The Power of Being Seen: Why Visibility for Jews Matters Now More Than Ever

When I first learned that I had been named one of Hadassah’s 2025 “18 American Zionist Women You Should Know,” my first response was deep gratitude. My second was something closer to a sense of responsibility. Recognition is never just about the person being honored; it’s about what we choose to do with that platform. And in today’s complex and often misinformed conversations around Zionism, visibility matters.

To be clear, this isn’t about ego or spotlight. It’s about leveraging visibility to create space for truth-telling, education and connection at a time when women’s voices and leadership are critically needed. It’s about showing up with purpose, especially as women in our 40s and 50s.

Evolve Hadassah was born out of a recognition that because women in our age range are often managing families, careers, community responsibilities and caregiving, we bring a unique, lived perspective. We know how to navigate nuance. We understand how systems work. And we care deeply about the kind of world we’re leaving behind.

This recognition I’ve received opens a door. Not just for me, but for all of us doing the hard work of leading with heart, especially through complicated terrain. It’s a chance to broaden understanding of Zionism through a lens too often missing from public discourse: one rooted in justice, human rights and healing.

Zionism is one of the most misunderstood terms in today’s political and cultural landscape. For me and for so many in the Hadassah community, it’s not dogma. It’s a living connection to peoplehood, to history, to resilience. It’s a belief in the right of Jews to self-determination in their ancestral homeland. That belief doesn’t negate the rights of others; it demands that we hold multiple truths and advocate for dignity and safety for all people.

Dr. Deborah Villanueva at The National Food Bank at Leket, Israel, planting lettuce on a farm.

As a clinical social worker and mental health advocate, I know how urgently we need to move past binary thinking. Just as trauma healing requires us to hold both pain and possibility, so, too, must Zionism evolve into a conversation that is both honest and hopeful. That starts with visibility — because people can’t understand what is not made clear to them.

Being named one of Hadassah’s 18 American Zionist Women You Should Know puts that conversation in motion.

There’s something powerful about being part of a cohort of women who are stepping into leadership, not as a side project, but as a calling. Evolve Hadassah – The Next Generation is a leadership development initiative I help lead which includes two programs: Evolve Leadership Fellows and Evolve Immersive Experiences.  Evolve engages women in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s; women who are showing up with clarity, purpose and grit. We’re not interested in performative activism or symbolic roles. We’re here to move the needle.

The honor of being on this list isn’t just about what we’ve already done; it’s about what we still have to offer. It’s a call to keep pushing for equity in health care, mental health and civil society; to build coalitions; and to amplify voices that haven’t always been heard.

As someone who works at the intersection of trauma, resilience and identity, I see a clear parallel between working in the mental health field and how we engage with Zionism. Both require ongoing reflection, complexity and truth-telling. And both can be misunderstood when reduced to talking points.

This moment offers us the opportunity, especially within Jewish spaces, to ask the important questions. “What does it mean to belong? To struggle? To repair?” We must create room for grief, celebration, disagreement and growth. That’s the work of psychoeducation. It’s also the work of building bridges.

To the women standing beside me on this list, each doing transformative work in their own communities, I say: “Thank you. Your visibility strengthens mine. Together, we are proof that Zionism is not static or one-dimensional. It’s alive. It’s evolving. And it’s ours to shape.”

So, let’s keep showing up. Let’s keep teaching. Let’s keep building something bold, grounded and true. The world needs this now more than ever.

Deborah is a member of the Hadassah Writers’ Circle, a dynamic and diverse writing group for leaders and members to express their thoughts and feelings about all the things Hadassah does to make the world a better place. It’s where they celebrate their personal Hadassah journeys and share their Jewish values, family traditions and interpretations of Jewish texts. Since 2019, the Hadassah Writers’ Circle has published nearly 650 columns in The Times of Israel Blogs and other Jewish media outlets. Interested? Please contact hwc@hadassah.org.