The Women of the Bund Fought to Free Their Loved Ones

"The visits keep prisoners alive. In the times I took that bus to interview inmates, I always noted the contempt with which jailhouse authorities treated these women. Lifetimes wasted in mendacious bureaucracy and quotidian humiliation."

"To see a jailed human face-to-face breaks through the erasure upon which America bases its prison system. This is why visitation is always under siege: contested, canceled, given impossible hurdles to clear."

"Founded in 1897 in the Russian Empire, and reaching its height in interwar Poland, the Bund was a sometimes-clandestine political party whose tenets were humane, socialist, secular, and defiantly Jewish."

"Though the group was largely obliterated by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, their opposition to Zionism better explains their absence from current consciousness."

Women predominantly visit Rikers Island to see their incarcerated loved ones, enduring humiliating security measures. These visits are vital for prisoners' well-being and reflect women's strength and solidarity. The treatment of these women by jail authorities reveals a contemptuous system. The importance of face-to-face visits challenges the erasure inherent in the prison system. Additionally, the Jewish Labor Bund, a historical political party, exemplifies resilience and community building in the face of oppression, contributing to significant historical events like the Warsaw Ghetto Revolt.

Read at Harper's BAZAAR