Guide to the Jewish Counter Culture Collection, 1954-2010 (bulk 1967-1972)
 
I-504

Processed by Christine McEvilly and Tammy Kiter

American Jewish Historical Society

Center for Jewish History

15 West 16^th Street

New York, N.Y. 10011

Phone: (212) 294-6160

Email: reference@ajhs.org

URL: http://www.ajhs.org

© 2019  American Jewish Historical Society, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.

Machine-readable finding aid created by Christine McEvilly as MS Word document, January 13, 2011. Finding aid was encoded by Marvin Rusinek on January 18, 2011. Description is in English.

February 2017 Additional description added and reprocessing by Nicole Greenhouse

Historical Note

Cover of Schmear the Queer, 2001 (Box 3, Folder 9)

The Jewish Counter Culture movement consisted of the struggles of Jewish individuals, the majority of whom were young people, not only to interpret and understand their past, but to evaluate and foster an appreciation for their future. During a tumultuous period in American history (1965-1975), student groups and community organizations banned together, found their voice, and produced publications that spoke volumes with regard to their beliefs, concerns, and commitment to paving the way for positive change. As these movements were inherently local in origin, the collection materials were created by many small contributing organizations. A number of the Collection's publications received articles from the Jewish Student Press Service, founded in 1970 in New York to provide articles to American Jewish campus periodicals. Many materials were created by Jewish students who brought their Jewish identity to the prevailing movement of campus protests and unrest. Independent organizations, generally devoted to local or liberal causes, also contributed much material.

Scope and Content Note

The Jewish Counter Culture Collection consists of materials which acted as an outlet for creativity and freedom of expression. They also are a tangible representation of history and anthropology. Among the wide range of topics covered in this collection are the following: religion, spirituality, racial inequality, feminism, the Vietnam War, politics, bureaucracy, poetry, music, artwork, and the desire to actively pursue freedom and justice. The publications also provided an opportunity for organizations to announce rallies, demonstrations, concerts, lectures, and even group travel plans. Often working with very small budgets and limited resources, these dedicated individuals created and distributed powerful tools with which to explore and expound upon issues that are just as relevant and controversial today as they were 40 years ago.

Along with many publications (including newspapers, pamphlets, and flyers), this collection also contains organizational notes, correspondence, articles, newspaper and magazine clippings, and other similar items related to social commentary, international law, and personal faith.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into three series as follows:

• Series I: Publications, 1964-2007
• Series II: Ritual Materials, 1954-2002
• Series III: Organizations, 1967-2010

Access and Use

Access Restrictions

The collection is open to all researchers by permission of the Director of Collections and Engagement of the American Jewish Historical Society, except items that are restricted due to their fragility.

Use Restrictions

Information concerning the literary rights may be obtained from the Director of Library and Archives of the American Jewish Historical Society. Users must apply in writing for permission to quote, reproduce or otherwise publish manuscript materials found in this collection. For more information contact:
American Jewish Historical Society, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY, 10011
email: reference@ajhs.org

Related Material

Jewish Counter Culture Collection is one individual collection within the Counter Culture collections located at the American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS). Other counter culture collections at AJHS include the Arthur Ocean Waskow Papers (P-152), Leonard Fein Papers (P-582), Shira Eve Epstein Papers (P-776), Riv-Ellen Prell Papers (P-795), Ruth Abusch-Magder Papers (P-841), Virginia Levitt Snitow Papers (P-876), Goldie Milgram Papers (P-876), Jack Jacobs Papers (P-1020), Gerald Serotta Papers (P-1023), Jack Nusan Porter Papers (P-1024), Arthur J. Lelyveld Papers (P-1030), Jews for Urban Justice (Washington, D.C.) Records (I-159), Jewish Peace Fellowship Records (I-189), Jewish Student Press Service Records (I-248), Breira Records (I-250), American Jewish Alternatives to Zionism (New York, New York) Records (I-326), North American Jewish Students Appeal Records (I-338), Jewish Labor Committee Records (I-377), New Jewish Agenda Records (I-393), Vermont Chapter of the New Jewish Agenda Records (I-449), Trees and Life for Vietnam Records (I-542), Lights in Action Records (I-560), Brit Tzedek v'Shalom/Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace Records (I-587), and portions of the Jewish Student Organizations Collection (I-61).

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if known); Jewish Counter Culture Collection; I-504; box number; folder number; American Jewish Historical Society, New York, NY.

