Shifra
| Title: Shifra | Dates: 1984-1986 |
| Periodicity: irregular | Price: £1.50 |
| Circulation: unknown | Place of Publication: Manchester |
Description
A Jewish feminist magazine that fused Jewish traditions with socialist feminist politics. Articles on Jewish women’s history, anti-semitism, Israel, Judaism and the relationship between Judaism and feminism, as well as short stories and poetry feature prominently. Includes features such as the ‘Jewish Starword’ ‘(Not a Crossword)’ and a recipe section. The name ‘Shifra’, as issue 1 explains, comes from a Jewish woman whose surname is unknown – ‘active in the Warsaw Ghetto resistance, she chronicled the suffering of her people’ until her murder at the hands of the Nazis. ‘Shifra symbolises our purpose in creating this magazine’. Shifra published only 4 issues, but each issue ran to over 45 pages.
Shifra‘s Mission Statement
‘Shifra is a collective of ten Jewish feminists – with at least eleven opinions – continuing the Jewish tradition. Yet the Jewish tradition for the most part describes the experience of Jewish men. Our experience is women-centred. We want to claim our heritage as Jewish women. It is essential for us to redefine the words ‘Jewish’ and ‘feminist’ from our points of view. We recognise the need of all women who experience racism to organise autonomously. As Jewish feminists we have a particular relationship to Israel. We understand why Israel exists and we defend the right of Jews to a homeland. We do not believe that this should be at the expense of the Palestinian people. Israel is the home of many Palestinian Arabs who have the right to live without oppression. The organisation and structure of Israel, like that of all other male-dominated societies, is based on hierarchies, racism and the oppression of women. As feminists we are comitted to challenging and changing these structures, so that all people can live without fear of explotation and opression.’
Shifra number 1, Dec. 1984.
Key Campaigns
- Jewish heritage
- Anti-Semitism
- Food
- Anti-racism
- Holocaust denial
- Zionism
- Reproductive labour
- Domestic violence
Magazine Aesthetic
Shifra has relatively low production values, printed mostly in black and white, with single colour covers for issues 2 and 3/4. Its logo is printed in a striking calligraphic Hebrew font. The collective made creative use of Jewish symbols and icons — integrating the Star of David, for example, with the women’s symbol to create borders and headers. There are photographs, illustrations and cartoons throughout.
Historical Contexts
Shifra was ‘first published at a time when the feminist movement in England was at its most hostile to Jewish women’ (Shifra, nos. 3 & 4, Chanakkah 5747/Dec 1986, p. 1). Presumably, Shifra are referring to events such as the split in Spare Rib’s editorial collective in 1982/83 over issues relating to anti-semitism and Zionism (c.f. Hausman, 1991). Far-right fascist groups, including the British National Party and the National Front, operated in Britain from the 1960s into the 1980s (and beyond). For Natalie Thomlinson (2016), Jewish feminism (unlike the Black women’s movement) grew directly out of the Women’s Liberation Movement.
Editors
The Shifra collective was:
- Bev Gold
- Elizabeth Sarah
- Jane Black
- Leah Ruth
- Libby Lawson
- Linda Bellos
- Marilyn Fetcher
- Riva Krut
- Scarlet Pollock
- Sheila Saunders.
Printers, typesetters, publishers and distributors
Typeset and printed by Amazon Press, Manchester
Business model
Relied on donations, fundraising events and subscriptions.
Connections to other feminist magazines
One of the founding members of the Shifra collective, Linda Bellos, was also the first black woman to join the Spare Rib collective. Bellos joined the SR collective in 1981. Discusses Noga, an Israeli feminist magazine, in issue 3/4 p. 31. Carries adverts for Outwrite in issue 1; Trouble and Strife in issue 2; and the Jewish Socialist (issues 2, 3/4).
Further Reading about Shifra
Very little has been written on Shifra, that we know of; Eleanor Careless touches on Shifra‘s recipe section in her short article for History Workshop: ‘80s Dinner Party: The Politics of Feminist Food Writing ‘, History Workshop magazine (2023).
Also see:
Thomlinson, N. (2016). Jewish Feminism in England, c. 1974–1990. In: Race, Ethnicity and the Women’s Movement in England, 1968–1993. Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements. Palgrave Macmillan, London
Hausman, B., (1991) “Anti-Semitism in Feminism: Rethinking Identity Politics”, Iowa Journal of Literary Studies 11(1), 83-96.
HOW TO CITE THIS PAGE:
‘Shifra‘, Liberating Histories Periodicals Guide, Liberating Histories <https://liberatinghistories.org/periodicals-guide/shifra > [accessed dd/mm/yyy]
© Liberating Histories 2024
| Where to find Shifra: Feminist Archive North (FAN) | Digitised copies: 1 Shifra, Number 1, Kislev 5745/December 1984, p.2 http://www.rainbowjews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Shifra-vol-1.pdf <accessed 7 Oct 2020> 2 Shifra, Number 1, Kislev 5745/December 1984, pp.9-12 http://www.rainbowjews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Shifra-vol-1.pdf <accessed 7 Oct 2020> 3 Shifra, Number 2, Shavuot 5745/May 1985, pp.8-10 http://www.rainbowjews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Shifra-vol-2.pdf <accessed 7 Oct 2020> 4 Shifra, Number 2, Shavuot 5745/May 1985, p.35 http://www.rainbowjews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Shifra-vol-2.pdf <accessed 7 Oct 2020> |
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