Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta (JWFA) has announced The Forward Editor Jodi Rudoren as the keynote speaker at its JWFA IMPACTS! fundraiser to be held April 11 at The Temple in Midtown Atlanta.
“We had to put on hold getting a speaker after Israel was attacked on Oct. 7,” said Dina Fuchs Beresin, director of strategic programs for JWFA. “But Jodi can speak on a
variety of subjects, including Israel. She’s happy speaking about Jewish women and the media as well.”
“She is credited with turning The Forward around,” said Beresin.
Under Rudoren’s leadership, The Forward’s journalists have won record numbers of Rockower Awards from the American Jewish Press Association, as well as prizes from press organizations in New York and Los Angeles and the Religion News Association, including the latter’s top commentary award.
Rudoren, who has led The Forward since September 2019, spent more than two decades at The New York Times, including nearly four years as Jerusalem bureau chief.
Rudoren has appeared on CNN and MSNBC since the Israel-Hamas war started in October. Rudoren won’t be addressing any specific topic, said Beresin, because “the situation in Israel is so fluid. She’s uniquely qualified to do that in a thoughtful way. She strikes a balance between news and human interest.”
JWFA, a 12-year-old organization dedicated to social change for Jewish women and girls, is honoring activist Enid Draluck at the event.
Draluck has worked in telecom and the food industry, but for the last 24 years she has been a partner in Full Circle Living, created to “level the playing field” to support women and girls locally, nationally, and globally.
A trustee and education chair of the JWFA, Draluck has been a member of the Women’s Solidarity Society at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, former chair of the LGBTQ+ Institute at the NCCHR, and chair of the Faith Initiative for the
Human Trafficking Institute at the Center. She is a member of the Women’s Philanthropy Network at Georgia State University and was a catalyst behind the WomenLead program at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business.
JWFA has allocated more than $2 million in grants to assist Jewish women and girls.
