Award-winning author Francine Klagsbrun discusses Henrietta Szold: Hadassah and the Zionist Dream, her new biography of Henrietta Szold, the founder of Hadassah and a Zionist trailblazer, with moderator Felicia Herman in celebration of this book receiving a Natan Notable Book Award from the Natan Fund in partnership with the Jewish Book Council.

Henrietta Szold (1860–1945) was a pioneer who challenged prevailing attitudes of immigrants, Jews, and women to create new educational, health, and Zionist institutions that still exist today. In this new biography, Klagsbrun details the incredible achievements of this extraordinary woman who understood not just the ideals but also the necessary actions—of her and of the world around her—to build a better world for Jews, Americans, and immigrants. The founder of Hadassah–the Women’s Zionist Organization of America–Szold was also a scholar, editor, and translator; an educator who started a night school for new immigrants in Baltimore that became a model for schools across the United States; the director of Youth Aliyah, which rescued thousands of Jews from Nazis; and an advocate for numerous public health initiatives in America and the Yishuv. 

In a moment when it feels like the world is in so much turmoil, we are looking to Szold, who  mobilized generations of American Jewish women to advocate for the future of America and Israel. We are honored to celebrate her legacy, Francine Klagsbrun’s compelling biography, and the legacy of American Jewish women who have been and continue to advocate for a better tomorrow. 

Francine Klagsbrun is the author of numerous books, including the award-winning Lioness: Golda Meir and the Nation of Israel. She has been a columnist for Jewish Week and Moment, is a contributing editor to Lilith, and is on the editorial board of Hadassah Magazine. Her writings have appeared in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, Newsweek, Ms.magazine, and other national publications.

Felicia Herman is Managing Director, North America, of Maimonides Fund and Associate Editor of SAPIR: Ideas for a Thriving Jewish Future. She joined Maimonides in 2021 after 16 years as Executive Director of Natan, a giving circle/grantmaking foundation focused on supporting Jewish and Israeli social innovation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she also served as Director of the Aligned Grant Program of the Jewish Community Response and Impact Fund. Felicia sits on the boards of the American Jewish Historical Society, DreamStreet Theatre Company, and Natan, as well as on the advisory boards of two initiatives launched by Natan: Shomer Collective and Amplifier, both of which she founded. She holds a Ph.D. in Jewish History and an M.A. in Jewish Women’s Studies from Brandeis University, and she is a proud recipient of the Jewish Funders Network’s JJ Greenberg Memorial Award.

This program is in partnership with the Natan Fund, the Jewish Book Council, and Hadassah: The Women’s Zionist Organization of America.