(Jewish Group) Berkeley's Marcia Freedman, first out lesbian in Knesset, dies at 83

There’s a limit to what any one person can accomplish in her time on earth. Marcia Freedman managed to blow right past the limit and just kept going.

Pioneering feminist, LGBTQ activist, Knesset member, author and co-founder of an esteemed Middle East peace organization, Marcia Freedman died Sept. 21 in Berkeley. She was 83.


Marcia Freedman at the Castro Theatre on opening night of the S.F. Jewish Film Festival in 1999. (Photo/Richard Bermack)

“She was quiet and wise,” said Janis Plotkin, who decades ago recruited Freedman to serve on the board of the S.F. Jewish Film Festival. “She was a little woman but a giant in terms of intellect, kindness, thoughtfulness and her strategic approach to problem-solving.”

Freedman’s social and political activism took many forms. Much of her work centered on Israeli politics and seeking to resolve the conflict with the Palestinians. She argued for a two-state solution long before it became a stated policy objective. As a young olah (immigrant) and Knesset member, she also fostered groundbreaking women’s rights legislation, going toe to toe with her misogynist male colleagues.

Back in the United States, in 2003 she formed Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, an organization that pressed for a two-state solution, Palestinian rights and a shared capital of Jerusalem. More recently, she worked tirelessly on behalf of Ashby Village, an East Bay nonprofit that helps home-bound seniors.

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