Remembrance
Ruth Elraz
London | Jerusalem | 1932-2024
Ruth Elraz immigrated to Israel from England as a young woman in 1954. She studied social work at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and sculpture in London, Paris, and Jerusalem.
Ruthie was a combination of fire, love, anger, activist fervor, and endless personal and social involvement. She was an adoring mother to her only daughter, Danya, and a grandmother whose love and pride in her grandchildren surprised even her.
Ruthie worked for years as a psychotherapist in the Hebrew University’s Student Counseling Services. Later on, Ruthie was one of the founding mothers of the Counseling Center for Women.
Ruthie was an idealist, a feminist, opinionated, and a central partner in the formation and determination of the Center’s character; in committees, staff meetings, and in all the spaces where the ethical and professional image of the Counseling Center for Women was formed. Ruth was active for years on the Center’s Steering Committee and in the early years was also responsible for finances and salaries.
Ruthie was a sharp and unconventional therapist.. She had the knowledge and experience and the ability for an inspiring, intelligent, creative, feminist and in-depth clinical analysis.
Ruthie was the “mythic supervisor” of many new students and therapists at the CCW. In her practice as a supervisor, she actually raised a new generation of feminist therapists.
Ruthie was an activist. She was one of the founders of the ‘Women in Black’, a women’s peace movement, and was also active in the ‘Israeli Committee Against House Demolition’. She did not leave left-wing politics outside the Center and thought that politics should be an integral part of the Center’s existence and operation as a feminist social-therapeutic organization. All of this was also the subject of many debates and discussions within the Center. For many years, Ruth was a voice that shaped the spirit and character of the Center.
In the Counseling Center for Women’s book of articles, “Women in the Therapeutic Space” published in 2001, an article was published that Ruthie wrote together with team member Marcia Levin, who wrote “A Meeting with the Other: The Message in the Unspoken Word.”
Click here to read.
Until the end of her life, close to the age of 92, Ruthie (who had green hair in those days) could be seen moving and rolling in her wheelchair at protests and demonstrations on the streets of Jerusalem.
Each of the Center’s members has her own memories of Ruth Elraz, engraved in her memory and heart.
May Ruthie’s memory be activism for peace, equality, and social justice
Judy Shotten
Canada | Jerusalem | 1924-2020
With our deepest sorrow, we regret to inform you of the loss of one of the founding
mothers of the Counseling Center for Women: Judy Shotten.
Judy was born and raised in Winnipeg, Canada in a very Zionist family. She came to Israel in 1949 and as a social worker, she helped create many institutions in Israel such as the first mental health clinic in the country and the first psychology clinic at Hebrew University.
In 1986, she joined the collective of women who founded CCW, Israel’s pioneering feminist therapy clinic, and remained a precious and appreciated member of the organization until her passing.
Being one of Israel’s first licensed sex therapists, Judy was a true feminist, a trail-blazer and a pioneer in mental health and sexual health. During her long career, she helped and inspired countless number of women via her therapy work.
Her energy and vitality had no limits: she was a world traveler, hiked well into her 80’s, swam and loved to dance.
As one of her dear friends Michal Schonbrun wrote, “May her soul and spirit continue to dance, in heaven, with all the angels above and those below. May our love and gratitude for Judy continue to thrive and nourish us on our journeys. May her heart presence continue to germinate more seeds of creativity, compassion humanity and love.”
We would like to share with you a short video on Judy’s days at CCW.
Marlene Zaslow
Pennsylvania | Jerusalem | 1938-2021
Marlene was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA, the youngest of five children. She immigrated to Israel in 1973 with her husband, Moti, and her two young children, David and Beth.
Marlene grew up with a feminist mother and according to her she had always felt herself feminist. Marlene studied clinical psychology, educational psychology and family therapy. Over the years she worked in various therapeutic frameworks, and was always dedicated to creating a better world. Marlene was one of the first Israeli EMDR instructors in the country.
Marlene believed that women needed a safe place for psychotherapy, a feminist women’s space, and so she joined the Counseling Center for Women in 1990, in the second phase of the Center’s emergence as a leading organization in feminist treatment for women. The Center was a perfect fit for the smart, passionate Marlene, who was committed to ideology and treatment with a feminist approach. In her article Couple Therapy and a Support Group for Mothers Surviving Sexual Abuse (click here to read). Marlene wrote: “I am grateful that my training in feminist therapy allowed me to listen to women more completely, and to treat them with respect for their full potential.”
Marlene engaged in individual, couple, family and group psychotherapy and supervised in all these fields. She contributed to all therapists in the Center from her rich knowledge and experience. At the Counseling Center for Women, Marlene found a community of sisters and partners for a moral and professional journey, and the Counseling Center for Women gained one of his dearest mothers.
Our Marlene passed away from an illness at the age of 83. She will be remembered with immense, appreciation and warmth for her contributions to the center, with respect, love, and sisterhood.
