by Jill Finkelstein

Link Roundup: High Holidays Edition

Welcome to this week’s installment of Lilith’s Link Roundup. Each week we post Jewish and feminist highlights from around the web. If there’s anything you want to be sure we know about, email us or leave a message in the comments section below.

Writer Ann Brenoff shared why an article in Lilith inspired her to collect trash on her wedding day. [Huffington Post]

In honor of the High Holidays, Dr. Sharon Ufberg commented on why the holidays mean extra work from women, adding that “while the burden is great, the blessings and joy of the cultural connection to ones’ roots and the pride of heritage keep Jewish women… willing to continue to bring the family together to celebrate and remember, year after year.” [Huffington Post]

Chanel Dubofsky encouraged women to be less apologetic this holiday season, especially when it comes to their beliefs about reproductive health. [Jewesses With Attitude]

In honor of National Domestic Violence Awareness month, Jewish Women International created a special Misheberach prayer for victims of domestic abuse. [The Jewish Chronicle]

Women around the world rejoiced after it was announced that this year’s Nobel Peace Prize would be awarded to three women — Tawakkol Karman, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and Leymah Gbowee — for their “non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.” [Washington Post]

A new study found that while the Hyde Amendment allows federal funds to cover abortion costs in cases of rape, incest, or to save a mother’s life, Medicaid only covered 37% of eligible abortions. [XX Factor]

The Israeli Andalusian Orchestra made the decision to remove a concert, which featured a female singer, from its subscription series following complaints from religious subscribers. Coincidentally, the decision was made just weeks after four army cadets were dismissed after refusing to listen to female singers. The concert will still be offered as a separate option for those who are interested. [Haaretz]

A group of Orthodox women in Brooklyn are urging religious leaders to allow female EMTs to join Hatzalah, a Jewish-run volunteer ambulance service, citing modesty concerns for women in labor. [NY Post] & [Crain’s New York]

Shelly Yachimovich was elected as the new chairwoman to Israel’s Labor Party, making her the first woman to lead the party since Golda Meir. This marks the first time in history in which women have run two of the country’s major political parties. [The Forward]

Inbal Gawi became Israel’s first female bomb disposal specialist. Upon completing her 10-month training course, she said, “At first I wanted to break the limits, mostly for my own sake, but now I feel like I did it for other women as well.” [Ynet]

The Rabbinical Assembly and Jewish Women International announced that they will be partnering to develop an “initiative to advance women’s leadership in the Jewish community.” [JTA]

Bloggers Jessica Cavanagh-Melhado and Melissa Scholten-Gutierrez of Redefining Rebbetzin discussed how the role of rabbi’s wife has changed over the years. [The Sisterhood]

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded a federal grant to Sharsheret “to develop survivorship programming and culturally-relevant resources for young Jewish breast cancer survivors.” [eJewish Philanthropy] & [Sharsheret]

Marjorie Ingall explained what we could learn from a parody bat mitzvah speech about Fashion Week. While most speeches tend to be “full of stale, shallow insights that came from the rabbi or mom rather than the kid,” she asks, “shouldn’t the d’var Torah reflect a kid’s actual interests, attempting to relate the kid’s daily life to the coming-of-age ceremony?” [Tablet Magazine]

A new study from Loyola Marymount University revealed that women are more likely to enter a competition when they are given the option to compete on a team. Researchers found that when they offered male and female participants the opportunity to compete in a team of two, the “gender competition gap” reduced by two-thirds. [The Glass Hammer]

Shoham Smith reported on a new “dangerous” book for pregnant women, which she described as “bimbo lit.” Similarly, in our latest issue, Gabrielle Birkner also wrote about the expectations to be sexy during pregnancy. [Haaretz]

Writer Jocelyn Eikenburg looked at love between Jewish women and Chinese men. [Asian Jewish Life]