Six Jewish mothers from Bergen County participated in the Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project (JWRP) Leadership Conference, which ran September 18–20 in College Park, Md.

The JWRP Leadership Conference, held in collaboration with Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, gathered Jewish women from across the world to hone their leadership skills and create a global Jewish women’s movement. The annual conference was launched in 2013 with 65 participants from the US, Canada and Mexico, and has grown to include some 300 people from nine countries, including Australia, Cuba, Greece, Israel, Panama, Russia, Spain, South Africa and the US, this year.

The Bergen women included City Leader Dena Levie, City Leader Andrea Portal, Michelle Mandelman, JWRP Momentum trip guide Elisa Hirsch, Tanya Gurovich and Cinthia Kerstein.

During the event, JWRP honored Lihi Lapid, an acclaimed Israeli feminist author, and Rachel Fraenkel, the mother of a slain Israeli teenager who became a national symbol of hope, with the Pamela Claman Leadership Award. This JWRP award is given to international role models who have significantly shaped the Jewish world with exceptional and inspired leadership and serve as role models for Jewish women around the world.

“Rachelle and Lihi both speak on our Momentum trips, and are true examples of Jewish women from diverse worlds who know what it means to love one another based on the values they share,” said Lori Palatnik, founding director of the JWRP.