Women’s Initiative for Jewish Studies (WIJS) at Young Israel of New Rochelle is proud to present Dr. Melissa R. Klapper on Wednesday, February 25, 2026 @ 8:15 pm (ET) on Zoom. Dr. Klapper will be the fifth speaker of the 2025-2026 season in the monthly scholarly programming offered by WIJS at YINR.
Dr. Klapper’s lecture is entitled “Prayers for Dixie: The Civil War Faith of a Jewish Confederate Woman.” The discussion will explore the life of a Confederate, slave-owning, religiously observant Jewish woman and Klapper will be drawing from her newest book, The Civil War Diary of Emma Mordecai, which she finished in the name of Dianne Ashton (Dianne Ashton passed away before the book was completed).
Dr. Melissa R. Klapper is Professor of History and Director of Women’s & Gender Studies at Rowan University. She is the author of many books on American Jewish women’s history and the history of childhood, including the National Jewish Book Award-winning Ballots, Babies, and Banners of Peace: American Jewish Women’s Activism, 1890-1940; Ballet Class: An American History and, with Dianne Ashton, The Civil War Diary of Emma Mordecai. Her research has won numerous awards and grants, and she lectures frequently in both academic and community settings.
All WIJS programming is open to women and men. Please visit https://www.yinr.org/wijs.html to view the complete WIJS 2025-26 schedule. For more information, to be added to the WIJS email list, or for Zoom information, please call 914-636-2215 or email: wijs@yinr.org. Individuals on the WIJS mailing list will automatically receive the Zoom information.