Acquisition Information

Materials in this collection were donated by a number of different donors from the early 2000s to 2016. Donors were identified on the folder-level based on existing description and accession records. Not all donors were able to be identified. Donors include Lori Lefkovitz, Robert Saks, Frances Goldman, Jane Rothstein, Shelly Tenenbaum, Riv-Ellen Prell, Deborah G. Roher, Suzi Wizowaty, Sharon Girard, Zalmo Bloombecker, Laurence Edwards, Isa Aron, David G. Roskies, Steve Shaw, and Toby Sonneman.

Processing Information

In 2011 the collection was processed by Christine McEvilly and Tammy Kiter. Prior to 2017, the collection was broken into five series:

• Series I: General Publications
• Series II: Collection of Feminist Haggadot and Ritual Material on Women's Issues
• Series III: Jewish Student Organizations
• Series IV: Jewish Schools
• Series V: Miscellaneous Materials

In 2017, donors, when possible, were identified on the folder-level and the collection was intellectually rearranged. The original Series IV was incorporated into Series III: Organizations. Materials in the original Series V was incorporated into all three new series.

Access Points

• Individuals:

  • Waskow, Arthur Ocean, 1933-
  • Wizowaty, Suzi

• Organizations:

  • 92nd Street Y (New York, N.Y.)
  • Aquarian Minyan (Berkeley, Calif.)
  • Breira (Organization)
  • B’nai B’rith
  • Fabrangen (Washington, D.C.)
  • Hammer & Steel (Organization)
  • Jewish Liberation Information Service (Israel)
  • Jewish Liberation Project (New York, N.Y)
  • Jewish Peace Fellowship (U.S.)
  • Jewish Student Press Service
  • Jews for Urban Justice (Washington, D.C.)
  • Lights in Action
  • New Jewish Agenda (Organization)
  • North American Jewish Students Appeal
  • Romani-Jewish Alliance
  • Sunrise Cooperative Farm Community

• Subjects:

  • Alternative mass media
  • Counterculture
  • Feminism--Religious aspects--Judaism
  • Hippies--Religious life
  • Jewish newspapers
  • Jewish periodicals
  • Jewish press
  • Jewish radicals
  • Jewish socialists
  • Jews--Intellectual life
  • Jews--Politics and government
  • Passover
  • Radicalism--United States
  • Student movements
  • Student publications

• Places:

  • Australia
  • Berlin (Germany)
  • Canada
  • Israel
  • London (England)
  • Pakistan
  • United States

• Document types:

  • Clippings (information artifacts)
  • Fliers
  • Newsletters
  • Publications (documents)
  • Reports
  • Speeches (documents)

Container List

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Click the box in the request column to open the form that allows you to request a box for onsite viewing in the reading room at the Center for Jewish History, New York, NY.

