In a spirit of advocacy and shared purpose, almost 200 Hadassah members, Associates and donors from around the country gathered in Washington, D.C., from March 8 to 10 for a National Assembly meeting and a special concluding event—Hadassah on the Hill: A Day of Impact. 

At the opening of the meetings, the organization unveiled a new tagline and branding, “Hadassah Lifechanging,” and launched “Reel Lifechanging Stories,” a project that encourages anyone in the Hadassah community to share short videos about the organization’s impact on their lives.

Two new policy statements were also announced: Disarming Hamas as a Crucial Step to Lasting Peace, which stipulates that “in order for there to be lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians and an end to the long reign of terrorism, Hadassah affirms its steadfast support for the complete disarmament of Hamas”; and Supporting Women’s Health Research and Data Privacy, which maintains the organization’s bedrock commitment to advancing women’s health issues.

Evolve: The Next Generation of Hadassah ran parallel programming to the National Assembly that educated dozens of younger members about Hadassah’s history and current priorities. At its closing event on Monday evening, Evolve hosted author Sarah Hurwitz, former speechwriter for President Barack Obama and, later, First Lady Michelle Obama, for a discussion on Hurwitz’s New York Times best-selling book, As a Jew: Reclaiming Our Story From Those Who Blame, Shame, and Try to Erase Us.

Convening in D.C. at a time when violence against Jews is rising, participants took their security concerns to Capitol Hill on March 10 for meetings with several senators, representatives and/or their staffs, advocating for expanded funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program as well as the passage of a number of acts to enhance the United States-Israel partnership and support women’s health. At lunchtime, attendees gathered in the Kennedy Caucus Room in the Russell Senate Office Building, where Democratic Senators Jacky Rosen and Elissa Slotkin as well as Republican Senators Marsha Blackburn and James Lankford addressed the crowd.

“Hadassah has never sat on the sidelines, and we are not going to do so at this pivotal moment,” Hadassah National President Carol Ann Schwartz said. “We are bringing the combined strength of nearly 300,000 members, donors and supporters directly to Congress to stand firm against antisemitism, to uphold the strategic U.S.-Israel alliance and to safeguard the health and well-being of women everywhere.”

Libby Barnea is deputy editor of Hadassah Magazine.