Debbie Wasserman has spent nearly four decades volunteering with the National Council of Jewish Women in Canada. Now she’s taken on her highest profile role yet: she’s the new president of the International Council of Jewish Women (ICJW), a century-old umbrella NGO representing Jewish women’s organizations in 36 countries on five continents, from Argentina to Nigeria to Croatia.
The organization advocates for women’s rights on a global stage, including at the United Nations and the Council of Europe. Their members speak out on issues including human trafficking, domestic violence, antisemitism, and, after Oct. 7, security for Israel and raising awareness about the sexual violence Hamas terrorists carried out against Israeli women.
Wasserman got her start in public service as a young mother in Toronto, including helping run the National Council of Jewish Women Toronto branch’s famous annual Passover food basket campaign. Today, after many leadership positions with the Canadian affiliate, she’s now only the second Canadian woman in history to lead the historic international NGO.
In this episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, Wasserman joins host Ellin Bessner to discuss the priorities she’ll be tackling over the next four years, including an exciting project launching first right now in Canada: “The Power of Small Conversations”, an initiative to fight antisemitism, which Wasserman hopes can become a model for Jewish communities around the world.
Read more about when Toronto’s Debbie Wasserman was elected president of the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada, in 2017, in The CJN .
Learn more about The Power of Small Conversations initiative being launched this fall by the Canadian organization, NCJWC, with Wasserman’s involvement.
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