The Jewish Feminist Conference (JFC) records and audiotapes document the activities of the organizational committees and the responses of JFC participants. The records are divided into two series, Administrative and Workshop documents.

The 1983 Jewish Feminist Conference (JFC) was a women’s collaborative effort to strengthen the cultural, ethnic, and gender commonalities within the Jewish community and beyond. The organizers of the conference varied in ages and in socio-economic status but were united by a desire to address feminist issues in the Jewish community. The Conference was held on two separate weekends at Berkeley (California) High School. Part one (September 23-24, 1983) was open to Jewish women only and focused on Jewish-specific topics, with workshops on issues such as internal identification, the role of Jewish women in the community and beyond, the Holocaust, and the labor movement. JFC part two (October 30, 1983) was open to all women focusing on the sharing of culture and common attributes from women within the Jewish community and beyond. The activities included affinity groups, song and dance celebrations, and workshops on feminist issues. Part two of the conference provided a unique experience for both Jewish and non Jewish women because it acknowledged several issues that the organizers felt had not been addressed in past conferences. First, “the organizers strived to give special recognition to lesbian participation in women's issues that had not been acknowledged in the past.” Second, the JFC committee established an event which would be inclusive of women in all areas. Workshops and other activities were structured to focus on feminism within the Jewish community and to acknowledge that the liberation of Jewish women was contingent upon the success of the feminist movement in general.

1.5 linear feet

Copyright has not been transferred to the GLBT Historical Society.

The collection is open for research. Funding for processing this collection was provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).