Her grandfather fought in Israel’s war for independence, and her grandmother instilled in her a strong sense of Zionism. From a young age, Ruby Russell — a Hadassah life member — knew she was meant to live her life in Israel.
“My family is a very Zionist family through and through and also a very feminist family,” said Russell, 21, who lives in Tel Aviv.
As a young teen, on a visit to Florida, she asked her grandmother to see if the local rabbi would allow her to speak at the synagogue. At services that Shabbat, the rabbi stood up and said to the congregation, “I knew that if I didn’t let her talk to you, you’d be sorry, you’d be mad at me, because someday she’s gonna be somebody,” her grandmother, Ayala Manolson, 92, recounted.
Russell spoke then about making sure that Jews of her generation understand the importance of Israel. The entire congregation was moved by her words, Ayala said.
“She could have gone in many different directions when she graduated from high school,” Ayala said. “She’s very bright, she’s very capable, but she wasn’t interested in doing a tour of the universities. She knew right away.”
Russell had spent a semester at Alexander Muss High School in Israel years prior, and upon returning to her hometown outside of Boston, got involved in Israel-focused organizations, including Stand With Us and the Jewish Women’s Archive, where she was named a Rising Voices Fellow.
It was through that fellowship that Russell was asked to speak at a local Hadassah event. Her mother came to hear her speak. “I remember looking at my mom while we were there and saying I want to be like these women, women who live like they believe and make things happen,” Russell said. “The rest has just been a journey of how I’m going to find my place of doing that.”
Upon graduation, she decided to make aliyah and enlist in the Israel Defense Forces.
“Here, you’re not just learning random history in a history book, you’re learning your own history,” said Russell, who has worked for the Muss school since completing her IDF service a year ago.
Her mother, meanwhile, has grown her own connection to Israel over these last few years while maintaining a strong bond with her daughter. “I often feel like the Zionism went from my parents to Ruby and then back to me,” said Nina Manolson.
Russell also inspired her mother’s connection to Hadassah. In her professional life, Nina coaches women on their relationship with food and body image. While attending the Hadassah event to hear her daughter speak, Nina met the Boston chapter president, who asked her to speak on the topic at an upcoming Hadassah event. She accepted, speaking at that event and at a Hadassah retreat too.
“Kids take you to places you wouldn’t necessarily go yourself, but because they're there, you go,” Nina said. “I don’t know if I would be as connected to Hadassah, to Israel, if it weren’t for Ruby. I would still be fiercely loud and proud Jewish, but I would do it in my way, or I would do it, I think, in a quieter way.”
Russell’s way certainly isn’t quiet. When war broke out in Israel on October 7 and the Muss students were sent home, Russell knew she needed to find a way to help her beloved country. As an American woman living in Israel with the strong ability to communicate to an American audience, Russell decided to use her unique position to tell the stories of Israeli women in a time of war.
“Women are in every place doing life fully, and that is a part of war that needs to be heard and to allow women, Jewish women all over the world, to identify themselves in those places,” Russell said.
She interviewed six women of different ages about their day-to-day lives in war, what gives them hope, where they find safety and what they’ve experienced. One woman, 94, told her that though she has little hope left in her personal life, her hope for the country is so strong that all her energy is going toward that, Russell said.
“It brought me closer and more aware and feeling more deeply and strongly about the need to be supportive,” Ayala said, her pride in her granddaughter evident. “I could see myself in those situations where otherwise I couldn't, it was just too general.”
“I think it’s especially important to hear these stories because it’s the first time that women have been so completely engaged in a war from the beginning,” Nina said. “I also think it’s even more important that these stories get amplified because we’re actually fighting a war of women not being heard right now, Jewish women not being heard.”
Russell published her stories through the Jewish Women’s Archive and is continuing to look for outlets to share them.
“I can see now through [their] eyes,” Russell said. “I just feel like I want to spread that and share that. These women have been through a lot.”
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