Penny Rosenwasser's Reflection

Marcia was a cofounder of Bay Area Women in Black (WIB), which I was honored to be part of, during the second intifada. There were about 13 or so of us, all white women, mostly Jewish, some with Israeli-US citizenship. We were activists, artists, poets, actors, musicians, writers, filmmakers, mothers, rabble-rousers, more…Rather than standing at weekly vigils as many WIB groups did, we created theatrical spiritual rituals for specific Jewish holidays, or other occasions, around the theme of ending the occupation, tearing down the Wall, honoring those who had been killed, etc. One supporter said that we were creating a new Jewish liturgy. Sometimes hundreds of others joined us at these events.

It’s worth bringing in here because it was certainly connected to the work of Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, though our political views spanned a broader spectrum. When I served on the founding board, Marcia and I were occasionally at opposite ends of the political spectrum, and so our meetings were sometimes heated — but I respected her feistiness, her deep commitment, her pragmatism, her experience, her dogged determination to make a difference. She was a driving force in our group of powerful Jewish women, and I learned from her. She cared deeply about justice for Israel and for Palestine, so she fought for it as hard and well as she could. Thank you Marcia…may your memory be for a blessing.

Penny Rosenwasser

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