keeps next to her Shabbat candles.

The event was chaired by Mitzi Berkelhammer, Susan Froehlich, Sharon Gaines and Lezli Pious.

The next virtual cultural tour for the Lions of Judah will be on March 4, with the Tenement Museum, in New York City. 

The Lions of Judah Society is an international group of philanthropic women who commit a minimum of $5,000 to their Jewish Federation/Alliance annual campaign each year.  The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island is proud to have over 75 Lions in our community.  If you are interested in becoming a Lion of Judah, contact Sara Masri, the Alliance’s chief development officer, at smasri@jewishallianceri.org.

SARA MASRI (smasri@jewishallianceri.org) is chief development officer at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.