Born: 1954 (Haifa, Israel)
Biography:
Anat Hoffman (Hebrew: ענת הופמן; born 1954) is an Israeli activist and serves as Executive Director of the Israel Religious Action Center, also known as IRAC. She is the director and founding member of Nashot HaKotel, also known as Women of the Wall. Hoffman is a former member of the Jerusalem City Council. In 2013, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz named her Person of the Year, noting the award reflected the prominence that she has achieved across the Jewish world over the past 12 months. The Jerusalem Post listed her fifth, among its list of 50 Most Influential Jews, for forcefully and successfully bringing the issue of women’s rights at the Kotel to the forefront of the consciousness of world Jewry.
Early life and education
Hoffman is a sabra born in Haifa in 1954. Her mother, Varda Blechman, was the first child born at Kibbutz Ramat Rachel (Hebrew: רָמַת רָחֵל, lit. Rachel’s Heights). Her American-born father, Charles Weiss, served as a Voice of America correspondent in Israel. She attended the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design. Between 1967 and 1973 she swam competitively and placed consistently among the top female swimmers in Israel. In 1972 she won seven medals in the Israel national championships, including 4 gold. In the 1973 Maccabia Games, she won two silver medals.
In 1974, after completing her service in the Israel Defense Forces, Hoffman and her then-husband, Michael, left for the United States to study. She graduated from UCLA in 1980 with a B.A. in Psychology. While at UCLA, she became connected to Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life and started the Israeli Student Organization. It was during this time that Hoffman was exposed to Reform Judaism and realized that Judaism was not limited to Orthodoxy. She later pursued graduate study at Bar Ilan University.
Activism
Returning to Israel, Hoffman became an activist for religious pluralism and was involved in the founding of Kol HaNeshama, a Reform or progressive synagogue in Jerusalem. She served on the Jerusalem City Council from 1988 to 2002, representing the Civil Rights and Peace Movement. In the late 1980s, she led a consumer rights campaign against Bezeq, the Israeli telecommunications monopoly, over its refusal to offer itemized bills to customers. Hoffman argued on behalf of consumers that they were paying for items they had not used, and ultimately, she prevailed, and Bezeq began issuing itemized bills to customers.
Anat Hoffman is also the chair of the Domari Society of Gypsies in Jerusalem. Additionally, prior to the 1993 Oslo Accords, she was the chairwoman of Women in Black, an international women’s anti-war movement with an estimated 10,000 activists around the world. The first group formed in Israel in 1988, and Hoffman played a crucial role in its establishment.
Throughout her career, Hoffman has been a prominent advocate for gender equality and women’s rights at the Western Wall, also known as the Kotel, in Jerusalem. She has dedicated herself to ensuring that women have the right to pray and worship freely at one of the holiest sites in Judaism. Hoffman has been at the forefront of the fight for religious pluralism and has faced numerous challenges and struggles in her endeavors. Her determination to bring about change and her unwavering commitment to women’s rights have made her a prominent figure in Israeli society and an inspiration for women around the world.
Awards:
– Haaretz Person of the Year (2013)
– Jerusalem Post’s 50 Most Influential Jews, ranked fifth (Year not specified)