Lisa Fishbayn Joffe steps into leadership role at Hadassah-Brandeis Institute

Brandeis University News

Listen to Lisa Fishbayn Joffe talk about her new job for just a few minutes and it’s clear how much she loves her work. Fishbayn Joffe is the next director of the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute (HBI). In her new role, she succeeds Shulamit Reinharz, founding director of HBI.


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In addition to her much-lauded Jewish feminist scholarly work, Fishbayn Joffe is also trained as a lawyer with three degrees that include a doctorate in the philosophy of law from Harvard. In recent years, Fishbayn Joffe has focused on gender equality issues in family law. She has published myriad articles, as well as written three books on the subject. She recently spoke to JewishBoston about her ongoing projects with HBI and her goals for the future.
When did you come to the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute?
I’ve been at HBI for 10 years. Before that I taught law at University College London. My own work had been on gender, multiculturalism and family law around women’s rights, particularly in family law, and the challenges of respecting cultural traditions and responding to women’s claims for gender equality in their communities.
How does HBI’s mission dovetail with your research and academic interests?
At HBI I realized that we could create something to explore gender issues in the context of Jewish law. This idea led me to create a project in 2007 called “Gender, Culture, Religion and the Law.” There is a related book series encompassing those topics, as well as the annual Diane Markowicz Memorial Lecture on gender and human rights. I also helped to create the Boston Agunah Taskforce three years ago, which grew out of my research on women’s rights around Jewish divorce rights. The taskforce provides advice, education and support for women going through the religious ...

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