I Am Going to Miss Miriam Isserow

It happened to me twice in the hours since I learned Miriam Isserow passed away. I thought of something I wanted to share with her to get her opinion and to commiserate. For some eight years she has been a colleague, almost a friend though we never met in person and only occasionally spoke by phone. She was always there with her mixture of wisdom from years of communal involvement, but it was experience that did not dull her activism instincts. 

Since the #GamAni group was formed on FaceBook in the aftermath of the #MeToo movement in the secular world, she managed, moderated and drove its growth. It is a central hub for all sorts of Jewish individuals and groups with about 1,400 members. It is a place for news and action, a place for survivors to speak out and grow wings.

But apart from that, Miriam was funny and astute. I am going to miss her terribly. And so will many others. To Yehuda, Ronit, Faye and the rest of her circle of family and friends I can only offer my sympathy and condolences, which pales against the magnitude of her loss. I suppose also I offer something they already know. So many of us will miss Miriam.

Hamakom yenachem etchem b’toch shaar aveilei tziyon v’yerushalayim