rael.
Becoming a voice for
women's issues through
Women In Politics, the grass-
roots organization she and Ar-
lene Victor founded, she says,
was an evolution from her in-
volvement in the Jewish com-
munity.
"If you take a good look at
the category, women in poli-
tics, there will always be a seg-
ment called Jewish," Ms.
Soberman says. "Jewish
women were fighting in the la-
bor movement of the 20s, 30s
and 40s. We have a deep root
in the tradition of activism."
Adds Mindy Nathan, active
in the Bloomfield Hills public
school system and,a recent
member of Women In Politics,
"Activism and community ser-
vice are part of being Jewish."
This season brings a record
number of women running for
national offices in both parties.
About 150 women are seeking
Senate and Congressional of-
fices. Add to that 100 con-
gressional incumbents out of
the running, and expect to see
a few new female faces next
year on Capitol Hill.
The Democratic National
Convention in New York last
week highlighted candidacies
of Senate hopefuls Carol Mose-
ley Braun of Illinois, who un-
seated Sen. Alan Dixon in the
primary; Rep. Barbara Boxer
(who is Jewish) of California;
Dianne Feinstein, former San
Francisco mayor (also Jewish)
of California; and Lynn
Yaekel, a political newcomer
from Pennsylvania who will
face Sen. Arlen Specter, the
face behind the Thomas-Hill
Senate Judiciary hearings.
During an EMILY's List
fund-raising reception at the
Democratic convention, one of
Michigan's best known ac-
tivists, Mildred Jeffrey,
summed up her feelings to Ms.
Pincus.
'We're making history," Ms.
Jeffrey said.
Ms. Pollack, who has served
in the state legislature for 10
years, is cautiously optimistic
about the timing of women
emerging into politics.
"We know we are close, but
we do not know where we are
yet," Ms. Pollack says. "We
know there is energy. But
what counts is who gets elect-
ed."
Bunny (Goldman) Kratch-
man, formerly executive di-
rector for the Michigan Coun-
cil For the Arts, calls herself a
"product of the women's move-
ment."
After college, she got mar-
ried, moved to Washington
and secured a job working for
former New York Sen. Jacob
Javitz. She stopped working
to have children.
Ms. Kratchman and her
family had moved back to De-
troit. She knew Doug Ross,
and he constantly called her.
He had projects to do. When
he called and said he was run-
ning for state senate, Ms.
Kratchman joined the team.
So did Gilda Jacobs, and so did
Zina Kramer.
The three women each
moved on in politics, working
for the Democratic Party, for-
mer Gov. Blanchard, and mov-
ing on to other ventures.
Today Ms. Jacobs works for
JARC and is a Huntington
Woods Commissioner. Ms.
Kramer runs her own mar-
keting business and has done
fund-raising for Bill Clinton.
She has done something
many women seem to do as
well: cross party lines for the
choice issue. In the hotly con-
tested 11th Congressional Dis-
trict Republican primary, Ms.
Alice Gilbert stepped away from the bench to run for Congress.
Kramer is supporting Repub-
lican candidate Alice Gilbert.
At the April 5 March For
Women's Lives in Washing-
ton, D.C., Gilda Jacobs
marched on the Capitol with
her teen-age daughter, Rachel.
In the past six months, Ms.
Victor and Ms. Soberman
have held several informa-
tional forums exclusively for
women candidates. They say
they are not leaving men out
of the picture. Yet men, they
say, do not need the help.
"We need to be good role
models," Ms. Soberman says.
"We need to get out our pock-
etbooks and write checks." ❑
Zina Kramer is a Democratic Party fund-raiser.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 29