Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz and Zainab Salbi,

KPFA - Womens Magazine

Today LIsa Dettmer will pay tribute to Jewish lesbian feminist writer and activist Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz who died way too soon in at 72 in 2018 and who was a personal shero of mine and who I have been remiss in celebrating on this show. Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz was a very important activist and writer, who made multiple theoretical contributions to understanding Judaism, lesbianism, and feminism as intersectional identities, extended an awareness of class and economic justice through a Jewish lens, and made visible racial differences within Jewish communities. Kaye/Kantrowitz was the founding executive director of Jews For Racial and Economic Justice and advocated Radical Diasporism as a progressive alternative to Zionism. First we will hear a reading by Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz from her last book “The color of jews: Racial Politics and Radical Diasporism” . and then I will talk Melanie’s long time partner Leslie Cagan who is herself a long time lesbian feminist activist in peace and social justice movements and who was a chair of Pacifica Radio at one time as well.

In the second half-hour, producer Chana Wilson speaks with along-time International Women’s Rights activist and author. In 1993, Zainab founded Women for Women International, a foundation that supports women survivors of war and conflict. Then a year ago, she co-founded “Daughters for Earth.” Daughters for Earth provides resources to women around the world doing nature conservation, restoration, and regenerative agriculture projects that are contributing to solving the climate crisis.

In the year since its founding, Daughters for Earth has funded 50 women-powered projects to protect and restore the earth. These projects span the globe, with projects in India, Africa, the Arctic, South America, Asia, the Middle East and the United States.

For info about Daughters for Earth go to daughtersforearth.org/

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