2
3 4
as an Israeli-born Jew, whose European grandparents and greatgrandparents were among the few in their families to survive Nazi genocide because they were Zionists in what was then known as Palestine.” She frequently speaks across the country to a variety of groups including Jewish federations, campus Hillels and women’s groups. Earlier this year she addressed state policy officials at a conference in Phoenix, AZ. Irin says most of the groups she speaks to, which tend toward progressive, are interested in reproductive rights and the direction the nation is taking. “People are alarmed about the direction of the country in general,” she says. “In the last year or so, the anxiety about reproductive rights has gone into overdrive. It’s no surprise given the composition of the Supreme Court right now and given the hostility coming out of the federal government, particularly the presidency.” The stance of recently appointed justices seems in stark contrast to Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s statement on the subject at her confirmation hearing: “The decision whether or not to bear a child is central to a woman’s life, to her well-being and dignity. It is a decision she must make for herself. When government controls that decision for her, she is being treated as less than a fully adult human responsible for her own choices.” Last year a museum exhibit adapted from the book Notorious RBG opened at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. For the exhibition, Irin was able to collaborate with her husband, Ari Richter. Ari is an associate professor of art at LaGuardia Community College in The City University of New York. He earned a BFA in drawing and painting from Florida State University and an MFA in studio art from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. His contributions to the RBG exhibition are just one of several exhibits he has contributed to throughout the nation in recent years. Ari’s “RBG Tattoo II” and other works are part of the exhibit also named “Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.” This fall the exhibit will be in Philadelphia Oct. 3-Jan. 12, 2020, before moving to Chicago Feb. 9-Aug. 16, 2020. Irin and Shana spoke at the opening in Los Angeles and are expected to participate in events at other venues of the traveling exhibit’s national tour through 2022. “I am honored to be somebody who is part of telling her (RBG’s) story,” says Irin. Irin readily acknowledges her accomplishments have been made easier by the work of early feminists such as RBG. “There is a reason we dedicated this book to the women on whose shoulders we stand – women like her who paved the way for younger women like Shana and me,” says Irin. “This book is a recognition of how much is possible because of the work they did.”
JEWISH LIFE | OCTOBER 2019 27