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Debbie Wasserman Schultz disappeared. Jewish women, not so much. Debra Messing, Lena Dunham, Sen. Barbara Boxer and two women with close familial ties to Judaism — Madeleine Albright and Elizabeth Banks — were among those taking the stage on the second night of the Democratic National Convention to hammer home the evening’s theme, the rise of women.
The night of July 26 was very much about the glass ceiling Hillary Clinton cracked after Bernie Sanders cleared the way earlier in the evening, asking for a suspension of rules so his erstwhile rival could be named the nominee by acclamation.
The convention was supposed to be a triumph for Wasserman Schultz, the Jewish congresswoman from Florida who backed Clinton in the 2008 race until Barack Obama secured the nomination. She had been building to this moment since she assumed the chair of the Democratic National Committee in 2011. But she was forced to resign last week after a dump of emails showing animus by Wasserman Schultz and her staff against Sanders and his campaign.
The relief that an obstacle to party unity was removed was evident as soon as Donna Brazile, Wasserman Schultz’s interim replacement, took the stage to loud cheers.
“As the incoming chair of the DNC, I promise you we will have a Democratic Party you can be proud of!” Brazile said.
Although Bill Clinton’s speech about his wife’s personal and professional accomplishments was the centerpiece of the session, more women than men took the stage. Toward the end, Hillary Clinton herself emerged via video feed after “shattering” a montage of the 44 male presidents.
Messing, the “Will & Grace” star, introduced a segment on how Clinton, as senator from New York, helped bring relief to affected New Yorkers and first responders after the Sept. 11 attacks (Messing has been featured in Clinton campaign outreach to Jewish women).
Emceeing was Banks, the director-actor who began practicing Jewish ritual after marrying Max Handelman in 2003. Banks unveiled a video of a celebrity-studded a cappella version of Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song,” which has become the Clinton campaign’s theme.
Also speaking was Boxer, senator from California, who noted that her grandchild is Clinton’s nephew (Boxer’s daughter Nicole was married for a time to Clinton’s brother Tony Rodham). Her intimacy with Clinton allowed Boxer an aura of sisterly defense. “The right wing has thrown everything at her — not only the kitchen sink, but the stove, the refrigerator, and the toasters, too,” she said. “And guess what? She’s still standing!”
Albright, the first female secretary of state, noted her commonality with Clinton and, in calling out Republican nominee Donald Trump, pointedly noted the welcome she and her family received in the United States as refugees from Czechoslovakia’s Communist government.
“She knows that safeguarding freedom and security is not like hosting a reality TV show,” said Albright, who was raised Catholic but learned as an adult that her parents were Jews. “It is a complex, round-the-clock job that demands not only a steady hand and a cool head, but also a big heart. You are not just representing yourself, you are there for all of us.”
In the keynote speech, Bill Clinton spoke of his wife’s successful negotiation of a cease-fire ending the 2012 war between Hamas and Israel, and her role in bringing nations — including recalcitrant countries like China and Russia — into the Iran sanctions coalition.
He also mentioned a Jewish woman who had a lasting influence on his wife’s life. As Arkansas first lady, he explained, Hillary Clinton replicated an Israeli program known as HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters) that enlists mothers of toddlers in teaching reading skills and sharply boosts literacy. Mrs. Clinton invited HIPPY’s founder, Avima Lombard, to the state to train preschool teachers.