Series I: Publications, 1964-2007
The Series is in English.
Arrangement: Arrangement is alphabetical.
Scope and Content: This series includes newsprint, journals, pamphlets, and magazines on current events that affected the Jewish community, the views of Jews from different political and cultural traditions, and the activities of general Jewish organizations. The publications are produced by activist groups, university student Jewish organizations, and for-profit presses. Most publications were intended for a wide audience beyond the members of the publishing organization. The series also contains clippings from mainstream secular or Jewish publications that focus on issues pertinent to the Jewish American Left.
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
2	1	Ba-Golah in Exile (Skokie, IL)	undated
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
1	1	Bas-Kol (Brooklyn, NY)	1970
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
5	17	Clippings on American Jewish Feminism	1974-1989
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
4	14	Clippings on Female Rabbis	1993-1995
		Donated by Lori Lefkovitz
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
5	3	Clippings on International Affairs and the Middle East	undated, 1966-1969
		Donated by Robert Saks
5	4	Clippings on International Affairs and the Middle East	undated, 1964-1985
		Donated by Robert Saks
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
4	13	Clippings on Women of the Wall	1988-1990
		Donated by Lori Lefkovitz
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
1	1	Coexistence (London)	1970
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
2	2	Confrontation (Coral Gables, FL)	1971
2	3	Congress: A Journal of Opinion and Jewish Affairs (New York, NY)	1966-1967
2	3a	Conservative Judaism (New York, NY)	1974
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
1	1	Dawn (New York, NY)	1970
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
2	4	Dissent (New York, NY)	1967
2	5	The Electric Jew (New York, NY)	1969
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
1	1	Elul (London)	1971-1972
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
2	6	Encounter (London)	1968
2	7	Encounters in the Month of Elul (Philadelphia, PA)	1971-1973
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
1	1	Exodus II (Little Neck, NY)	undated
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
2	8	Fabrangen (Washington D.C.)	2007
		Donated by Frances Goldman
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
1	1	Fourth World (Ontario)	1971
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
2	9	Friends of Jewish Students North American Jewish Students Appeal (New York, NY)	1972
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
5	13	"The Future of Jewish Peoplehood: A Report from the Project on American Jewish Institutions of the Public Resource Center"	1977
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
1	2	Golem (Jerusalem)	1970
1	2	Hamagen (New York, NY)	1972
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
2	10	Heeb: The New Jew Review (New York, NY)	2002
		Donated by Jane Rothstein
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
1	2	Hevra (Montreal)	1972
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
2	11	InterChange (Breira of New York, NY)	1976-1977
2	12	Israel and the New Left (Tel Aviv)	undated, 1970
2	12a	Israel Horizons (New York, NY)	1984
2	13	Jewish Currents (New York, NY)	1967-1968
2	14	Jewish Socialist Critique (Berkeley, CA)	1979-1980
		Donated by Shelly Tenenbaum
2	15	Jewish Student Press Digest (New York, NY)	1972
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
5	6	“Jews, Judaism, and the New Left”—Speech and Article by Robert Saks	1967-1968
		Donated by Robert Saks
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
2	16	JTA Daily News Bulletin (New York, NY)	1969
2	17	Levels Magazine (Syracuse, NY)	1968
2	18	Liberation (New York, NY)	1967
2	19	Lillit (Jerusalem)	1971
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
1	2	Masada (Toronto)	1970-1972
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
2	20	Menorah (Washington D.C.)	undated
		Donated by Riv-Ellen Prell
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
3	1	The Minority of One (New York, NY)	1967
3	2	Muslim News International (Pakistan)	1969
3	3	New Left Review (London)	1967
3	4	New Politics (New York, NY)	1967
3	5	New University Thought (Detroit, MI)	1968
3	6	News Views: United Synagogue Youth of the United Synagogue of America (New York, NY)	1967
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
1	3	OR (Toronto)	1970-1971
1	3	Other Stand (Montreal)	1969-1971
1	4	The Other Way (New York, NY)	1971
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
3	7	Ramparts (San Francisco, CA)	1967
3	8	The Rise and Fall of the Sunrise Commune (Rockville, MD)	1979
3	9	Schmear the Queer (New York, NY)	2001
		Donated by Jane Rothstein
3	10	Shalom Dialogues (London and Berlin)	1970
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
1	4	Shirayim (Ottawa)	undated
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
3	10a	Sh'ma (Port Washington, NY)	1974-1987
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
1	4	The South End (Detroit, MI)	1972
1	4	Survival (Melbourne)	undated, 1970
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
3	11	Tadmit Newsletter (Tel-Aviv)	1970
3	12	The Voice of ATID: The College Age Organization, United Synagogue of America (New York, NY)	1967

Series II: Ritual Materials, 1954-2002
The Series is in English.
Arrangement: Arrangement is alphabetical.
Scope and Content: This series mostly contains materials related to Jewish holidays and life-cycle events. The series is made-up of Haggadot, prayers, and prayer service proceedings. The majority of the Haggadot are designed to be gender neutral and pro-feminist.
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
3	15	"Before There Was a Before"—Arthur, David, and Shoshana Waskow	1976
3	14	"Blessing the Birth of a Daughter"—Toby Fishbein Reifman and Ezrat Nashim	1976
		Donated by Deborah G. Roher
3	16	"Call them Builders: A Resource Booklet about Jewish Attitudes and Practices on Birth and Family Life"—Sandy Eisenberg Sasson	1977
		Donated by Suzi Wizowaty
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
4	8	Community Seder of Kadima, WA—Flyer and Introductory Remarks	1991
		Donated by Suzi Wizowaty
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
3	18	"Commentary on the Ten Commandments and the Book of Ruth for the Decade of Women" for Shavuot—Task Force on Equality of Women in Judaism	1978
		Donated by Suzi Wizowaty
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
4	10	"A Jewish Feminist Haggadah"—Vermont New Jewish Agenda	late 1980s
		Donated by Suzi Wizowaty
4	6	"A Liberation Seder for the Goddard Community"	1986
		Donated by Suzi Wizowaty
4	2	Passover Haggadah—Women’s Institute for Continuing Jewish Education	1980
		Donated by Suzi Wizowaty
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
5	10	Passover Haggadah and Songbook—San Francisco Kindershule	1954, 1985
		Donated by Sharon Girard
5	9	Passover Haggadot—Boston Committee to Challenge Anti-Semitism, Jewish Liberation Project, Jewish Socialist Community Oberlin College	1971-2002
		Donated by Shelly Tenenbaum
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
3	20	Passover Haggadot—Chadeish Yameinu	2000-2001
		Donated by Zalmo Bloombecker
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
4	5	Lesbian Feminist Passover—Articles	1985-1986
		Donated by Suzi Wizowaty
4	3	"A New Haggadah: A Jewish Lesbian Seder"—Judith Stein	1984
		Donated by Suzi Wizowaty
4	11	"Shabbos Morning Davenin'"—Aquarian Minyan of Berkeley, CA	undated
		Donated by Suzi Wizowaty
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
3	13	"Siddur Nashim: A Sabbath Prayer Book for Women"—Naomi Janowitz and Maggie Wenig	1976
		Donated by Suzi Wizowaty
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
4	12	"The Stolen Legacy, A Women’s Haggadah"—E.M. Broner and Naomi Nimrod	undated
		Donated by Suzi Wizowaty
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
3	17	Tu b’Shevat Seders	1977-1978, 1984, 1987
		Donated by Suzi Wizowaty
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
4	1	Yom Kippur Service—Upstairs Minyan	1979
		Donated by Suzi Wizowaty
4	4	"A Women’s Haggadah"—Miriam's Timbrel, Oberlin College	1984
		Donated by Suzi Wizowaty
4	9	"Women’s Seder"—Sponsored by Jewish Community Center Without Walls and Jewish Family Services, agencies of the Durham-Chapel Hill Jewish Federation	1999

