Female Leadership in the American Jewish Community

Bessie Gotsfeld (1888–1962) was the inspired leader and founder of the Mizrachi Woman's Organization of America (MWOA). Gotsfeld abandoned a comfortable life in New York to live in Mandatory Palestine and conduct the MWOA's business. Gotsfeld was driven by a fervent dedication to Orthodox Zionism and modern education, especially for girls. Her innovations included the establishment of three vocational schools for adolescent girls and two large farm villages that offered religious instruction to girls and boys on an equal basis. Every step of Gotsfeld's journey and leadership involved a struggle. To realize her goals, she had to hold her ground against Mizrachi men and women and centrists Zionists, such as Henrietta Szold. Organizational independence was crucial to Gotsfeld. The fundraising mechanism she set up in New York and her management of resources in Mandatory Palestine and Israel made the MWOA the most successful part of the Mizrachi movement. Through her leadership, she advanced the cause of religious Zionism in the United States and Israel.