'Hadassah trains women to be active'
National president of world's largest women's organization speaks about mission and goals
HADASSAH, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, is a volunteer women's organization, whose members are committed to strengthening their partnership with Israel, ensuring Jewish continuity, and realizing their potential as a dynamic force in American society.
June Walker of Rockaway, New Jersey, became the National President of Hadassah in 2003. She previously served as Treasurer and a member of Hadassah’s National Board and Executive Committee. In the Administration and Finance Division, she served as Coordinator for the Division, and as Chairwoman of Budgets. She also served as National Vice President and National Chairwoman of the Hadassah College of Technology.
June has served as Chairwoman of the American Affairs and Domestic Policy Department. Her academic degrees are in chemistry, respiratory therapy, and public health administration. She and her husband, Barrett, have three children and six grandchildren.
Ynetnews spoke with her regarding Hadassah's mission and goals.
1. This March, you headed the Hadassah mission that dedicated a spacious new Center for Emergency Medicine at Hadassah-University Hospital, Ein Kerem, a $50 million project your members sponsored. Why are people in the U .S. still willing to make that kind of commitment?
While terror is a worldwide concern, no country has the same proportion of its civilians affected as Israel does. People saw this and cared. Our donors for the Center for Emergency Medicine also wanted to create a facility that would save lives and model quality health care.
2. Hadassah is the largest women's organization in the U.S. What is the importance of an all-women's organization in today's society and Jewish community?
Unlike most communal activities where women rarely take leadership, Hadassah trains women to be proactive in every phase of Jewish family and community life.
3. What is Hadassah doing to appeal to younger women, as the older "Hadassah women" retire?
Young women usually join Hadassah because of their idealistic desire to serve humankind and to enlarge their own horizons. They like the leadership training and they like networking with women all over the country. We try to make the meetings and activities far more time-efficient these days so that they can fit all the pieces into their busy lives. Many working women find an expression of their values through Hadassah.
4. Few subjects have been more controversial in recent years than advanced embryonic stem cell research. Hadassah Medical Organization has been at the forefront of this medical research with the invaluable support of the HWZOA despite President George W. Bush's policies. Has this created any tensions?
There has been no tension over cell stem activism within Hadassah, but there certainly has been friction with the elements of American body politic that want religious convictions to drive scientific research. In Israel, the rabbis have approved stem cell research and our hospitals are in the lead worldwide. Recently, Hadassah members marched on American state capitals and this summer we'll hold our national convention in Washington and make our opinion known. We have 300,000 members and they're in every congressional district in the U.S.
5. Israelis are concerned about lower levels of interest in Zionism and in Israel abroad, particularly in the younger generations. How do you plan to deal with this trend?
The waning of interest in Zionism, especially among young Jews, is obviously true. We try to appeal to the concept of Jewish responsibility and the centrality of Israel, while starting young in our Zionist youth movement Young Judaea. We emphasize Zionism strongly in our summer camp program attended by thousands of kids and in our Israel programs. 420 high school graduates will be spending the year in Israel on our Year Course, which is a Zionist program. Young Judaeans are likely to become leaders in the Jewish world. 92 percent of them marry Jews, in contrast to approximately 50 percent of the overall Jewish community.
6. As a leader of a major U.S. Jewish organization, what do you think of the way that U.S. Jewry is organized on a communal basis? Are new paradigms and structures needed in the 21st century?
In some ways, the Jewish world is over-organized, with the same people stretched in too many directions. We must learn to appeal to the 80 percent of the Jews who aren't involved. Special interest groups, like our Hadassah Nurses Council, Hadassah lawyers, and community activism programs can bring people into the fold though their professional and personal interests.
7. We hear that you regularly work 18-hour days as a volunteer. What motivates you? Where do you find the strength?
How do I manage the 18-hour days with a broken shoulder to boot? The truth is I put one foot in front of another and keep going. I passionately believe that there needs to be a homeland where Jews from all over can have an excellent quality of life. I became a passionate Zionist when I was a little girl and my grandmother wept over a letter that said our relatives were being murdered in the Shoah. On the positive side, I get a lot of satisfaction from successes like opening the new Center for Emergency Medicine, building the Judaean Youth Hostel in Masuah, and when our Hadassah College gets an award for organizational voluntarism. That satisfaction keeps me energized.
