HOPE into PRACTICE: Jewish Women Choosing Justice Despite Our Fears
Synopsis
“‘Thank you’ is what I thought I was supposed to say when told that I didn’t ‘look Jewish.'” What will make it irresistible for Jewish women to free ourselves of internalized anti-Semitism, expanding our sense of possibility? HOPE into PRACTICE responds with a rare blend of healing stories, fascinating history, and a fair-minded perspective on Israel-Palestine—asking us to love ourselves enough to face our fears without acting on them. Working through internalized oppression, we can link personal healing with social justice—enabling us to fight more effectively, as visible self-loving Jews, to change systems that are immoral and unfair. Anchored in Jewish ethical tradition and community, this book is an activist’s call to create a more just and generous world. Includes an action-oriented Reader’s Guide, for groups or individuals!
AWARDS for Hope into Practice
- Association for Women in Psychology, 2014 Jewish Caucus Award for Scholarship
»certificate - Winner, Social Change Category, 2014 USA Best Book Awards
»certificate - Honorable Mention for Nonfiction, 2014 New York Book Festival
- Honorable Mention for Nonfiction, 2014 San Francisco Book Festival
»certificate - Honored as a “Notable Indie” in the Shelf Unbound 2014 Best Indie Book Awards, Non-Fiction Category
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Media Interviews
- January 2024: Penny on Super Humanizer Podcast: Protest to Peace: Jewish Voices at the Frontline, with Dr. Hani Chaabo, 48 min
- December 2023: Why Jewish Americans Are Rising Up for Palestine, on Rising Up with Sonali, podcast/video, 23 min
- December 2023: KPFA Special – Oakland’s Menorah and Xenophobia in America: Antisemitism and Anti-Arabism, interview with Mitch Jesurich
- November 2023: Jewish Feminists Dov Baum, Penny Rosenwasser, Rae Abileah and Kate Raphale speak out about Gaza, KPFA Women’s Magazine, with host Lisa Dettmer, 1 hour
- October 2023: The Palestine/Israel Conflict: Processing the Tragedy and Finding Justice, hour-long interview, including call-ins, on KPFA with host Mitch Jesurich, 59 min
- August 2022: Jewish Ancestral Healing — an audio interview with Penny by Rae Abileah, in the series hosted by Taya Ma Shere. »Register for FREE – to receive the link to the hour-long interview.
- February 2019: Anti-Semitism and Its History, Penny’s interview about anti-Semitism, including about Ilhan Omar, KPFA
- December 2017: HOPE into PRACTICE, interview with Penny Rosenwasser, KGNU in Boulder
- June 2016: Choosing Justice Over Fear, half-hour radio show from “Making Contact” featuring excerpts of Penny’s event for KPFA radio in Berkeley, CA. Beautifully produced. Includes activists reading brief excerpts from Hope into Practice.
- May 2014: Penny Rosenwasser to lead workshop at Kol Ha”emek in Redwood Valley, Ukiah Daily Journal
- March 2014: Owning Up to Who You Are to Fight Racism, Ithaca Times
- January 2014: Synagogue Schmooze, Penny Rosenwasser interview on Cleveland Jewish News
Hope into Practice Table of Contents
- Part One: How Did Things Get So Hard?
- Chapter 1: Anti‐Semitism 101
- Chapter 2: Insider/Outsider: Jews, Race, and Privilege
- Chapter 3: Let’s Talk about “Jewish Power”: Rethinking Stereotypes
- Part Two: Wrestling with the Voices
- Chapter 4: The Trickster in our Heads: Internalized Jewish Oppression
- Chapter 5: Suckled on Worry
- Chapter 6: “Hello Assimilation, Goodbye Persecution”
- Chapter 7: “There is a ‘Real’ Jewish Woman and I Am Not Her”: Too Much/Not Enough
- Chapter 8: Push/Push/Push for Perfection
- Chapter 9: “Where Do I Belong?”
- Chapter 10: Taking Egypt Out of the Jews
- Part Three: Creating a Future
- Chapter 11: On the Front Lines: an Activist’s Vignettes
- Chapter 12: Cracking the Code of Our Conditioning
- Chapter 13: Jewish‐Positive
- Chapter 14: Liberatory Healing
- Chapter 15: Hope into Practice: Choosing Justice Despite Our Fears
ACTION‐ORIENTED READER’S GUIDE
Author Pics and Bio
Transplanted to Oakland, California from Northern Virginia/Washington, D.C., Penny Rosenwasser, Ph.D. is a white queer/lesbian intersectional feminist rabble-rouser for justice. She is the author of the award-winning book Hope into Practice: Jewish Women Choosing Justice Despite Our Fears and earned her Ph.D. at the California Institute of Integral Studies in Transformational Learning & Change. A founding board member and early leader of Jewish Voice for Peace, Penny is also a racial justice leader in her Oakland synagogue and co-teaches an Anti-Arabism/Antisemitism class at City College of San Francisco with a Palestinian colleague. Penny chaired the Jewish Caucus of the National Women’s Studies Association, where she is also a member of Feminists for Justice in Palestine, and she is an Advisory Board member of the Center for Jewish Nonviolence. Additionally, Penny was Events Coordinator for 32 years at the Middle East Children’s Alliance, where she led four women’s peace delegations to Palestine & Israel, and produced major events with Noam Chomsky, June Jordan, Pete Seeger, Alice Walker, Mustapha Barghouti, Diana Buttu, Naomi Klein, Howard Zinn, Mos Def, Ani Di Franco, Gore Vidal and more!
