Activist Spotlight: Judy Goldstein

Sholem aleykhem! My name is Judy Goldstein, and I’m a social justice intern at the Workers Circle this spring. Originally from Bethesda, Maryland, I’m a graduating senior in the Double Degree program between Barnard College and the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS). At Barnard, I study history, and I’m writing a senior thesis on the dances held by New York City’s landsmanshaftn (Jewish mutual aid groups organized by hometown) in the early twentieth century. I’ve been lucky enough to get to spend hours in the archives and even try my hand at Yiddish translation (more on that later!). At JTS, I’m a Jewish gender and women’s studies major, and I’ve taken classes on everything from medieval Jewish women to Jewish conceptions of sexuality. I’m so excited to apply everything I’ve learned in the classroom over the past four years to the issues that the Workers Circle is fighting for — democracy protection, racial and economic justice, and immigrant rights.

In a way, my social justice journey began before I was born. My great-uncle Ed (z”l) was a lawyer for the ACLU who fought for the rights of incarcerated people. He always told my mom that a society is only as strong as how it treats its weakest members (a sentiment coined by author Pearl S. Buck and echoed by activist and poet Maya Angelou). My mom took this to heart and became a lawyer for the National Labor Relations Board, striving tirelessly to make the lives of working people better. From a young age, my life was shaped by social justice — I joined my Hebrew school social justice club in kindergarten, although looking back that probably had a lot to do with the Krispy Kreme donuts they gave out at meetings. My high school’s proximity to the Metro made it easy for my classmates and I to attend demonstrations in D.C., from walkouts for gun control to youth climate rallies. I feel like my Workers Circle internship is the perfect way to build on the work that my mom, great–uncle, and ancestors have fought for. 

I am also so excited to be in a workplace where I can hear Yiddish spoken casually! I became fascinated with Yiddish when I went to Poland in 2023 and began a deep dive into my genealogy research. Last summer, I did YIVO’s Uriel Weinreich Yiddish Summer Program so I could translate primary sources and Yiddish literature for my senior thesis — and because I think Yiddish is the coolest language ever. I’ve been taking amazing Yiddish classes at Columbia ever since, and I hope to keep taking Yiddish classes after I graduate at the Workers Circle. 

So far, my internship experience has been a rare light for me in a time where the news cycle is extremely dark. In the office, I’ve been assembling postcarding kits with nonpartisan election information for volunteers to send out to voters of color. I also have been helping to put together graphics and articles for the new Workers Circle youth blog, Chutzpah (stay tuned for an extra special event in the spring…).  This work inspires me to keep fighting for a better world informed by Yiddish culture and history, even when the world seems to be falling apart. I hope that this spring, I can meaningfully contribute to the Workers Circle’s 125-year legacy of fighting for a besere velt far ale — a better world for all.