Series III: Organizations, 1967-2010
The Series is in English.
Arrangement: Arrangement is alphabetical.
Scope and Content: This series includes material on a wide variety of Jewish and liberal student organizations. Materials include flyers, correspondence, reports, newsletters, and ephemera. Topics include national organizations, liberal publications, the U.S. draft, Jewish welfare and charity, university-student relations, opposition to the Vietnam War, international affairs, events in the Middle East, reports and speeches on leftist culture. There are also newsletters, pamphlets, clippings, and articles relating to feminist and women's issues. The series also includes press cuttings, newsletters, internal reports and drafts, narrative accounts and correspondence from Jewish institutions dedicated to studying and teaching Jewish laws and traditions.
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
5	5	Al-Fatah Palestine National Liberation Movement; Baltimore Hebrew Congregation; Southern Christian Leadership Conference; Midstream; Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors; Jewish Peace Fellowship; National Interreligious Service Board for Conscientious Objectors; Jewish Activist League; Indo-Israel Friendship League; American Jewish Congress; Radical Education Project; Jewish Liberation Project; National Jewish Organizing Project Board; Young People's Socialist League; Hammer & Steel; American Student Movement (Anti-Imperialist); Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine; Student Mobilization Committee; City College Christian Association; Michigan Association of Jewish College Students; House of Love and Prayer; Jews for Urban Justice; Jewish Organizing Project	undated, 1967-1980
		Donated by Robert Saks
5	11	American Jewish Committee Information Service	1967
		Donated by Robert Saks
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
4	16	B’nai B’rith Hillel—Correspondence and Records on Breira	1976-1979
		Donated by Laurence Edwards
4	19	Community for a Jewish Federation—Student Revolt	1969
		Donated by Steve Shaw
4	17	Florida Union of Jewish Students; Students for a Democratic Society; National Student Mobilization Committee; Young Americans for Freedom; City College of New York Stop National Student Association Committee; City College Chapter of Young People's Socialist League; Jewish Peace Fellowship; National Interreligious Service Board for Conscientious Objectors; Concerned Jewish Students; Community for a Jewish Federation; Fabrangen; Institute for Policy Studies; House of Love and Prayer; Network; Kibbutz Micah; Jewish Liberation Project; Lights in Action; National Jewish Organizing Project; Trees for Vietnam; Jewish Activist League	1967-1980
		Donated by Robert Saks
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
5	1	Havurah Schools Alternative Community	undated, 1976-1979
		Donated by Isa Aron
5	2	Havurat Shalom House of Study, Somerville, MA	undated, 1970s
		Donated by David G. Roskies
5	16	Havurat Shalom House of Study, Somerville, MA—Position Paper	undated
		Donated by David G. Roskies
5	12	Jewish Liberation Information Service	1971
5	15	Jewish Peace Fellowship—Pamphlets on Conscientious Objection	2009, 2010
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
4	15	Jewish Student Press Service—articles and correspondence (including a list of publications)	1969-1971
		Donated by Robert Saks
4	18	The New Left—Handwritten Notes	1969
		Donated by Robert Saks
4	7	Passover Peace Coalition	1989
		Donated by Suzi Wizowaty
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
5	8	The Radius Institute	undated, 1970-1994
		Donated by Steve Shaw
5	7	The Radius Institute and the 92nd Street Y	undated, 1980-1986
		Donated by Steve Shaw
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
3	19	Romani-Jewish Alliance	1991-1995
		Donated by Toby Sonneman
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
5	14	Tzedek Tzedek	1976-1978
		Donated by Deborah G. Roher